MAGNOLIA -- Redshirt sophomore Zach Muldoon and coach Justin Pettigrew, both of Lake Hamilton, and Southern Arkansas lost a winner-take-all final game Monday, 6-3, against Augustana in the Magnolia Region to come within one game of qualifying for the NCAA Division II College World Series.
Augustana (48-9) won its first three games of the regional to earn a day off on Sunday. Southern Arkansas (41-19) attempted a repeat of its performance earlier this month in Great American Conference Baseball Championships tournament in Enid, Okla.
The Muleriders lost, 8-6, in their first game on Thursday to eighth seed Emporia State (34-24) before winning five games in four days, including a 5-3 victory over Augustana earlier on Monday, to set up the final game. Southern Arkansas also lost, 9-3, to Arkansas Tech (29-23) on the first day of the GAC tournament before winning four games in three days to win the conference tournament.
Southern Arkansas (57-9) already clinched a place at the 2018 NCAA Division II Softball Championship finals with a 12-3 run-rule victory over Minnesota Duluth (44-16) on Friday to claim the Central Region championship for the second time in three years. The Muleriders are matched up with Saint Anselm College (41-10-1) in in Salem, Va., at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
The Southern Arkansas lineup was stifled in the second game Monday. The Muleriders had nine hits in the 5-3 victory, but were held to six hits in the regional decider.
The host team had its ace on the mound Monday afternoon. GAC Pitcher of the Year, Southern Arkansas senior Hunter Vasquez () struggled from the beginning. He began the game with a 2.91 ERA, 108 strikeouts and 34 RBIs.
Augustana sophomore center fielder, junior left fielder Michael Svozil and sophomore shortstop Sam Baier opened the game with consecutive hits to score the opening run. A grounder to the pitcher would have potentially loaded the bases with no outs, but Southern Arkansas caught Svozil in a rundown between third base and home plate.
Muldoon caught Svozil off third base and tagged him for the first out of the game. Vasquez retired the next two batters to keep the score at 1-0.
Sophomore second baseman Austin Baker led off for Southern Arkansas with a single into right field and moved to second base on a ground ball by senior right fielder Sam Mrstik, who scored two batters later on a single to right field by senior first baseman Cortland McPherson. The score remained 1-1 after McPherson was caught attempting to steal second base.
The Vikings answered with four runs in the second base to chase Vasquez. It was the senior's shortest outing of the season and only his second time to allow more than four earned runs. Both instances occurred on his last two starts.
The lead remained 5-1 until the Vikings added a sixth in the seventh inning. The Muleriders pulled one run back with a two-out solo home run by senior third baseman Jacob Richardson to make the score 6-2.
Freshman Hunter Brantley allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts and three walks in 7 1/3 innings of relief. Junior Eric White entered in the ninth inning to record the final two outs.
Junior center fielder Dakota Wright scored in the ninth inning on an infield fielder's choice by junior catcher Kane Koenigseder, who pinch hit for Muldoon. The redshirt sophomore was 8-for-20, .400, in the Muleriders' first five games of the tournament, but he was 0-for-7 against Augustana on Monday. Freshman shortstop Riley Orr flied out to right field in the next at-bat to end the game.
The win qualified Augustana for the 2018 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship next week in North Carolina.
The Muleriders staged a dramatic comeback in the late innings in the first game to force the final game. Mrstik gave them their only run for the first six innings with a solo home run in the fourth inning to left field.
Southern Arkansas starter Jacob Stroder mostly kept the Vikings at bay for the first five innings. He left the game after allowing a one-out double to freshman right fielder Ryan Nickel. Junior right-hander Nick Starr (2-2) struck out seniors Lucas Barry and Ryan Menssen to strand Nickel on third base and keep the score 3-1.
The Muleriders added a second run in the seventh inning. Wright legged out an infield single to third base and moved to second base on a short fly ball single to right field.
Muldoon moved Wright to third base with a deep fly ball to right field for the second out. Wright scored on a single by Orr to right field to cut the deficit to one run at 3-2.
Augustana starter Tyler Mitzel left the game to give way for senior reliever Zach Reeg (4-1), who had a 0.00 ERA through 25 previous innings across 19 appearances. Reeg entered the game with four saves, 28 strikeouts and 13 walks. He forced Baker to ground out and end the inning.
The Vikings threatened in the bottom half of the inning on a walk to Johnson. Muldoon caught Johnson attempting to steal second to end the inning.
Reeg started the eighth inning with a walk to Mrstik. Richardson immediately punished Augustana with a near home run off of the wall in deep left-center field. Mrstik scored on the play to make the score 3-3 and Richardson reached second base.
McPherson turned on the very next pitch and sent it over the scoreboard in right field. The senior knew it off the bat and watched it sail over the wall to give Southern Arkansas its first lead of the game at 5-3.
Reeg retired the next three batters in order, but the damage was done. Starr shut the door on the Vikings in the eighth and ninth innings to give the hosts the victory.
Starr allowed just one hit, struck out seven batters and walked two in 3 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Reeg struck out three and walked one in 2 1/3 innings, allowing his first three runs of the season.
Sports on 05/22/2018