KANSAS CITY, Mo.- 14 runs. 20 hits. The University of Northwestern Baseball team's offense picked the right time to catch fire as the Eagles continue to put up runs in bunches in the NCCAA National Tournament. The #3 seeded Eagles moved to 2-0 in the tournament by defeating #2 Concordia (MI) 14-7.
The Eagles started the run scoring immediately in the top half of the first inning.
Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton), who has had big performances in each of the Eagles' NCCAA Tournament games so far, drove in
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) with a sacrifice fly.
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) would then deliver a run scoring single, driving in
Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) and giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) would pitch a scoreless first two innings for the Eagles, playing in their fan-favorite mustard-colored jerseys, and a triple from
Trey Boushee (Fosston, Minn./Fosston) down the right field line that scored
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) and
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) would give the Eagles a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom half of the third inning. This would be the most successful inning for the Cardinals off of Crabb in the game. Using three run scoring singles and an RBI triple of their own, the Cardinals were able to hang a crooked number on the Eagles. After three innings, Concordia had a 6-4 lead.
However, after the difficult third inning,
Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) would get into his groove. The right hander would pitch scoreless fourth, fifth, and sixth innings before the Cardinals would tag him for another run in the seventh. Crabb would then shut the Cardinals out in the final two innings of the contest, wrapping up a complete game victory. Crabb picked up 10 strikeouts in his ninth win of the season.
The Eagles offense would more than do their part to support Crabb on the mound. Despite scoring 14 runs on 20 hits, the Eagles did not hit a homerun in this contest. UNW produced their runs with a well balanced offensive attack and strung a lot of base hits together throughout the evening.
UNW scored three runs in the fourth inning (immediately responding to the big third inning from the Cardinals).
Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte) drove in
Cramer Hamilton (Apple Valley, Calif./Excelsior) with an RBI single, and the Cardinals attempted to pick Vercoe off of first base but the throw was wild allowing Vercoe to advance to second base and Crabb to score.
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) would then hit a single to score Vercoe.
The Eagles then picked up single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings thanks to an RBI single from
Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington), an RBI double from
Keegan Vercoe (Queen Creek, Ariz./Poston Butte), and a sacrifice fly from
Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong).
The final nail in the coffin from the Eagles would come in the ninth inning where they would score four insurance runs to put the game on ice. Vercoe would drive in Crabb with yet another RBI double, followed by a
Guerin Szafraniec (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) RBI single to score Vercoe.
Beau Rabey (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) and
Trey Boushee (Fosston, Minn./Fosston) would then finish it off by each hitting RBI singles. The Eagles won the game 14-7.
The Eagles have won their first two games of this double elimination tournament. The Eagles will need to win at least three, and potentially four more games to be crowned NCCAA National Champions. There is a long road ahead, but the Eagles have put themselves in a very good spot after the first two days of this tournament. UNW will get a much deserved day off tomorrow (Sunday, May 22
nd) as they participate in the NCCAA's service project along with the other competing teams. The Eagles will be back in action on Monday, May 23
rd against #5 Fort Lauderdale. First pitch for that game will be at noon.
