CEDARVILLE, Ohio (March 21) – A late rally and a no-hitter helped Cedarville University deal the Tigers a pair of losses, 6-0 and 5-4, Saturday afternoon in Great Midwest Conference (G-MAC) action.
The sweep sends the Salem International University baseball team to 3-17 overall, 1-3 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-1 in the G-MAC, 9-8 overall this season.
Cedarville scored runs in the game's final three innings, including one in the 10th, to rally for a 5-4 win over the Tigers in the second game of the doubleheader.
After a pair of scoreless innings by both teams, Cedarville manufactured a run on one hit in the third inning with the help of a steal, a balk call and a passed ball to take a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers responded immediately with a three-run inning in the bottom half of the frame. Freshman shortstop
Ty Cole (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) and junior center fielder
Hunter Williams (Gunter, Texas/Gunter) each singled and junior first baseman
Nicco Lollio (Carleton, Mich./Airport) drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Senior third baseman
Manny Dominguez (Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics) drove in the first run with the help of an error and sophomore leftfielder
Trent Dalton (Logan, W.Va./Logan) delivered a sacrifice fly to plate another. Junior catcher
Rahul Badve helped extend the lead to 3-1 with a two-out RBI single to cap off the inning.
Salem International added another run in the fourth inning on a Williams RBI single to extend the lead to 4-1, but the offense struggled over the next four innings, producing only one hit.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets started to chip away at the Tiger lead in the eighth with two runs on a two-out triple, but junior pitcher
Colton Lankford (Rowlett, Texas/Texas) stranded the tying-run at third to end the inning with Salem International maintaining a 4-3 lead. Despite his efforts in the eighth, Lankford allowed a lead-off triple in the ninth and a sacrifice fly with one out to tie the game at 4-4 and send it into extra innings.
Cedarville capped its late-inning rally off with a run in the 10th inning to take the lead. Despite a Dominguez single in the bottom half, the Tigers were unable to advance him any further and were dealt the loss.
Lankford (1-3) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Lankford (115 pitches) went the distance for the Tigers, tossing all 10 innings.
Williams led Salem International at the dish with two hits, a run scored and a RBI, while Dalton and Badve each finished with a hit and a RBI in the loss.
A five-run inning and a lack of production at the plate doomed the Tigers in their 6-0 game one loss to Cedarville, as two Yellow Jacket pitchers combined to no-hit Salem International.
Cedarville scored loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second inning. Senior pitcher
Cam Hall (Fort Erie, Ontario/Lakeshore Catholic) struck out the next batter, but a fielding error allowed the following Yellow Jacket to reach and drive in a run. The next three batters all hit singles to drive in four more runs and push the Cedarville lead to 5-0, before a double-play ended the threat.
Cederville added another run in the sixth inning, but the Tigers only had three batters reach base with nobody advancing past first base.
Hall (0-1) took the loss on the bump for Salem International. He allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 7.0 innings pitched.
The Tigers are back in action Friday and Saturday, March 27-28 for their home opener when they host a pair of G-MAC doubleheaders with Trevecca Nazarene. The first-pitch of game one from Frank Loria Memorial Field on both days is set for 12 p.m.
