Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Campbellsville University's Senior Day began Wednesday with the Tigers picking up their first three-game losing streak in more than two years, but ended with players racing to home plate in celebration, as CU salvaged a sweep over Indiana University Southeast at Tiger Field.
The Tigers dropped the first game of the day, 7-4, but bounced back to win the night cap, 4-3, with an eighth-inning, walk-off, extra-base hit to deep right field by
Logan Smith. Smith's turned on a 1-0 pitch and nearly took it over the fence as he drove in pinch runner
Zac Townsend for the winning run.
CU trailed, 3-2, for the latter half of the game until Alex Ponich laced a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh to score Chance Harker and tie the game, 3-3. Relief pitcher Spencer Frantz shut down IUS in the eighth to pick up his first win of his senior campaign. He finished the game with four innings of work, no runs, one hit, one walk and one strike out.
Campbellsville pushed a run across in the second and third innings off RBIs from Jameel Ziadeh and Michael Caleb, as CU carried a 2-0 lead into the fourth inning. IUS tied it in the fourth with a two-run single by Mills and captured the lead with a leadoff home run by Pass in the fifth.
IUS starting pitcher Kris Eschman looked to be on track for his first win of the season as the game neared the end. After giving up the tying run in the seventh, he remained in the game, but was pulled after Brian Chase's leadoff single in the eighth. Eschman (0-1) faced 30 of CU's 31 batters, allowing four earned runs off nine hits and a walk. He struck out one.
In game one, Campbellsville lost its third straight game for the first time since being swept by the University of the Cumberlands in a three-game series April 6-7, 2008.
IUS jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Tigers got on the board in the third inning. Ponich, who was 2-for-4 in the game, hit a one-out double to right to set up CU's first run on a sac fly by Chase.
The Tigers tacked on another run in the fourth when Craig Edwards hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Luke Gadow. CU pulled within a run in the fifth with an RBI groundout by Caleb and RBI double by Smith.
However, the Grenadiers weren't done.
IUS scored two insurance runs in the top of the sixth.
Caleb (3-3) recorded the loss after allowing seven earned runs off 11 hits through five innings of work and 28 batters faced. He struck out three. Adam Lipke (7-2) collected the complete-game win for IUS. He had five strikeouts.
Campbellsville (32-17, 19-4 MSC) travels to Georgetown College this weekend for a four-game Mid-South Conference series. CU can claim the regular season MSC title by winning the series. Games begin with a doubleheader Friday, April 23 at 4 p.m. and another Saturday at noon.
Game Notes:
Between games, Campbellsville honored its 12 seniors: Nick Bertolucci, Colin Bryan, Brian Chase, Spencer Frantz, Chance Harker, Eric Mattos, Curtis Payne, Ian Pick, Alex Ponich, Logan Smith, Eric Staples and Zac Townsend.
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