Baseball Preview 5-4-19

Baseball CU Athletics

Remember that feeling: Take a stroll down memory lane as Tiger baseball is set to play in MSC finals

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The weekend of the Kentucky Derby has culminated into the same weekend of the Mid-South Conference Baseball Championship the last several years and like the legendary race horses, the Campbellsville Tigers know a thing or two or NINE about bringing home the title. 
 
The Tigers are scheduled to play in the Mid-South Conference Tournament championship game on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. No. 3-seeded Campbellsville could face the likes of four-seeded Cumberland University Phoenix or the regular season champions and No. 1-seeded University of the Cumberlands Patriots. 

The Patriots and Phoenix face off at 2 p.m. ET in an elimination game at Bowling Green Ball Park – home of the Hot Rods. 

Lets take a stroll down memory lane through the eyes of Jordan Alves, sports information director and former Tiger ('13):
 
Campbellsville has won nine MSC tournament crowns – which is the most in the conference. The next closes would be Cumberland University with six. So, to say the Tigers know a thing or two about hoisting the trophy at the end of the day would be an understatement. 

But… for head coach Beauford Sanders and long-time assistant Randy LeBleu, the MSC Tournament was Campbellsville's year-in and year-out 10 years ago. The Tigers claimed their second championship in 2003 then starting in 2005, CU won five-straight – which ended in 2009 with the program's first World Series berth. 

From 2010 to 2015, CU hit a little bit of a slump and that's where my time at CU begins. The 2010 title was swiped right out of the grasps of our hands after CU saw a 5-3 lead headed into the ninth inning disappear as the MSC Player of the Year, Tyler Schunk, delivered a walk off grand slam for the University of Rio Grande – which also came on the Tigers' home turf, HIG Field. 

In 2011, it was a 9-3 loss to St. Catharine College in the second round and CU had to claw back from the loser's bracket. The Tigers did claw their way back and setup a title game with first-year MSC program Shawnee State – also at HIG Field. The MSC Pitcher of the Year, Michael McBride, allowed six earned runs and the Tigers were shutout, 8-0. 

In 2012, it was Georgetown College winning its first tournament title and let me tell ya, it stung to see your biggest rival dog pile on your home field. It was a cool site to see their head coach have a Lou Pinniela-ish tantrum on the field in the semifinal round and started throwing buckets of balls on the field. 

In 2013, the Tigers were back in the championship game, but Lindsey Wilson went from worst to first in the conference and won the title on its home field, 10-7. That also ended the streak of consecutive NAIA Regional and Opening Round appearances at eight. 

The 2014 year was the first year the Tigers had lost in the opening game, 3-2, to Shawnee State. CU was ousted with a 1-2 record and their season ending with a 27-21 record. It happened again in 2015 but for the first time in the Beauford Sander's era, CU was upset after claiming the No. 1-seed in the tournament and winning the regular season crown.

After the six-year stretch of heart breaks and rebuilding seasons, the Tigers are back in the finals for the fourth-straight season. 

The 2016 tournament ended with a 10-2 route over Lindsey Wilson for the eighth championship in history. The 2017 year was a bone crusher after CU's pitching staff fell victim to 14 walks in the finals to Cumberlands. 
 
The most recent came in 2018 and most know what happened last season – the Tigers beat top-seeded University of the Cumberlands in the semifinal round, 13-9, and this time it was the Patriots on the outside looking in. 

After UC beat Georgetown in the loser's bracket final, 11-1, it setup another title game featuring Campbellsville and Cumberlands. A first-inning lead off round tripper by Matthew Valdez started the scoring and then the Tigers took advantage of errors, wild pitches, and passed balls, and Austin Peterson came up clutch in the sixth and seventh innings. 

He put CU back ahead, 3-2, with a one-out two-run single up the middle in the sixth to score David Montoya and Jalen Horton – who had a sweet head first slide around the tag at home plate. Another error by UC's defense put the Tigers up 4-2. 

Peterson put the icing on the cake in the seventh, though. He drove in two more with another single to right field. Then it was one of the best closers in CU history, DJ Wilson, recording three-straight 1-2-3 innings to seal a 7-2 Tiger win. 

The postgame excitement:
 
I was fortunate to broadcast each of the last three tournament championships for the Tigers. In 2016, that was my first tournament title since I came to CU in the fall of 2009 and became the SID in 2015. The 2017 loss was a heartbreaker because the Tigers were by far the best team on the field. A week before the tournament, I saw them go to Cumberlands to finish the regular season needing a sweep to claim the MSC regular season title – they won all three in style.

But it was 2018 that did it for me. The lead off round tripper by Valdez set the tone and I may have got a little excited in the booth… Then it was the Jalen Horton slide around the tag at home plate in the sixth inning on the first Peterson single that brought excitement and momentum back to the Tiger dugout. 

The final out was one I'll remember as well. Marco Murillo, who has been the ultimate utility player for CU this year, ended the tournament with a nice play moving to his left at third base. I'm sure many of the Tiger fans and parents have heard those calls from last season because we added them to the broadcast open on the CU Sports Network to begin each game.

The icing on the cake was head coach Beauford Sanders. After the Tigers won, he ripped off the CU baseball pullover to show the "Dilly Dily" shirt he had been saving. Then it was the postgame interview on the CU Sports Network when the 65-year-old 35-year coaching veteran got emotional talking about the ninth title in program history. 

Lets be honest, it wouldn't be a Beauford Sanders moment without a little life-teaching and tears from the country boy that grew up in the sticks of South Carolina. 

Today marks the first time I won't be on the call in the title game since I began as SID in May 2015. Brett Tudela, assistant SID and the baseball contact all season, will have the broadcast and he's seeking his first championship call in the booth. 

Don't you worry, I will either be sitting close by in the booth with him or tuning in from the conference softball tournament that the Campbellsville Sports Information Department has been tabbed to host here in Bowling Green. But I can promise you one thing, you'll be in good hands with Brett and the rest of the crew that will be covering what could be the 10thMSC Tournament Championship for the Tigers.

#WeAreCU 





 
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Players Mentioned

David Montoya

#8 David Montoya

2B
5' 9"
Senior
Las Cruces, N.M.
Matthew Valdez

#5 Matthew Valdez

SS
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Yuma, Ariz.
DJ Wilson

#22 DJ Wilson

RHP
6' 2"
Senior
Bend, Ore.
Jalen Horton

#3 Jalen Horton

OF
5' 5"
Senior
Des Moines, Iowa
Marco Murillo

#19 Marco Murillo

UTIL.
6' 2"
Senior
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Austin Peterson

#18 Austin Peterson

C
5' 8"
Senior
Miami, Fla.

Players Mentioned

David Montoya

#8 David Montoya

5' 9"
Senior
Las Cruces, N.M.
2B
Matthew Valdez

#5 Matthew Valdez

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Yuma, Ariz.
SS
DJ Wilson

#22 DJ Wilson

6' 2"
Senior
Bend, Ore.
RHP
Jalen Horton

#3 Jalen Horton

5' 5"
Senior
Des Moines, Iowa
OF
Marco Murillo

#19 Marco Murillo

6' 2"
Senior
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
UTIL.
Austin Peterson

#18 Austin Peterson

5' 8"
Senior
Miami, Fla.
C