Results from the semifinal of the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID.
Kruise Newman
Tennessee Wesleyan 3, Reinhardt 2 (11 innings) – Reinhardt eliminated. A brilliant pitching effort by Eagle starter Andrew Herbert came to an end with one out in the bottom of the eleventh inning. The inning started with Evan Magill drawing a walk. He was bunted over to second by Cayle Webster. The next batter, Kruise Newman, hit a single to left field to score Magill and end it.
The Eagles nearly won this in regulation, with only three hits.
They got a home run by Lance Dockery in the top of the third inning.
The Bulldogs tied it in the bottom of the fourth; Magill hit a double
that bounced off the center field fence, and scored on a single by
Webster. The Eagles got their second run on their second hit in the
top of the seventh, with an RBI double by Matty Maurer. They missed a
chance to add an insurance run in the eighth when a bunt by Lance
Dockery was misplayed by pitcher Blake Peyton, giving them runners on
first and second. Peyton was relieved by Carter Gannaway, who struck
out Nash Crowell. Tucker Zdunich then hit a line drive to second base
that resulted in an inning-ending double play.
The Eagles missed
another chance to get insurance runs in the top of the ninth. They
loaded the bases with one out. The Eagles sent in Richard Castro to
pinch-hit, and the Bulldogs sent in Jake Sergent to pitch to him.
Sergent struck him out on three pitches. The next batter, Jarrett
Burney, hit a ground ball to the mound, and Sergent threw to home for
the out to end the inning.
So, it was 2-1 for the Eagles going into the bottom of the ninth. Magill opened it with a double. Herbert struck out the next two batters, and the Bulldogs were down to their final out. Daniel Stewart hit a single to score Magill and tie it. The next batter, Dante Leach, hit a single to right field, but Blake Hubble, the courtesy runner for Leach, tried to go to third base, and was out by 15 feet on a good throw from Zdunich.
Andrew Herbert
The Eagles started the top of the tenth with Dockery awarded first base after a review; the first baseman dropped the ball. Zdunich was intentionally walked, and Dylan Lewis hit into a double play to end the inning. Carson Ford opened the bottom of the tenth with a double, but was thrown out at third because the next batter, Braxton Turner, bunted directly to the mound. The Eagles went three-up three-down in the top of the eleventh to set up the dramatic finish.
Sergent got the win. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, didn’t allow a hit, struck out one, walked one. The Eagles got a good start from Peyton; he went seven-plus innings, allowed two runs on two hits, struck out seven, walked five, threw 121 pitches. Herbert’s numbers were ten hits, ten strikeouts, and 132 pitches thrown. Magill, Stewart, Newman, and Ford all had two hits, and Magill scored all three of the Bulldogs’ runs.
Attendance: 2,197. Box score
Story from Tennessee Wesleyan site: No. 6 Baseball Earns Trip to World Series Championship with Walk-Off Win
Story from Reinhardt site: Historic Season for Reinhardt Baseball Comes to a Close…
NAIA release: Tennessee Wesleyan Walks-Off Into Championship Game
Schedule for Friday:
6:35 PM: Tennessee Wesleyan vs. Hope International – winner-take-all for the championship
Video on ESPN3 Audio (free)
