Catawba - 5
Henderson State - 1
Catawba got a pair of fantastic performances, one at the plate and one on the mound, as they scored five runs in the first three innings to remain in the winner's bracket portion of the tournament.
The Indians put up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as Blake Houston doubled and Austin Stilley brought him in with an RBI double of his own only five pitches in to the game. Craig Brooks then brought in Stilley with an RBI fielder's choice to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the third, Catawba capped their scoring with a bases-clearing three-RBI double from Chance Bowden that gave the Indians some breathing room, as they went up 5-0.
Sean Grant continued rolling on the mound, holding Henderson State off the board through the first five innings. In the sixth, the Reddies scratched a run across, as Hunter Mayall scored on a Lance Fields RBI single to make it 5-1, but that is as close as they would get.
Grant (2-1) earned the victory, going 7.2 innings and allowing only five hits, one unearned run, and two walks with a strikeout. Brooks, for the second time in the tournament, closed the game out, and he struck out the side in the ninth inning.
Bowden's three-RBI double capped a 2-for-4, 3-RBI day for him, while Will Albertson and Stilley each went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the contest, Stilley's line coming with an RBI, as well. Hayden Lessenberry was the only Reddie with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 in the contest.
Catawba advances to essentially the semifinals on Thursday, May 28th, to face the winner of a Mercyhurst/Cal Poly Pomona elimination game. Henderson State takes on Angelo State on Wednesday (May 27) in an elimination game.
Monday, May 25th (Elimination Game)
Angelo State - 5
Wilmington - 0
Angelo State decided not to start Steve Naemark in the opener of the national finals, but they had him in their back pocket for this game, and that was an unfortunate circumstance for Wilmington. Naemark turned in a sparking performance, scattering seven hits over eight shutout innings of work with one walk and five strikeouts to keep the Rams in the tournament, moving to 11-1 on the season.
All the scoring the Rams would need came in the bottom of the third, as David Goggin doubled to lead off the inning, Paxton DeLaGarza was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch moved them both in to scoring position, and a two-out error allowed both runners to score, putting the Rams up 2-0.
ASU added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth with help from another Wildcat error. Derek Tyner and Cameron Massengill singled to begin the frame, and a Brett David sacrifice bunt attempt resulted in an error to load the bases with nobody out. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Elias Aguirre hit a two-RBI double to center to make it a 4-0 game. A couple batters later, an errant pickoff throw allowed David to score, upping the score to 5-0.
Frank Samluk performed well in the loss, going five innings, allowing five hits and only two earned runs with a walk and three strikeouts. The Wilmington bullpen kept them in the game, contributing three shutout innings of work. Four errors was just too much to overcome, however, and Wilmington became the first team to bow out of the 2015 national finals.
Angelo State moves on to face Henderson State in a Wednesday elimination game.
Tuesday, May 26th (Winner's Bracket)
Tampa - 3
Mercyhurst - 1
In a match-up between the top two offenses at Cary, we had a pitcher's duel break out, as Chase Sparkman led the Spartans with a sparking complete game performance. Sparkman held Mercyhurst to only four hits over nine innings of work, allowing only one run and one walk with eight strikeouts in 120 pitches to move to 10-2 on the season.
The Lakers actually took the lead in the bottom of the second on a Jake Marinelli solo home run, but that would be the last time they would be able to get on the board.
In the top of the third, the Spartans led off the inning with a pair of singles from Casey Scoggins and Stephen Dezzi to put runners on the corners, and an RBI groundout from Giovanny Alfonzo tied the game at two.
Tampa would take the lead in the next inning, as Chris Pagliarulo led off the inning with a single, then moved to third when a dropped fly ball fell harmlessly to the turf, putting runners on second and third with only one out. After a pitching change, Andrew Amaro lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Pagliarulo to make it a 2-1 game.
The Mercyhurst bullpen kept holding Tampa at bay, but an insurance run for the Spartans in the top of the eighth on a Scoggins double and Dezzi RBI single made it 3-1, and Sparkman continued to roll through the final two innings, sitting down the final 15 Lakers he faced to nail down the victory.
Scoggins, Dezzi, Pagliarulo and Cody deNoyelles all went 2-for-4 in the game, with Scoggins scoring twice, Pagliarulo scoring once and Dezzi driving in one.
Tampa moves on to the semifinals on Thursday, awaiting the winner of the Angelo State/Henderson State contest. Mercyhurst faces Cal Poly Pomona in an elimination game on Wednesday.
Tuesday, May 26th (Elimination Game)
Cal Poly Pomona - 13
Truman State - 2
It was another comeback in the nightcap, as Truman scored the first two runs of the contest before the Broncos ran off 13 unanswered to keep themselves alive in the tournament.
The story of the game was Mike Philp, who belted two home runs, his first two of the season, to lead the Broncos offense to victory. On the mound, it was Ryan Olson, who struck out a career-high 14 batters to earn the win.
The Bulldogs put together a two-out rally in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead on a two-RBI single from TJ Wood, but that lead would be short-lived, as the Broncos responded with a pair of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Nicholas Bruno had an RBI single and Christian Kelley drew a bases-loaded walk to knot the score up at two a piece.
In the bottom of the fourth, Philp was hit by a pitch and Bruno singled to the shortstop to begin the inning, and after a flyout, Kyle Garlick came to the plate and laced a two-RBI double to put the Broncos out front, 4-2.
The bottom of the fifth is when the Philp party broke out, as he hit a two-run homer early in the inning, and Garlick contributed an RBI single later on to make it 7-2. After a sacrifice fly brought the eighth run across for the Broncos in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-2, the game was broken open with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a Philp solo shot and a three-run bomb from Nick Cooksey.
Olson (12-0) was a force on the mound, needing 120 pitches to go eight innings, allowing six hits and two runs with two walks and that career-high 14 strikeouts.
On offense, the Broncos got a plethora of top-notch performances, including Garlick (3-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB), Kelley (1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Cooksey (1-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI), Matt Munoz (2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI), Philp (2-for-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB) and Bruno (4-for-5, 4 R, 1 RBI).
CPP will now face Mercyhurst in a Wednesday elimination game, while Truman heads back to Missouri after a valiant performance in their first national finals appearance.
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