ABILENE -- Texas A&M-Kingsville's improbable run through the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament culminated Tuesday afternoon with an impossible championship.
And they did it at the expense of the ACU Wildcats, who lost in the LSC title game for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five years.
The Javelinas rallied from a 6-3 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 7-6 win over the top-seeded Wildcats and win the LSC baseball championshp for the first time since 2004 and the fourth time in school history. The Javelinas entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the field, but beat ACU twice -- including 5-3 on the first day -- en route to the tournament championship.
Kingsville's victory gives it the conference's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Division II South Central Region championship tournament, its first berth in the tournament since 1998. The Wildcats, meanwhile, must sweat through a five-day wait to find out if their 43-15 record will be good enough to get them into the tournament. ACU won 47 games last year, but missed the regional tournament after reaching the tournament in 2005 and 2006. The Wildcats were ranked No. 4 in the region going into the tournament, but should be able to hang onto an at-large bid to the tournament.
The Javelinas rallied from a 3-2 deficit to tie the game in the seventh when
Thomas Bumpass singled to drive in
Willie Uechi. But with runners at second and third,
Cameron Watten fouled out to first base to end the threat.
In the eighth, the Wildcats appeared on the verge of their first LSC baseball championship since 2002 when they scored three runs to take a 6-3 lead.
Matt Spotanski and
Mike Elkerson led off the inning with back-to-back singles against Kingsville starting pitcher Sam Strickland, who left the game in favor of Mario Gonzalez.
Jordan Schmitt greeted him with a bunt single that loaded the bases with no outs.
Watten then singled through the right side to drive in Spotanski to give ACU a 4-3 lead.
Willie Uechi followed that with a chopper into left field that drove in Elkerson and Schmitt to make it a 6-3 game. Stephen Hooker then came on in relief for the Javelinas, and he, too, gave up a bunt single to
Allen Smith that re-loaded the bases with no outs. Bumpass, though, popped out to the third baseman for the first out and then
J.J. Pacheco then hit into an inning-ending double play, keeping the ACU lead at 6-3.
The Javelinas wasted little time getting the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the eighth as Joe Hamon and Owen Weaver opened the inning with back-to-back singles against
Jordan Gibbons, who was then lifted in favor of ACU closer
Chris Wiman. Taylor Everett greeted Wiman, though, with a single through the right side to drive in Hamon to make it 6-4.
Gil Perez then came up as a pinch-hitter and dropped a perfect two-strike bunt just in front of the plate. Wiman fielded and threw wide of the bag, allowing both Weaver and Everett to score to tie the game at 6-6, and allowing Perez to move all the way around to third base. Wiley Crowson then delivered an RBI single to left to drive in Perez with the go-ahead run.
With no outs, Will Alexander flew out to right fielder
Trey Watten, who doubled up Crowson at first base, and then Erik Gomez grounded out to end the inning.
In the ninth,
Trey Watten led off the inning with a single before Spotanski struck out, Elkerson flew out and Schmitt grounded into a game-ending fielder's choice, setting off a wild on-field celebration by the Javelinas.
ACU's
J.J. Pacheco (second base), Uechi (shortstop), Bumpass (outfield),
Ben Maynard (pitcher) and
Trey Watten (pitcher) were named to the all-tournament team. Weaver, Hamon and Sam Strickland were named all-tournament from Texas A&M-Kingsville, while pitcher Tim Jones -- who pitched a complete-game gem Monday night against Central Oklahoma to get to the title game -- was named the tournament MVP.
The rest of the team had Cameron's Blake Watson at third base and Jorey Price in the outfield, Central Oklahoma's Breck Draper at designated hitter and Southeastern Oklahoma State's Cody Pearce in the outfield and Luis Estrella on the mound.
