Senior Cole Shidaki made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth with a three-run home run that brought the Cavs within one run at 6-5. The Cavs could not get another run across in the inning, however, and the Cavs season came to an end with a 6-5 loss to Tabor in the NAIA Opening Round.
Cavs' Comeback Falls Just Short, Season Ends with 6-5 Loss to Tabor
BOX SCORE
SANTA CLARITA, Calif.—The Concordia baseball team’s first title-winning season since 2004 came to an end Friday, as the Cavaliers lost their second game in the Santa Clarita Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round at Reese Field Friday, losing 6-5 to Tabor (Kan.) despite a valiant comeback from the Cavs in the bottom of the ninth.
The Cavs were down to their final strike with the score 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth when Cole Shidaki hit a three-run home run to right to make it 6-5. Carl Beckert then followed with a single through the left side of the infield, putting the tying run on base. The Bluejays induced a game-ending ground out during the next at bat, however, cutting the Cavaliers’ comeback attempt just short.
The Bluejays (40-15) also gave the Cavs (29-28) their first loss of the tournament, when they beat the Cavs 8-7 on a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th Thursday.
Friday’s game against the Bluejays started promisingly for the Cavs, as the team took a 2-0 lead on RBI singles from Sheldon Austria and Christian Lichtenthaler in the first and third innings, respectively. In addition, Austria’s RBI in the first marked the third straight game within the NAIA Opening Round that the Cavs had scored in the first inning.
However, the Bluejays answered with single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, before taking the lead for the first time with two runs in the top of the seventh. Wes Moody plated both of the Bluejays’ runs in the seventh on a ground-rule double to right field. The two-run double was Moody’s third double of the game to that point, and gave him three runs batted in out of the Bluejays’ first four runs in the game.
The Bluejays then added two more runs in the top of the eighth to go up 6-2
The Cavs’ Christian Lichtenthaler kept the Bluejays from scoring another run in the eighth, though, as he fielded a choppy grounder with a runner coming home and made a running throw that beat the Bluejays’ Shaun Reid to the plate.
Lichtenthaler and Jordan Keeker also combined to keep the Bluejays from scoring more runs in the top of the seventh, as they turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning after the Bluejays loaded the bases.
The Cavs’ Jimmy Sanchez trumped all defensive plays in the game, though, when he robbed a home run in the top of the fifth. The Cavs were leading 2-1 at that point, and it looked to everyone like it was going to be 2-2 when Troy Torres hit a deep fly ball to left. However, Sanchez climbed the fence in left, reached out over the wall and pulled the ball back into the playing field.
The Cavalier defense kept the Cavs close in the game overall, but the Bluejays kept the lead once they got it.
While the loss ended the season, the Cavs can claim several historic feats after their play at the NAIA Opening Round. It had been nine years since the Cavs played in the NAIA National Tournament, and with their win over Cal State San Marcos earlier Friday, the Cavs clinched their first season over .500 in nine years as well. The Cavs’ 29 wins in 2013 were also the program’s second-highest win total in its history.