Baseball wins sixth WHAC Tournament championship with 12-10 win over Indiana Tech

Baseball

@MUCRUSADERSBSB OUT SLUGS WARRIORS FOR SIXTH WHAC TOURNAMENT TITLE, 12-10

PHOTOS | FORT WAYNE, Ind. -  The third-seeded Madonna University baseball team scored 12 runs on 15 hits to outlast top seed Indiana Tech to capture the programs sixth Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and the second in two years.

Both teams earned automatic bids to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round which begins on Monday, May 14. Opening Round qualifiers and brackets will be announced Thursday, May 10, at 4 p.m. EDT on the NAIA Facebook page. Fans are invited to watch the show with the team at Coach's Corner of Livonia.

HOW IT HAPPENED: MADONNA (36-16) 12, INDIANA TECH (42-19) 10

  • First Inning

    • Jimmy White (SR/Cincinnati, Ohio) didn't skip a beat, after he drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth in game one, he began game two with a two-run home run to right-center to score Jared Hagan(SR/Dearborn Heights, Mich.) who led off with a walk. Two more walks and a groundout set the table for Matt Deneau (SR/Amherstburg, Ontario) who singled down the third base line for the 3-0 lead.

  • Second Inning

    • Six hits and two errors led to a six-spot for the Blue and Gold to bust the game open. White crushed a ball off the top of the 20-foot, right-center field batter's eye for his third and fourth RBI of the game. Frankie Lucska(SO/Garden City, Mich.) followed with a run-scoring single and two batters later Cole Rize (JR/Dexter, Mich.) drove in a run with a double off the top of the left field fence. Jerad Dokey (SO/Howell, Mich.) added an RBI single up the middle and Noah Renaud (SO/River Canard, Ontario), who ran for Deneau, scored when the catcher air-mailed third base on a double steal for the 9-0 lead.

    • A double, a throwing error and a sacrifice fly got the Warriors their first run.

  • Third Inning

    • Back-to-back home runs ended the day for starter Taylor Turner (JR/Northville, Mich.), who gutted through injury for two innings, and cut the lead to six.

  • Fourth Inning

    • Two walks followed by three consecutive base hits brought in three runs for the home team and cut the lead to just three, 9-6.

  • Fifth Inning

    • Adrian Reed (SO/Westland, Mich.) and Jared Hagan followed a Nick Sykes (FR/Livonia, Mich.) one out base hit with back-to-back run scoring singles to push the lead back to five, 11-6.

  • Sixth Inning

    • Dokey got things going with a two-out base hit, stole second and scored on a Warriors error off the bat of Sykes to push the margin back to six.

  • Seventh Inning

    • A two-out, two-run home run to center made it a four-run contest, but Todd Jones (SR/Monroe, Mich.) induced a groundout to end the inning and keep MU on top.

  • Eighth Inning

    • Two walks and a groundout put runners at second and third and a soft ground ball up the middle scored a pair to make it a 12-10 ball game.

  • Ninth Inning

    • Cliff Landess (SR/Carleton, Mich. ) went back out for a six-out save and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the win.

INSIDE THE BOX

  • Turner started and allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits in 2.1 innings and Jones earned the win as he followed Marcus Doughten (SR/Taylor, Mich.)'s 0.2 innings with four strong as he allowed four runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts

  • Landess earned the save with two innings of one hit relief with two strikeouts

  • Seven Crusaders tallied two hits as Madonna pounded out 15

  • White finished 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored while Hagan and Sykes each scored twice

  • Six Crusaders recorded an RBI and five others scored a run

  • The Blue and Gold remain a perfect 11-0 when scoring 10-or-more runs, move to 18-3 when they score in the first inning and an impressive 31-0 when leading after six innings

  • It's also the first win for Madonna when giving up 10-or-more runs (1-5)

CRUSADER VISION (postgame highlights and interviews)

GRAPHICS GALORE (social media graphics - sponsored by Alliance Catholic Credit Union)

UP NEXT

  • The Crusaders await word of their placement in one of nine NAIA National Championship Opening Round Brackets which will be revealed on Thursday, May 10 at the NAIA Facebook Page at 4 p.m. EDT.

  • Be sure to follow @MUCrusaders and @MUCrusadersBSB for breaking news and schedule alerts

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