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| Franklin College had their eyes set on earning a spot in next weekend's championship field of the 2021 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament and could punch their ticket with a win over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday. The Grizzlies (25-12) did just that, earning a spot in the five-team field for the third straight season with an 11-6 win over the Lions (12-27). Anderson, Earlham, Transylvania and Bluffton all finished their three games series with sweeps. Franklin athletics photo |
The first weekend of the 2021 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament wrapped up on Saturday with the final games of the two pod format. Spalding took the field in the morning for the first game, defeating Fontbonne 7-2. Top-seeded Webster then dispatched of Westminster 4-1 in the day's second game. Spalding and Webster will now meet in the 2021 SLIAC Baseball Championship Series next weekend at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois in a best of three game series.
In their first game of the MIAC playoff play-in series, the No. 9 seeded Hamline (14-24) took down the No. 4 seed, Saint John's (27-11), by a score of 2-1 in 10 innings. The series will continue tomorrow, when the Pipers head up to Collegeville for a doubleheader against the Johnnies. The winner of the series will move on to the MIAC Playoff Tournament that begins next week. The game was a pitching dual between sophomore Zach Branson and SJU's Nick Penick. Each pitched nine innings and gave up only one run on three hits. Branson tallied nine strikeouts in the outing. Sophomore Braden Schneider relieved him in the tenth, striking out two batters and keeping the tie intact to allow the Piper offense to earn the win. Schneider would secure the win, improving to 2-3 on the year.
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Junior Joshua Joy pitched six strong innings and classmate Sam Troiano went 3 for 4, including a home run, with three RBI as the second-seeded University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated third-seeded Rhode Island College 12-1 in seven innings Saturday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field. The win sends the Huskies on to the best-of-three championship series at top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University. In the Pod clinching game for ECSU, senior captain John Mesagno hit a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, then drilled a dramatic walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth for a 9-5 victory over the UMass-Dartmouth. The series begins Thursday with a doubleheader. If the teams split the two games, the decisive third game will be played on Saturday. The winner will receive the automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Tournament.
MSOE lost their first game of the NACC north division playoffs yesterday afternoon, putting them in a precarious position. The Raiders would need to rattle off four straight wins in order to advance to the NACC Championship Series. After Saturday's action, they are halfway there. The Red & White eliminated both No. 4 Lakeland and No. 1 Marian to stay alive in the postseason. On Sunday , they must defeet Concordia 9Wisc.) twice to win the pod and face the winner of the South pod. The South Pod has Aurora, Benedictine, and Illinois Tech still alive with the Spartans of Aurora the only unbeaten team.
Behind four RBI from senior Hunter Holliday in the first game and four from fellow senior Kyle Lauria in the second contest, Oswego State swept Oneonta to advance to the SUNYAC Championship game, scheduled for next weekend. Their opponent will be Cortland. The Red Dragons were 11-4, 3-1 winners over SUNY Brockport.
No. 3 Elizabethtown College moves onto Sunday with a perfect record in the Landmark Conference Tournament, topping host No. 2 Catholic, 5-4, Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Ben Watson went 2-3 with a triple, three RBI, and a run scored. Senior Andrew Fisher finished the afternoon 2-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Fisher leads the conference with 18 stolen bases on the season. With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 15-9 on the season, while the Cardinals fall to 15-10. Elizabethtown will need just one win on Sunday to win the pod and advance to the Landmark title series. The winner of the Elizabethtown/Cathloid pod will meet either Susquehanna or Scranton.
No. 10 Babson College got a go-ahead two-run homer from junior Thomas Lapham to win game one but 15th-ranked Wheaton College responded with 13 hits in the nightcap as the team split the first two games of their best-of-three New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Championship Series on Saturday afternoon at Govoni Field. Babson (13-3) won the opener 4-1, while Wheaton (15-3) rallied to take game two 9-4 setting up a decisive game three on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Norton, Mass.
SUNY Cobleskill claimed the North Atlantic Conference Western Division Championship on Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader against the Wildcats of SUNY Polytechnic Institute at Fighting Tiger Field by scores of 6-5 and 8-7 in the NAC Western Division Championship Series. The Fighting Tigers improve to 14-7 overall on the season the Wildcats close the campaign 9-12 overall on the year. The Fighting Tigers will next play for the overall conference title and the league's NCAA Division III Championship Automatic Bid on Thursday May 20 and Friday May 21 when they travel to Bangor, Maine to meet the NAC Eastern Division Champion Husson University Eagles at Husson's Harold Alfond Diamond.
