Sophomore outfielder
Seth Schroeder smashed a two-run double in the top of the 12
th and the Ashland University pitching staff was outstanding as the Eagles won their GLIAC Tournament opener, 6-4, over Northwood on Thursday (May 20) night in Lansing, Mich.
In a game that had been deadlocked since the sixth inning, Schroeder split the right-center field gap and plated junior
Tim Zeller and senior
Michael Rogers and gave the Eagles (23-17) a 6-4 lead.
Junior right-hander
Perry Bewley closed the game with his 11
th save of the season to cap a performance by the bullpen which saw them bend but not break. The combination of freshmen
Adam Schomburg and
Jake Depperschmidt, junior
Joel Ciccarelli and Bewley went 6 1/3 shutout innings, despite giving up eight hits and three walks.
The No. 4-seed Eagles took a 4-0 lead through 3 ½ innings with solo home runs by junior
Micah Allen and senior
Garett Robberts in the second and third innings. Allen and junior
Austin Eifrid each added sac flies to push the lead to four heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Cole Brooks hit a solo homer to put the Timberwolves (27-14) on the board in the fourth and Jacob Rybicki hit a two-run blast in the fifth to cut it to 4-3. Northwood added a run on double-play ball in the sixth to tie it.
The game stayed that way as the Eagles' bullpen matched every zero that Northwood pitching put up.
The No. 3-seed Northwood put a runner on third with no outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Depperschmidt and Ciccarelli worked out of it, leaving the bases loaded.
The Timberwolves left runners on the corners in the 10
th and the bases loaded in the 11
th. After Schroeder's two-run double in the 12
th, Bewley gave up a pair of two-out singles, but induced a flyout to end the game.
Freshman
Justin Dyksma got the start for the Eagles, but did not factor in the decision. He gave up four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Ciccarelli (3-0) got the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Allen led the offense by going 3-for-5 with two RBI while Zeller was 4-for-6 with two runs.
The Eagles will now play No. 2 seed Grand Valley State on Friday (May 21) at 6 p.m. to stay in the winner's bracket.
AU
BASE/BB
