ETTRICK, Virginia - After a tough loss on Friday evening, the Salem baseball team had their work cut out for them today in the elimination round of the New South Athletic Conference Tournament. They faced off with the Builders of the Apprentice School, and picked up a dramatic 5-4 win. That win earned them a contest with the Mustangs of Mid-Atlantic Christian, and Salem ran away with that one with a dominant 17-2 win. The 2 wins today have earned the Tigers a spot in the NSAC Championship and a rematch with the Virginia State Trojans. Today's contests played out as follows:
Salem 5, Apprentice School 4
In Game 1, things looked dire early for the Tigers when the Builders constructed a 4-0 across the first 6 innings. With their backs against the wall, Salem found their runs in the bottom of 6th. 3 big doubles from Trey Hissam, Tyler Shinn, and Brett Ehr netted Salem 4 runs to even the game up at 4-4. The Tigers broke the deadlock off the bat of Jose Lojo with a single, who drove in the aforementioned Ehr for the go ahead run. After taking the lead, Salem sealed the victory in the top of the 7th when Tyler Sammons came into the game to strike out two on the way to earning the save for the Tigers. Relief pitcher Jhayden Raineri took the win for the Tigers after entering the game ahead of the 6th inning rally.Â
Salem 17, Mid-Atlantic Christian 2Â
In Game 2, Salem put together an impressive offensive showcase, despite falling behind 2-0 early on. All together they drove in 17 runs, knocked 16 hits, and stole a pair of bases. The two biggest highlights of the contests came from home runs by Aaron Forbes and Tyler Shinn. Kaiden Zacharias also added a double, and a total of 9 Tigers logged hits overall. On the mound, Salem got a strong outing from Alden Halfinger who pitched a complete game and struck out 3 to seal the big win for the Tigers.Â
With these two big wins, Salem earned their way into the NSAC Championship game against Virginia State. This will be Salem's 8th contest with the Trojans this season, and the game will be played on Sunday, May 7th at 1 PM in Ettrick, Virginia.
