OXFORD, Ala. – The Trevecca Nazarene University baseball team continued their red hot offensive output in the first inning of their game on Sunday against the University of West Florida. This time, though, the Trojans were unable to hold the lead, and when they needed a big hit later in the game, there were none to be found.
Trevecca (32-20) jumped out with another four-run first frame, but West Florida (37-13) answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half. The Argos then followed with single runs in the second, third, and fourth to take a 7-4 lead on their way to the 7-5 victory. The win advances the Argonauts to within a single win of Tuesday's Championship contest at the GSC tournament, while the Trojans must now win twice to get to Tuesday and four times to win the GSC Championship.
SERIES HISTORY/NOTES
Trevecca is now 2-6 all-time against the Argonauts, and they have met in Oxford in each of the past two seasons, with UWF taking wins by identical 7-5 scores in the GSC Championship contests.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trevecca started quickly on the offensive end again, scoring at least four runs in the first inning for the third consecutive game. Rylan Moses continued his scorching hot tournament with a lead-off double, and Cade Martin followed with a double, though Moses was unable to score on the play. One out later, Drew Bradley singled to score both runners, and he came around on Caleb Webster's second home run of the tournament to give Trevecca a 4-0 lead.
West Florida took advantage of two walks and two hit batters in the bottom of the first to plate four runs of their own, and they added single runs in the second and third frames. Zack Stokes homered to lead off the second frame for UWF, and a two out RBI-single in the third put UWF up 6-4.
Another UWF run crossed the plate in the fourth on a safety squeeze play, as the Argos pushed their lead to 7-4, but the Trojans answered that run in the fifth. Webster lined a single to right center to lead off the fifth frame, and he moved up to second on a single up the middle from Jaxson Christ. Cade Moore sacrificed the runners into scoring position, and after a pitching change, Landon Rogers picked up an RBI on a groundout that plated Webster to pull the Trojans within two at 7-5.
Moses made a diving catch with one out in the bottom of the fifth that helped to save a run and keep the margin at two, and he led off the top of the sixth with a single. Martin drew a walk, and Boughton sacrificed the duo into scoring position as the potential tying runs with only one out. Drew Bradley stepped in and narrowly missed a go-ahead homer as he pulled it just foul down the left field line. Bradley was retired on strikes, and a ground out stranded the runners at second and third.
Dawson Sweeney kept the Trojans within two into the eighth, as he kept the Argos off balance, but the Trevecca bats were unable to solve the UWF bullpen either. In the bottom of the eighth, a walk to GSC player of the year Zack Stokes and a single from Trent Kelly ended Dawson Sweeney's day, and he gave way to Ryan Sweeney. The latter Sweeney threw only two pitches and induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play ball to give the Trojans offense one final chance.
With the heart of the order due up, the Trojans faced UWF closer Mickey Scheetz. Webster lined a two-out double to left center, and the Trojans sent up Miles Nelson as a pinch hitter. Scheetz got the better of Nelson, however, and the Argonauts held on for the win, 7-5
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Chase Sain
"[The] offense came out the way we want it to - aggressive, confident. Then we let their guy get comfortable. When you do that, it tightens everything up. We had chances, just couldn't find the big swing when we needed it, and you leave 10 on base, that's tough to overcome.
On the other side, they got the hits when it counted. That's the difference in this kind of game. And against a good club, you can't hand them anything. They made us pay for the little things.
The good part is, everything we want is still in front of us. This group's responded all year. We'll regroup, come out focused on Monday, and be ready to compete the way we expect to."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
* Rylan Moses - 2-for-5, 2B, R
* Cade Martin - 1-for-4, BB, R
* Noah Boughton - 1-for-3, BB
* Drew Bradley - 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI
* Caleb Webster - 3-for-5, HR(9), 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
* Jaxson Christ - 1-for-3, BB
* Cade Moore - 2-for-3, 2B
* Landon Rogers - 0-for-4, RBI
WP: Blake Thomas (5-0) - 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO
LP: Jonah Smithson (4-4) - 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 SO
SV: Mickey Scheetz (13) - 1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 SO
NEXT ON THE DIAMOND
The loss means the Trojans will be playing for their postseason lives on Monday morning. Trevecca will take the field at 11 a.m. in an elimination game. Their opponent, however, was determined by the result of Sunday's nightcap at the Championship.
The Sunday evening game pitted the No. 2 Seed Lee University Flames (36-15) against the No. 3 Seed Mississippi College Choctaws (28-24) - but the Flames were 1-0 in the Championship, while the Choctaws were 0-1. Mississippi College held a 12-4 lead in the eighth inning, but Lee stormed back to take the 13-12 win. This eliminated Mississippi, and means that Trevecca will square off against Delta State University (29-20) in an elimination contest, with the winner to advance to the final game of the Day on Monday at 6 p.m.
MORE ABOUT THE TREVECCA TROJANS
Visit the Official Home of Trevecca Athletics at www.tnutrojans.com | www.trevecca.edu
Trojan Sideline Store | Watch Trojans Live on Flo College
Follow on Social Media - Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Free Newsletter
-- www.tnutrojans.com --
#PurpleReigns #DefendTheHill
