Webster scored on a bases-loaded free pass in the bottom of the ninth and walked off with a first-round win at the Central Regional, defeating Carthage 4-3 at Waterloo Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, Iowa.
In the other two first-round games, top-seeded and No. 8 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (32-12) defeated sixth-seeded Greenville College (22-20), 7-4, with third-seeded and No. 16 Wartburg (32-13) falling to fourth-seeded and No. 38 Anderson University (32-11) by a 4-3 margin. The fifth-seeded Red Men will play Greenville (22-20) in a Noon loser's bracket game on Thursday, May 14, followed by Wartburg (32-13) playing Wisconsin-Stevens Point (32-12) at 3:30 p.m. and Anderson (32-11) versus Webster (31-13) at 7 p.m. Thursday's weather forecast, however, calls for a 100 percent chance of rain.
Webster (31-13) broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the third, both coming on an RBI-single by Alex Bahnick. Webster made it a 3-0 game in the fifth. With two outs and runners at first and second, first baseman Reed Hero was charged with a throwing error to pitcher Jared Helmich covering first, allowing Adam Naliwajko to score from second. Nick Schmidlkofer led off the Carthage sixth with a double, but he was thrown out at third trying to advance on a fall ball to left.
Meanwhile, Gorloks starting pitcher Josh Fleming was doing some twirling. The lefty allowed only one hit and two base runners through the first five innings. The Red Men (28-14) finally broke through with a single run in the seventh inning on a two-out, RBI-single by Reed Hero. Carthage tied the game, 3-3, in the top of the ninth off Fleming on RBI-singles by pinch-hitter Luc DiMaso and Matt Rave.
In the bottom of the ninth, Webster loaded the bases with one out against relief pitcher Chris Pedrak (Fr., Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove-South, 1-2). Gorloks leftfielder Charlie Gand took a 3-2 pitch for a bases-loaded walk that scored Ryan Fischer with the game-winning run and a 4-3 Webster victory. Dylan Smith (7-3), who got the last out in the ninth in relief of Josh Fleming, was the winning pitcher. Fleming allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk over eight and two-thirds innings. Red Men starter Jared Helmich went the first seven innings and gave up three unearned runs on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. Matt Rave had two of Carthage's eight hits.
"Josh Fleming is a very good pitcher," said Carthage coach Augie Schmidt IV. "He strikes out a lot guys and doesn't walk anyone. We battled and tied the game, but an error in the ninth inning helped create the pressure. We had a bases-loaded situation with a freshman on the mound. He threw the ball well, but he got caught in a tough situation in the ninth where Webster scores the game-winning run without even swinging the bat. In 28 years of coaching, I've never lost a game of this magnitude that way. I'm proud of how we battled back, and Jared Helmich pitched really well. The NCAA tournament is wild — anything can happen. This is gut-check baseball. It'll be fun to see how we react tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll get mad and ornery."