Garduate student catcher Matthew Fitzgerald recorded his 100th career hit as Utica College drafted Houghton College 8-7 in a back-and-forth game three of the Empire 8 Semifinal Series to advance to the program's first ever Empire 8 Championship Series. Griffin Baur entered the final game in the 9th inning with a two-run lead to close the game out. By doing so he set the all-time UC record for appearances by a pitcher (43). With one out and two on, the Highlanders made it a one run game with a single to left by Zientara. Baur struck out the next batter for the second out, tying the Utica baseball all-time record for strikeouts and with two out and two on, David Wessells flew out to center field as UC held on for an 8-7 win and a trip to the championship series. UC will hit the road to take on top-seeded #23 St. John Fisher in the Championship Series. Game one of the best-of-three series will begin on Friday, May 21st at noon. Game two will also be played on may 21st approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
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| Lawrence University romped to a Midwest Conference doubleheader sweep of Ripon College on Saturday at Whiting Field. Lawrence took the opener 13-3 in seven innings and won the nightcap 9-3. Michael Duttlinger (pictured) struck out 11 and earned the victory in the opener. Lawrence athletics photo by Paul Wilke |
No. 17 Shenandoah University has advanced to its third straight ODAC championship thanks to a 7-4 win over Eastern Mennonite in game two of the best-of-three semi-final round series Saturday afternoon. Shenandoah (30-9) banged out 14 hits and held off a pesky Eastern Mennonite (9-15) ballclub to advance to next weekend's best-of-three championship series. The Hornets will face either Bridgewater (Va.) or Lycnchburg, the ODAC rivals splait on Saturday and will play a final game three on Sunday.
Baldwin Wallace University swept an Ohio Athletic Conference and Seniors' Day doubleheader over Muskingum University on Fisher Field. BW (21-15-1, 20-12-1 OAC) won the first game by a score of 12-1 in seven innings. The Yellow Jackets took the second game by a final score of 11-1 in seven innings. The Yellow Jackets will open up OAC Tournament action on Wednesday, May 19 with a quarterfinal game at 4 p.m.
No. 1 Washington University won a pair of games against Wartburg on Saturday. They septh the Knights 9-3 and 7-1. The doubleheader closes out the Bears' regular season. They look to be selected into postseason play, with the NCAA Divison III selection scheduled for Sunday, May 23. WashU moves to 28-3 on the season as the Knights dip to 14-26
The Wheaton Thunder wrapped up the regular season portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon by splitting a doubleheader against Carthage College. By winning the first game of the doubleheader 4-2, the Thunder secured their spot in the CCIW standings and will host Carthage again on Monday afternoon at 3 pm in the CCIW Tournament play-in game. Carthage won the nightcap 11-5. Both teams finished the season with a record of 11-21 in conference play with Carthage holding a 16-24 overall record and Wheaton finishing at 15-25.
No. 7 ranked Marietta College swept an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader from the University of Mount Union Saturday afternoon. With the two wins, the Etta Express secured the OAC Regular Season Championship and top seed in next week's OAC Tournament. The Pioneers defeated Mount Union 10-0 in eight innings in game one. In the second game, Marietta downed the Purple Raiders 6-3 in ten innings. Marietta improves to 30-4 overall and 28-3 in the OAC. Mount Union falls to 27-9 on the season and 25-9 in conference games.
St. Olaf College built a 6-0 lead before Concordia-Moorhead scored the game's final eight runs to grab an 8-6 win in the opening game of the playoff play-in series between the two teams on Saturday afternoon at Bucky Burgau Field. St. Olaf (12-8) scored in five of its first six innings at the plate on its way to a 6-0 lead through five-and-a-half innings, but Concordia (15-18) plated eight runs between the sixth and eighth innings to pull off the come-from-behind win. The two teams will finish the best-of-three series on Sunday. Both games will be played regardless of the result of the first game, with the winner advancing to next week's MIAC Baseball Playoffs.
No. 3 ranked UW-Whitewater secured a share of the program's fourth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship and 20th in program history Saturday with back-to-back, run-rule wins over UW-Eau Claire at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium. The Warhawks (33-5 overall, 24-4 WIAC), who have earned the No. 2 seed in next week's WIAC Championship, defeated the Blugolds 12-2 in seven innings in the opener before posting a 14-4 victory in Game 2 in eight innings.
Otterbein kept its postseason chances alive Saturday afternoon on the road, finding a way to hang on and take both opening games of a massive weekend series with John Carroll. The Cardinals, on the outside looking in at the six-team Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament, trail the Blue Streaks for the final spot in the league's upcoming bracket but aren't going anywhere quietly. Otterbein began this regular-season finale needing to sweep all four contests with JCU, but achieved half the task at Schweickert Field by scores of 6-4 and 13-11. Both sides will play again Sunday in Westerville, and the Cards will need to win both matchups in order to prolong its spring schedule.
This story will be updated