Right fielder Carl Beckert put the Cavs up 7-6 with a solo home run in the top of the 10th, but the Tabor (Kan.) Bluejays came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to beat the Cavs 8-7 in NAIA Opening Round action Thursday.
Bluejays Top Cavs, 8-7, in First Game of NAIA Opening Round
BOX SCORE
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS -- Jared Young's three-run triple in the top of the first | Cole Shidaki's game-tying sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth | Carl Beckert's go-ahead solo home run in the top of the 10th
SANTA CLARITA, Calif.—With play starting in the Santa Clarita Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round, the Concordia baseball team went ahead, 7-6, in 10th inning against Tabor (Kan.) on a solo home run from Carl Beckert, but the Bluejays came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to walk off with the win, 8-7, at Reese Field on the campus of The Master's College Thursday.
Tabor’s Wes Moody scored both runs for the Bluejays (39-14) on a two-run single through the left side of the infield.
The Cavs (28-27) will now play in an elimination game at 9 a.m. tomorrow against the loser of the San Diego Christian-Cal State San Marcos game today.
The loss stung, but the Cavs did well to force extra innings, as they tied the game in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Cole Shidaki.
Shidaki’s sacrifice fly broke a long scoreless streak in the game, as neither team scored since packing 11 combined runs in the first two innings. The Bluejays had led 6-5 since the second inning.
Jared Young hit a three-run triple in the top of the first to lead off the high-scoring start to the game, putting the Cavs up 4-0 early. However, Tabor came back with five runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Troy Torres’ two-run home run, to take the lead, 5-4.
The teams then traded runs in the second to make it 6-5 Bluejays, where it would remain until the later innings.
Both teams got out of jams in the fifth inning to keep the game at 6-5.
The Cavs put the pressure on the Bluejays in the top of the inning, as they put runners on the corners with two outs. The Bluejays struck out the final CU batter, however, to get out of the jam, and preserve the lead.
The Cavs then got out of their own jam in the bottom of the inning, as Tabor loaded the bases with only one out. First baseman Cole Shidaki came home on a grounder for the second out of the inning, while pitcher Austin Hadley battled back from a 3-0 count to induce a fly out for the final out.
The loss broke the Cavs’ extra-inning mojo this season, as they had been 4-0 in extra-inning games before Thursday.
The Cavs were playing in their first game in the national tournament since 2004, when the team advanced all the way to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.