LIVONIA, Mich. - - In a game that took seven hours and 17 minutes to play and saw three different rain delays, the Madonna University baseball team completed the WHAC Title sweep, downing Indiana Tech 11-10, in walk-off fashion after 11 innings at Ilitch Ballpark on Friday. With the win, MU is now the number one seed out of the WHAC in the NAIA Region VIII tournament next week at Huntington University in Indiana.
Madonna took the early lead in the contest, plating three runs in the bottom of the first. Ryan Morrow (Taylor, Mich.) led the game off with a single and then moved up on a passed ball. Two outs later Morrow came home on a Kevin Zerbo (Farmington, Mich.) double to left to make it 1-0. Pat Kenny (Utica, Mich.) then made it 3-0 hitting his eighth homer of the season over the wall in left center to stake the Crusaders to a three run cushion after one inning.
Tech got one run back in the second, using a Steve Weigle homer to right center off of starter Richard Lindquist (Tecumseh, Ont.) to make it 3-1. Tech then took the lead in the third, using two homers off of Lindquist to make it 4-3 Warriors.
The Warriors took a four run lead in the top of the fifth, scoring three times and taking advantage of a Crusader miscue to hold a 7-3 lead. It became 10-3 in the top of the seventh as Tech plated three more to take a commanding lead.
The Crusaders got three runs back in the bottom of the seventh using a Dave Herrick (Westland, Mich.) walk and a fielder's choice by Kenny that cut Zerbo - who had been hit by a pitch earlier in the inning - down at third. Scott Boyer (Flat Rock, Mich.) singled in Herrick to make it 10-4. Shawn Little (Canton, Mich.) then reached on an error that loaded the bases for Zack McMillin (Grand Ledge, Mich.) who singled in Kenny and Boyer to make it 10-6.
MU made it a one run game in the eighth, scoring three more times. Levi Cheshire (Troy, Mich.) led off with a walk and moved to third on Kenny's two-out single. Boyer singled in Cheshire and Mike Cauzillo (West Bloomfield, Mich.) then drew a walk to load the bases. McMillin then singled again, driving in two more runs to make it 10-9 heading into the ninth.
Carl McDevitt (Canton, Mich.) came in and got two outs before the rains came for a second time and forced another 1:45 rain delay. After the delay, McDevitt got Jason Ferens out to end the inning and set up a dramatic bottom of the ninth.
Tech brought in sidearm reliever JP Akers who gave up a one-out double to Cheshire. After getting Herrick to foul out, Akers gave up a single to Zerbo that scored Cheshire to make it a 10-10 affair.
After neither side could score in the 10th and Tech went quietly in the top of the 11th, MU ended the game with a run in the bottom of the 11th. Crusader catcher Tarik Khasawneh (Canton, Mich.) was hit by a pitch to open the inning and run for by Drew Adamiec (Walled Lake, Mich.). Morrow reached on a bunt single but was erased by a double play off the bat of Cheshire that moved Adamiec to third. Herrick then came to the plate and the fifth-year senior hit a single into short left that scored Adamiec from third for the game winning run and a Crusader championship.
McDevitt picked up the win - his fifth of the season - throwing two innings of relief, giving up one hit and striking out four. McMillin had the hot bat for MU, going 3-for-6 with four RBIs, leading a group of seven Crusaders who had multi-hit days. John Toschlog took the loss for Tech while Will Richards, RJ Meeks and Wiegle each had homers in the loss.
The Crusaders advance as the top-seeded WHAC team and will square off with 2007 NAIA national runner-up Spring Arbor University in the first round of the NAIA Region VIII Tournament Wednesday (May 7) at 4:00 pm at Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana.
The Crusaders and Cougars are no strangers to regional play, having gone toe-to-toe last season, with SAU eventually prevailing in the title game, 6-4 after handing the Cougars just their fourth loss of last season in the semi-finals 7-6.
