Early deficit too much to overcome in CCAC Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 11 | 12 | 0 |
Behind a five-run first, Olivet Nazarene built an 8-0 lead after three innings to ultimately defeat St. Ambrose 11-4 in an elimination game at the CCAC Tournament at Slammers Stadium in Joliet, Ill., Friday.
The first seven Tigers reached base in the bottom of that fateful first and five of them scored. ONU tacked on another run in the second and two more in the third.
St. Ambrose fought back and sliced its eight-run deficit in half in the fourth.
Jake Pauley started things by drawing a walk. With one out, Joey Fitzgerald Jr. singled. Brandon Matias followed with an RBI single to get the Bees on the board. After Filip Milatovic reached on a fielder's choice that erased Matias, Brandon Roth drove in Fitzgerald with a single. The rally continued as Quinn Flanagan walked to load the bases. Pinch hitter Caden Thode dropped in a single to center that scored both Milatovic and Roth to bring the score to 8-4.
But SAU would get just three more hits the rest of the way. Flanagan singled with one out in the sixth, Matias singled to lead off the eighth and Daniel Laughery singled with two outs in the ninth.
Olivet Nazarene padded its lead with a three-run eighth inning to end the scoring.
Jacob Bosse was charged with the loss. Hayden Kingsbury, Justin Lane, Nathaniel Johnson and Parker Ruth all pitched in relief.
ONU will play Judson in another elimination game Friday night. That winner will face Saint Xavier for the CCAC Tournament title Saturday. The Bees end the year with a 26-25 record.