Results from the semifinal of the
NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID.
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.
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
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