PORTLAND, Ore. – After dropping the first game to Concordia 7-2, the Saints and the Cavaliers battled it out in an epic 11-inning affair in game two.
Mickey Walker pitched four innings, striking out nine, before Concordia finally managed to pull off the walk-off 6-5 win in the 11th inning.
Coming off a sweep of Central Washington, the Saints were looking for another series win to help secure their chances in the GNAC Championships. However, Concordia managed to rough up the Saints' starters in
Aaron Shoup and
Tanner Inouye. The Saints' bullpen was able to keep the games close, as
Garrison Ritter,
Robbie Shineman, and Walker combined to throw nine shutout innings in relief. But in the 11th,
Luke Hare allowed the first run from the Saints' bullpen, the walk-off sac fly to close out the doubleheader.
In the opener, Concordia quickly got on the board, opening up a 6-0 lead after just two innings.
Austin Feist continued to his tear at the plate, delivering with a two RBI single up the middle, scoring both
Isaac Hegamin and
Ryne Oshiro.
Concordia responded right back with another run in the fourth, extending the score to 7-2, which remained until the end of the game.
Bryant Nakagawa started the scoring in game two, tripling to center field, which brought home
Micah McNicoll. Concordia regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a two run home run to right field.
In the third, the Saints were able to load the bases but the only run that scored was on a hit by pitch. The Saints felt runners on base with an inning double play. The Cavaliers once again answered the call, scoring another three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-2 lead.
Until the sixth, the score remained 5-2, when
Dakota Hill singled to left, scoring both McNicoll and
Ryan Colvin. Then, later in the inning, Hegamin grounded into a double play; however the tying run was able to score to knot the game at 5-5.
The score was left untouched at 5-5 until five innings later, in the bottom of the 11th. After a lead-off double, and single, the Saints loaded the bases on an intentional walk. A fielder's choice put one down in the inning; however, Concordia managed to pull off the victory with a sac fly to right.
The Saints and Cavaliers wrap up the four game series tomorrow with another doubleheader. Live stats and video of the games will be available on smusaints.com.
