MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Tigers headed to McKenzie, Tennessee, for their first conference series to play the Bethel Wildcats. The Tigers split the day against the Wildcats, winning game one 11-8 and dropping game two 15-13 in a 12-inning outing.
Game One: Campbellsville 11, Bethel 8
Looking to open up conference play with a bang, Trent Buchanan quickly got the offense rolling with a one-out single in the first inning. Zane Skansi reached on an error, which set Antony Gilbert up for a single that scored Buchanan. Bret Bowers brought Bower-Power to conference play with a monster three-run homerun to center field to cap off the four-spot.
Garrett Maloney got the nod for the Tigers, making his sixth start of the season. Needing to hang a scoreless inning to build the momentum, Maloney retired the side in order.
The Tigers' offense went quietly in the second inning, allowing the Wildcats to get hot. A leadoff single paired with an errant pickoff attempt gave Maloney a runner on second with no outs. The Wildcats capitalized with an RBI single, then worked a couple of walks to load the bases with two outs. Another single scored two more runs before Maloney was able to work out of the inning.
Needing to extend the lead, Skansi found his way on with a one-out single to start the third inning. Gilbert added another base runner with a walk, and a passed ball allowed Skansi to reach third. With two outs, Tanner Park helped the Tigers add to their lead with an RBI single. James Teets kept the line moving with a hit-by-pitch, but the Tigers left the bases loaded.
As Maloney continued on the mound in the third inning, the Wildcats responded with back-to-back homeruns to start the frame. Maloney walked the next batter, but a flyout and double play ball helped the Tigers maintain the lead.
With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Buchanan and Skansi both tallied singles. Gilbert gave the Tigers a shot, loading the bases with a hit-by-pitch and bringing Bowers to the plate. Bowers left no doubt and unloaded on a grand slam for his second homer of the game and fifth of the season.
Maloney needed to hang a big zero, leading 9-5 going into the bottom of the fourth inning. After the leadoff man reached safely on an error, another big double play and a strikeout from Maloney eliminated the threat.
Teets kicked off the fifth inning with a walk and was pinch-run by Trey Proctor, who was thrown out trying to swipe second base. Jaxson Grubbs, Henry Wright, and Yosuke Fujie loaded the bases with three straight walks to follow. Buchanan added an insurance run for the Tigers with the fourth walk in a row, though the offense left the bases loaded again.
Taking over for Maloney in the bottom of the fifth inning was PJ Ledesma, making his eighth appearance of the season. Ledesma came in hot, striking out the first two batters he faced. Though the Wildcats' offense struck back with a single, the lefty was able to work out of the inning with no damage.
The Tigers' offense couldn't get anything going in the sixth inning, which brought Ledesma back to the bump to continue working. After a leadoff walk, the Wildcats cut into the lead with back-to-back homeruns for the second time. Another walk followed, though Ledesma was able to retire the next two hitters while adding a strikeout. Ledesma's third walk forced the Tigers to dig deeper into their bullpen, bringing Logan MacNiel to the mound. Making his seventh appearance of the season, MacNiel stopped the bleeding with an emphatic strikeout.
With the lead cut to two runs, the Tigers looked to add another insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Jaxson Grubbs gave the Tigers a baserunner with a leadoff walk and was pinch-run for by Proctor. A passed ball moved Proctor to second, and a sac-bunt from Wright moved him to third. The bunt proved to be crucial, as Proctor wound up scoring on a wild pitch.
MacNiel continued on the mound to close the game for the Tigers and quickly retired the leadoff hitter. The Wildcats still had some fight left in them and worked a baserunner with a single. The next batter replaced the runner at first with a fielder's choice, and MacNiel secured the victory with another emphatic strikeout.
The Tigers won game one with 11 runs on eight hits and three errors, and the Wildcats lost with eight runs on ten hits and one error.
Game Two: Campbellsville 13, Bethel 15
Aiming to continue the offensive production in game two, Fujie and Buchanan worked their way on with a pair of walks. Skansi followed up with an RBI single that scored Fujie, and Gilbert tallied a single to load the bases. Bowers held his ground and was plunked to bring home Buchanan, and Park drove in two more with another single. After the Wildcats were able to record the first out of the game, Shoki Fukui brought Bowers home with an RBI single. Five wound up being the magic number in the first inning, though all three outs were well hit.
With another substantial first inning from the offense, Tristin Crusenberry took the mound for the Tigers for his sixth start of the season. After walking the leadoff hitter, Crusenberry found his groove and retired the next three while adding a strikeout.
Looking to add on in the second inning, Skansi brought the boom with a one-out solo homerun off the building in left field, his sixth of the year. Gilbert and Bowers followed up with back-to-back singles, and Lorenzo Gonzalez clutched up with a two-out single that plated Gilbert.
Crusenberry recorded a clean second inning on the mound thanks to a stellar 6-4-3 double play and a hefty strikeout. Unfortunately, the Tigers' offense was retired in order in the top of the third, which brought Crusenberry back out for the bottom of the inning. A leadoff double woke the Wildcats' offense up and was followed by a walk. A deep flyout allowed both runners to advance, and a groundout scored the runner from third. A passed ball advanced the other runner from second to third, and the Wildcats capitalized with an RBI single. Back-to-back singles brought another run home for the Wildcats before Crusenberry could stop the bleeding with a groundout.
