Southern Indiana - 1
Angelo State - 0
W: Barnett (8-5); L: Brown (6-7)
The day started much like the first day ended, with yet another one-run game and yet *another* walk-off victory.
The story of the game was starting pitching, as both Matt Shannon and Lucas Barnett were throwing darts all game long, leading to a Barnett CGSHO and only two hits allowed from Shannon through 7.1 innings of work.
Unfortunately for Angelo State, their return trip to Cary was cut short as USI scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth before an out could even be recorded.
As it was in day one, an error ended up being a pivotal point in the game. After Kyle Kempf walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Sam Griggs then reached on a fielding error, allowing Kempf to advance all the way to third. After an intentional walk loaded the bases with nobody out, Drake McNamara singled back up the box to bring in Kempf and walk it off for the Screaming Eagles, allowing them to live another day in Cary.
Game Six
Millersville - 11
Cal Poly Pomona - 3
W: McDade (12-0); L: Bethell (10-5)
In the first winner's bracket game of the tournament, the Marauders jumped all over one of the West's best pitchers, driving Bethell out after only 2.2 innings of work, his shortest outing of the season in a game he started.
Meanwhile, Millersville's McDade was rolling, going 7.2 innings without allowing an earned run (but three runs total).
Speaking of on fire, the Millersville offense put up runs in each of the first three innings, scoring twice in the first (sac fly and RBI double), once in the second (RBI triple) and once in the third (RBI single) to stake themselves to a 4-0 lead.
The middle-third of the game went by uneventfully, as both teams were scoreless in the 4th-6th frames, but Millersville got back to their scoring ways in the bottom of the seventh, pushing two more runs across with an RBI single from Mitch Stoltzfus and an RBI double from brother Dan Stoltzfus in the next at-bat to push the lead out to 6-0.
CPP didn't go quietly, picking up three runs of their own to cut the lead in half in the top of the eighth, all done with two outs as a dropped fly ball brought one run in and a two-RBI double brought another pair of runs in from Caleb Romo.
That rally was short-lived, however, as the Marauders responded with a huge five-spot in the bottom of the eighth to not only get those runs back, but extend their lead further. A pair of two-RBI hits in the inning, one double and one triple, were the highlights of the inning, as Millersville pushed out to an 11-3 lead and played themselves in to one of the final four spots in the tournament, as they'll rest until Thursday night and Cal Poly Pomona hits the field again on Wednesday to play the winner of Tuesday's first game.
With that said, here is Tuesday's schedule:
Game Seven (Elimination Game)
Franklin Pierce (48-8) vs Central Missouri (42-14)
Tuesday, May 31st, 1:00 p.m. Eastern
It will be interesting to see who Franklin Pierce puts out on the mound to start this one, considering their top three starters all took to the mound in their first game of the tournament. For the Mules, I anticipate that in a must-win situation, they may go to their ace in Ethan Westphal (10-2, 2.80 ERA), which should be an interesting match-up against a team that thrives on getting on base and causing havoc, as Westphal holds a 99/25 K/BB ratio and is holding hitters to a .213 batting average. Additionally, on the year in 93.1 innings, Westphal has only allowed three stolen bases on the season.
Game Eight
Nova Southeastern (40-16) vs Lander (43-14)
Tuesday, May 31st, 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Being a winner's bracket game, it is anyone's guess who will be out on the mound, as both teams may be saving their best available for when it is a must-win situation. With that said, both teams have quite a few options. NSU used their ace Alex Mateo in game one, leaving them with Julian Loret de Mola (6-3, 2.66 ERA), Jonny Ortiz (6-3, 4.52 ERA) or Matt Hardy (8-2, 4.55 ERA). In Lander's case, their game one starter, Sam Linn, is probably more like their #2 or #3 starter, and they have the option to go to Will Jones (10-2, 3.33 ERA), JD Waite (5-2, 4.09 ERA) or Colton Rogers (7-2, 5.12 ERA) in this game.
No matter who is on the mound for both teams, this has the makings of a slug fest, considering both teams like blasting the ball over the fence. Lander has 92 homers this season, while Nova Southeastern has hit 80. These are the top two power-hitting teams in the tournament, and could be a high-scoring affair.
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