SALEM, Va. – The Shenandoah University baseball team stands one win from its second consecutive ODAC title after downing Randolph-Macon 8-6 Friday morning.
Shenandoah (30-11) advances into an 11 a.m. Saturday morning championship game versus the winner of the Randolph-Macon (26-9-1)/Virginia Wesleyan contest. Those two teams play an elimination game at 3:30 Friday.
That team will have to beat SU twice to win the title.
IN DEPTH
The Hornets, who have now reached the 30-win mark for the ninth time in the past 11 years, scored four runs in the first off of R-MC starter Michael Zubovich, but had to rally as Macon took a 6-4 lead thanks to two runs in the second, one in the third and two more in the fourth.
Coach Kevin Anderson's club cut the deficit in half with one run in the sixth before scoring two runs in the eighth off of Yellow Jackets reliever Tim Barron (0-3).
Luke Nussman, who finished the day 3-for-5, led off the frame with a single to center and advanced to second on Grant Thompson's one-out single to center.
Wyatt Potter then hit a groundball between short and third and 'Jackets shortstop Zach Evans threw the ball wide at second, allowing Nussman to come all the way around to score the tying run.
Anderson then called for a suicide squeeze and catcher Matt Moon delivered, putting his bunt down right in front of Barron and allowing Thompson to score what proved to be the game-winning run.
In the ninth, Keegan Woolford hit a two-out solo home run to right to give the Hornets an insurance run.
Closer Gerard DePhillips, who came on to start the eighth, didn't need that wiggle room as he was perfect in notching his ODAC- and SU-record 12th save.
In the ninth, he closed out the 'Jackets with a groundball to short, a line out to short and a strikeout looking.
Thompson finished his day 3-for-4 with three RBI – he had a two-run single in the first and an RBI double in the sixth.
Tristan Baker was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run scored to extend his hitting streak to 19 games.
Freshman Matt Barnes, who came for classmate Carson Kulina in the fourth, got the win with four innings of relief work. Barnes (4-1) gave up two hits and walked one.
Two of the six runs Kulina allowed were unearned.
Moon and Robert Marcelle both had two hits.