CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – An uphill climb for the Campbellsville University baseball team was almost accomplished but just came up short as CU earned a 7-4 win followed by a Thomas More 6-5 win in their Mid-South Conference Opening Round series games two and three respectively.
 
GAME 1 SUMMARY
 
An early home run from TMU catcher Jacob Caruso gave Thomas More an early edge but the Tigers scored the next five runs in the bottom of the second and third combined allowed CU to go ahead 5-1 behind Zack Bromstead.
 
It was five errors by the Saints in the game that led to six unearned runs scored by the Tigers off of Thomas More pitchers Mitchell Morris and Zach Dugan. In the second, two throwing errors by Saints third baseman Casey Nowak eventually led to all three runs in the inning as Lane Kashiwamura and Colton Titus singled home a pair.
 
In the third inning, a passed ball allowed Noah Amenta to score on a Dutton Elske walk before a dropped throw by Bailey Martin on a potential double play ball made it bases loaded and one out for CU as Kashiwamura drove in a run with a groundout to Martin a batter later.
 
Kashiwamura got the spot start in right field due to Tyler Cox suffering an injury in Friday's game as he had one of the best games of his career in game two, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
 
The two teams traded one run innings in the fourth before Thomas More cut it to a three-run lead again in the fifth eventually ending Bromstead's day as he was able to get through five innings for the win allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
 
Trestyn DuMilieu came on in relief and was able to get all but the final out of the game as the junior went 3.2 innings with four strikeouts while allowing an earned run on one hit with two walks. Logan Davis closed out the final out of the game, only needing to face one batter with runners on second and third to earn his first save of the season.
 
GAME 2 SUMMARY
 
Facing each other for the sixth-straight game now combined with the end of the regular season and the opening round series, these teams faced off in a heated series finale that went back and forth all the way until the final batter.
 
By the time the final out was made, the game had three ties and one lead change with the Saints pulling out the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth after CU tied the game in the eighth.
 
A little bit of small ball got the Tigers the lead early in the third inning after a leadoff walk to Bryan Javier, Titus bunted him to second where he would eventually get to third for a sacrifice fly by Amenta to make it 1-0 CU.
 
In game three, however, it seemed like any time Campbellsville got on the board, the Saints had an answer as they scored a run of their own in the fourth inning to tie it at 1-1 after back-to-back hits with one out was capped by a Tyler Flick RBI double.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, this time it was the Tigers with consecutive hits as Elske, Grant McQueary, and Matt Lawson smacked three-straight singles as Lawson's two-strike single to center plated Dawson Cole running for Elske to allow CU to go back on top 2-1.
 
But here came Thomas More once again as they not only tied the game back up in the fifth but took a 3-2 lead with two in the inning off of starter Aaron Hutchinson, knocking him out of the game after two-out RBIs from Derek Atwood and Brady Reynolds.
 
The sixth inning was seemingly a turning point in the game as Gage Smart looked to be potentially working out of a two runners on, no outs jam as he worked it to two outs without giving up a run. But Brady Baldock walked after falling behind 0-2 in the count leading to a Bailey Martin two-run single to extend the lead to 5-2.
 
Campbellsville did what they could to try and answer in the bottom of the sixth as McQueary launched his first career home run out to right to leadoff the inning before the Tigers would load the bases with no outs.
 
The play of the game to this point came with Amenta at the plate with the bases still loaded and one out now after the Tigers scored a run to make it 5-4. Amenta worked the count to full and blasted a ball to third base but right at Nowak who snagged the liner and was able to double Javier off of third base as he was leaning toward the plate on contact.
 
With some of the air taken out of the Tigers and their supporters, the game remained at a 5-4 TMU advantage until the bottom of the eighth where a leadoff double from Lawson followed by a sacrifice bunt from Kashiwamura allowed it to be first and third with one out for Titus.
 
Campbellsville got aggressive with the small ball as Titus and Lawson were able to pull off the suicide squeeze to tie the game at 5-5 heading into the ninth inning.
 
A leadoff walk spelled doom though for Korren Thompson, making his second appearance in the series after starting game one. Thompson walked Martin on a 3-2 pitch before Atwood doubled to set up a bases loaded and no outs situation following an intentional walk.
 
Caruso flew a ball deep enough to right field for a sacrifice fly as the Saints regained their lead at 6-5 heading to the bottom of the ninth.
 
That bottom of the ninth could have started any better as Amenta doubled to right center, putting the tying run in scoring position. But the further Cole could make it as the pinch runner was third as the next three batters of Tommy Sepulveda, Elske, and McQueary all attacked hittable first pitches that led to fly outs as the Saints closed it out.
 
Thomas More will now head to Bowling Green, Ky. to participate in the six-team double elimination tournament at the final site of Bowling Green Ball Park for a chance to earn the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship.
 
The loss ends the 2021 season for the Tigers at 17-19 after finishing in sixth place in the Mid-South Conference regular season.