With the shortened lead, the Tigers tried to respond in the top of the fourth inning. Skansi led off with a single, but a double play gave the Wildcats' pitcher a clean slate. Bowers kept the offensive threat alive with his fifth double of the season, though he was left stranded.
Crusenberry continued on the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the leadoff man reached for the fourth time with a single. Gonzalez came up big time and hosed the runner, trying to steal second. A walk to the next batter ended Crusenberry's outing early and brought Chase Tucker to the mound to take over, making his eighth appearance of the year. The first batter Tucker faced reached on catcher's interference, but the righty responded with a strikeout. The Wildcats drove another run in with a single, but Tucker was able to minimize the damage out of the bullpen.
Leading 7-4 in the fifth inning, the Tigers' offense needed to find a way to add to their lead. Gonzalez stepped up for the Tigers, leading off with a double and being pinch-run by Proctor. A single from Wright looked like it would score Proctor, but the speedster was thrown out at home. Wright reached second base on the throw home, and then a passed ball moved him to third. A hard-hit ball by Fujie was too hot for the shortstop to handle, and Wright was able to score on the error.
Tucker was back to work on the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the Wildcats started their offense with a leadoff single. Tucker punched out the next hitter, and then the following hitter reached on a fielder's choice. After a flyout to third for the second out, a three-run homer to right field shortened the Tigers' lead to one run.
The Tigers' offense was retired in order in the top of the sixth inning, bringing Tucker back out for the bottom half. Tucker retired the first two in order, but a walk to the next batter caused the Tigers to call Ian Roemer to the mound for his eighth appearance of the season. Roemer was able to retire his first hitter and get the offense back up.
Needing to gain some insurance runs, Gonzalez was the right man for the job in the top of the seventh inning. Gonzalez connected with a solo homerun to left field, but that was all the Tigers would manage in the inning.
With the insurance run accomplished, Roemer returned to pitch the bottom of the seventh. The righty struck out the first batter of the inning, but the next hitter wound up on second base after a wild throw to first on a ground ball. The Wildcats were able to capitalize on the mistake with a single that scored the runner from second. A two-run homerun gave the Wildcats the lead, and then a double and an RBI single forced the Tigers to go deeper into their bullpen. Joe McBride took over for Roemer, making his seventh appearance of the season. Though McBride surrendered a single and hit-by-pitch to load the bases, he was able to escape the two-out jam with a fly ball to shortstop.
The Tigers' offense couldn't get anything going in the top of the eighth inning, bringing McBride back out for the bottom of the frame. McBride retired the side in order while picking up a strikeout, bringing the Tigers' offense back up for their last stand.
Bowers found his way on base to start the ninth inning after he was plunked. Two quick outs followed, bringing the Tigers down to their final out. Coming up huge for the Tigers, Brock Brubaker demolished a line-drive home run over the left-center field wall to tie the game.
McBride continued on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, needing to send the game into extra innings. The righty recorded a quick first out, but the Wildcats put the winning run on base with a single. McBride responded with a strikeout, and the Wildcats threatened again with another single. The threat was taken care of with a ground ball to shortstop, and the game was sent into extra innings.
Buchanan got the Tigers' offense up and moving in the top of the tenth inning after he reached on an error by the shortstop. Pinch-running for Buchanan was River Terry, who advanced to second on a passed ball. Skansi stepped up with a hot bat and destroyed a no-doubter to left-center field for his second homer of the game.
Looking to secure the victory, the Tigers called for Tate Wischnack to take the mound in the bottom of the tenth inning, making his fourth appearance of the season. Wischnack struggled to find his groove and walked the first two batters he faced. The Tigers called Brody Forno to take over for Wischnack and stop the bleeding, making his seventh appearance of the season. Forno quickly recorded the first out with a groundout that moved both runners up, but a passed ball advanced the runners again, making it a one-run ball game. The Wildcats tied the game with another RBI single and threatened to walk it off after a pair of walks. Unphased by the jam, Forno bared down and struck out the next two batters.
The Tigers' offense couldn't find a way to add on in the top of the eleventh inning, bringing Forno back out for the bottom of the frame. Forno found his groove and sent the game into the twelfth inning while tacking on two more punchouts.
Fujie led off the top of the twelfth inning with a walk, and Terry moved him into scoring position with a perfectly executed sac-bunt. Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to bring Fujie home.
Forno continued on the mound in the bottom of the twelfth, retiring his first two hitters while adding another strikeout. The Wildcats put the winning run on base with a two-out single, and a full-count walk-off homerun won the game.
The Tigers lost game two with 13 runs on 15 hits while making three errors, and the Wildcats won with 15 runs on 19 hits with two errors.
The Tigers were set to finish the three-game series tomorrow, but a bad weather forecast will send them home with a split. With the weekend off, the Tigers will return home for a mid-week game against the Union Bulldogs on Tuesday, March 18th. The game is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
- The Tigers were 5-12 against the Wildcats going into the day, and their last matchup resulted in a loss at the 2024 conference tournament.
- After two homeruns, Skansi is now tied with Fugie in the homerun category. Skansi and Fugie each have seven homers on the season. Skansi also leads the Tigers in hits with 35, and Fugie isn't too far behind with 31.
