NASHVILLE - Coming into the day, Trevecca Nazarene knew it would need three-straight wins to capture the inaugural Baseball Championship. After a win in game one, eliminating Urbana, TNU lives to play another day in the G-MAC Baseball Tournament. The Trojans topped Cedarville, 12-6, forcing one final contest to decide the Championship on Wednesday.
Trevecca took an early lead with two runs in the top of the first as Mark Rayburn started it off with a walk. Jordan Foreman followed with a double bringing home Rayburn from first. Freshman of the Year, Hunter Newman, added an RBI with a double down the right field line.
Cedarville was able to cut into the lead with one in the bottom of the third, as Logan Kasabian doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice and defensive error. In the bottom of the fourth, Cedarville took the lead as Chris Ward smashed an RBI single to score Steve Cardwell and tie the game up. David Lenhardt followed with an RBI double to left center field that scored Cam McWilliams.
Trevecca evened things up in the top of the fifth with an infield single off the bat of Blake Rogers. However, Trevecca open the game up in the sixth. Trey Weiss walked and three singles from Nick Howell, Mark Rayburn, and Jordan Foreman plated three runs for the Trojans in the frame.
Cedarville scored once in the seventh and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth as TNU pitching walked five hitters, scoring two without a hit in the inning. The Trojans responded and pulled away with two runs in the top of the eighth and three more in the ninth to lead 12-6.
TNU was able to work through the bottom of the ninth and secure the win 12-7. With the victory, the G-MAC Baseball Championship will now come down to one final game between TNU and Cedarville. The two teams will battle tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. (central time) at Jackson Field on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene.
The winner of the game will not only win the inaugural Baseball Championship, but will also secure the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Presidents’ Cup for their institution.
Follow all the Tournament action - including live audio, video, and stats provided by TNU Athletics - at G-MACsports.com or TNUTrojans.com.
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DAY TWO - GAME ONE:
TREVECCA 6
URBANA 5
After losing yesterday in the second game of the G-MAC tournament the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans will advance to play Cedarville University in the G-MAC Championship after a dramatic 6-5 win over Urbana.
In the second inning, a Jordan Pergrem single put the first run on the board for Urbana as Colt Turley came into score. Urbana continued to play small ball in the bottom of the third, adding two more runs to extend their lead to 3-0. Drew Ryan set the stage by getting hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by G-MAC player of the year Robert Tavone Jr. then moved Vargas into scoring position and Ryan to third with only one out. Then Greg Liming sent a sacrifice fly to right field to score Ryan. The Blue Knights weren’t done as Colt Turley sent a single through the right side to score Ryan Vargas.
Trevecca began its comeback, scoring a pair in the top of fourth inning. In the inning, Hunter Newman led off with a single, followed by a Blake Rogers walk to put two on with no one out. A fielding error for Urbana loaded the bases. The Trojans flipped the script on Urbana, with a little small ball of their own. Outfielder Tyler Tichenor singled to the shortstop to get the first run on the board for Trevecca followed by a Cameron Boyett ground out, which plated another run.
TNU posted single runs in the next four-straight innings to grab a slim one-run lead. The scoring streak was highlighted by Rogers solo home run to left, giving Trevecca the lead for the first time.
Trevecca added insurance runs to take a 6-4 lead. Michael Donaldson, who finished the game with his first win of the season, came in relief and struck out four in three and a third innings.
Urbana posted single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to set the stage for an interesting ninth inning finish. To start the ninth, Greg Liming sent a rocket back to the pitcher, which he beat out for an infield single. Matthew Watson pinch ran for Liming and advanced to second on a ground out by Colt Turley. A walk issued to Aaron Bingham, was followed by a single from Cody Ridinger to load the bases with only one away. Pitcher Josh Weber then shut the door to close out a Trevecca Nazarene victory with strikeout and a groundout.
Trevecca Nazarene will have to beat Cedarville twice in order to become the conference tournament champion and secure the G-MAC Presidents’ Cup for TNU. With a single victory Cedarville will be crowned the champion. TNU concluded the regular-season against Cedarville with a double-header sweep, needing the two victories to secure home field advantage in this G-MAC Baseball Championship.