Cavs Tackle Tech, Thunderbirds in Opening Day of NAIA West Tournament
PORTLAND, Ore.—With two wins Wednesday, the Concordia baseball team stands as one of only two remaining unbeaten teams within the NAIA West Tournament, as the fourth-seeded Cavs beat fifth-seed Oregon Tech 4-3 in 15 innings in the first game Wednesday, and then beat the top-seeded University of British Columbia 2-1 in the final game at Porter Park.
No. 2 Menlo, meanwhile, beat No. 3 Corban 11-5 in 12 innings in between the Cavaliers’ two wins.
Concordia and Menlo’s wins came as part of a high-quality first day for the NAIA West Tournament, which saw the longest games in Porter Park history in terms of time (Menlo’s win over Corban) follow on the heels of the longest game in Porter Park history in terms of innings (Concordia’s 15-inning win over OIT).
Concordia (26-25) and Menlo (31-17), the two remaining unbeaten teams, will now square off at 12 p.m. Thursday, May 2. The winner of that game will automatically advance to Friday, and be one of the two teams that will play for the NAIA West Tournament title.
Before that game, though, Oregon Tech (20-35) and Corban (29-23) will play at 9 a.m., with the loser eliminated. The winner, meanwhile, will advance to play UBC (25-17) at 3 p.m. Thursday, and the winner of that game will then play the loser of the Concordia-Menlo game at 6 p.m.
Game 1—Concordia 4, Oregon Tech 3 (15 innings)
Sheldon Austria scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 15th, leading the Cavs to a 4-3 win over OIT in what turned out to be the longest collegiate baseball game in Porter Park history in terms of innings.
Austria led off the top of the 15th with a single, after saving the Cavs with a dramatic defensive play in the bottom of the 14th. OIT had a runner on second with only one out in the bottom of the 14th, when Alex Reynolds hit a ball that appeared to be heading towards the gap in right-center field. The OIT runner on second would have scored easily for the game-winner if the ball had landed, but Austria dove parallel to the ground, snagging the ball out of the gap and keeping the Cavs alive in the game.
The Cavs had their own chance to end things earlier in extra innings, but Dustin Norman threw out the Cavs’ Carl Beckert at the plate for the final out in the top of the 10th.
OIT sent the game to extra innings with three runs in the bottom of the eighth that tied the game 3-3. Ethan Schlecht led the OIT comeback, as he opened the scoring with a two-run triple down the right-field line. Schlecht then came home for the tying run on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Hayden during the next at bat.
The Cavs had led 3-0 before that, thanks to single runs in the top of the third, sixth and eighth.
Alex Bos pitched the Cavs to the early lead, and ended up going 10 innings on 138 pitches. Austin Hadley took over for Bos in the 11th, and shut out OIT over five straight innings to earn the win. Hadley only gave up two hits to OIT in his five innings, and only walked two batters as well.
Game 2—Menlo 11, Corban (12 innings)
The Menlo Oaks scored six runs in the top of the 12th to break open a tight game and beat Corban, 11-5, in what was the longest game in Porter Park history in terms of time (4:09).
Tyler Comstock walked in a run for the Oaks’ first run in the 12th, before Corey Metoyer followed with a two-run single. The Oaks then loaded the bases again for John Bowling, who cleared them immediately with a three-run double to left-center field. Bowling’s double put the Oaks up 11-5, and the Warriors could not muster a comeback in the bottom of the inning.
The six runs in the top of the 12th helped the Oaks breathe easier in the bottom of the inning, though, as one inning earlier in the 11th, the Oaks went ahead with three runs in the top of the innings, only to see the Warriors tie things again with three runs of their own in the bottom half. The Warriors scored all three runs in the bottom of the 11th on bases-loaded walks.
Before the teams traded three-run innings in the 11th, though, the Oaks first had to force extra innings, as they trailed 2-1 in the top of the ninth. The Warriors’ starting pitcher, Jacob Kopra, had held the Oaks at bay over the first eight innings of the game, and got a quick out in the top of the ninth. However, Jimmy Bosco changed the game with one swing of the bat, hitting a home run that cleared the left-field stands and tied the game 2-2.
Game 3—Concordia 2, UBC 1
CU pitchers Jason Snodgrass and Blake Evetts teamed up to hold the high-powered UBC offense to just one run, and lead the Cavaliers to a 2-1 win over the Thunderbirds in the final game Wednesday.
Snodgrass threw the first seven innings for the Cavaliers, while Evetts shut out the Thunderbirds over the final two innings. Evetts proved untouchable for the Thunderbirds, as the sophomore closer threw a perfect eighth and ninth inning. Evetts also struck out three batters in between his two innings, and earned his third save of the season. Meanwhile, Snodgrass, who has been battling a shoulder injury that kept him out over the first seven weeks of the season, picked up his first win of the year.
The CU offense gave Snodgrass and Evetts all the run support they’d need with single runs in the bottom of the first and second innings.
The Cavs scored their first run of the game in an unusual way, as C.J. Watson reached on a third-strike wild pitch that also allowed leadoff hitter Blake Drake to score from third. The Cavs scored more conventionally in the bottom of the second, however, as Cole Shidaki drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded that scored Julian Burgess. Burgess had come in as a pinch runner for Ben Talbot, who started the Cavs’ two-out rally in the inning with a single to right field.