Late-inning rally sends Mavs past Wildcats, 5-4
5/15/2009 1:45:00 AM | Baseball
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The ACU Wildcats' season is on life support after Nebraska-Omaha took advantage of uncharacteristically poor ACU defense Thursday in a 5-4 win over thhe Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Region baseball tournament.
The Wildcats (43-18) now drop into the loser's bracket where they will take on Texas-Permian Basin at noon Friday at Crane Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Missouri. The loser of that game will be eliminated from the tournament.
ACU had the game on cruise control with ace Preston Vancil dealing six shutout innings and its offense putting up three runs against UNO ace Chris Kessinger. But the game turned in the Mavericks' favor in the top of the seventh.
With one out and nobody on, Drew Schwab fell behind in the count 0-2 before driving a 1-2 pitch into the corner in right field for a double. Travis Jacobi followed with a single to drive in Schwab to make it 3-1.
Then the ACU defense -- which has been one of its strengths in the 2009 season -- cost Vancil and the Wildcats. Matt Eikenmeier reached on an error by shortstop Willie Uechi, and then Brett Koehn reached on catcher's interference when Jordan Schmitt got his glove too far out when Koehn swung and missed on a 2-2 pitch from Vancil.
Brian Strawn then singled, and that was all for Vancil, who finished the game by allowing five runs (one earned) and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Brian Golibar greeted relief pitcher Kevin Justice with an RBI single to left to make it 4-3, and one out later Andrew Hansen singled to drive in Strawn to make it 5-3.
"We played really well, except for one inning," ACU head coach Britt Bonneau said. "We did some things in the seventh that we haven't done all season, and we did some things offensively that hurt us. We beat ourselves today. But we've got to come out (Friday) with the attitude that we're not ready to go home. We always knew that we would have to win Friday just to get to Saturday, so now we have to do it through the loser's bracket."
ACU wasn't finished, offensively, though as the Wildcats managed a single run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 5-4.
With one out, Jordan Schmitt drew a walk before Travis Latz was called out on strikes for the second out. Uechi then worked a two-out walk just before Thomas Bumpass drove the first pitch of his at-bat into left field to plate Schmitt and make it a 5-4 game. But Bumpass was picked off at first base to end the inning and keep the UNO lead at 5-4.
After Brad Rutherford worked a 1-2-3 ninth for ACU, the Wildcats had their chance in the bottom of the ninth against Kessinger. But the senior righthander from Sioux Falls, S.D., set the Wildcats down in order and got Steve Camillucci looking to end the game.
Kessinger went nine innings to pick up the win and improve to 9-4 on the season. He allowed just six hits and four runs (two earned) while striking out nine batters.
ACU got to Kessinger for single runs in the second, third and fifth innings as the Wildcats were able to seize control of the game.
Latz reached on an error and scored on a Bumpass RBI double in the second to make it 1-0. Camillucci walked and went to third on an errant pickoff throw, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris Hall to make it 2-0. And in the fifth, Camillucci doubled with one out and scored on a Davis Page single to right to push the Wildcat lead to 3-0.
But that was about all the offense the Wildcats could muster against Kessinger, who recorded eight of his nine strikeouts in the last four innings.
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