LONGVIEW, Texas – Scrapping their way to extra-innings tied at 4-4, the LeTourneau University baseball team would use a leadoff double in the bottom of the 10th to set up a game-winning walk off single to knock off American Southwest Conference leading Howard Payne University by a final score of 5-4 in 10 innings at Conrad-Vernon Field in Longview, Texas on Thursday, April 11th.
With the win, LETU improves to 19-13 overall and 8-5 in conference while HPU slipped to 20-11 overall and 13-3 in the ASC.
A shaky start to the game saw Howard Payne take advantage of a leadoff walk and error to put the first two batters of the game aboard before eventually scoring one run in the top of the first to go up 1-0. The HPU lead would eventually grow to 3-0 in the top of the third as two straight singles and a sacrifice fly pushed across one run and would be followed by an RBI single to put LeTourneau in a 3-0 hole.
LETU would threaten to get a run back in the bottom of the third before stranding runners at second and third as HPU would get a pair of lineouts to end the inning. LeTourneau would break through in the fourth however, scoring one run on a sacrifice fly after a leadoff single by
Will Bradshaw and failed pickoff attempt put the junior in scoring position.
Still trailing by a 3-1 margin, LETU would get back another run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly as a one-out single and error would allow
Jacob Jones to move to third and in position for
Noah Mahoney to hit a sacrifice fly as LeTourneau kept slowly chipping away at the Howard Payne lead.
Things would become tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh as
Jacob Faubion would reach by error before eventually coming around to score on a
Bryce Brueggemeyer single just out of reach from the shortstop.
Howard Payne managed to reclaim the lead in the top of the eighth by taking advantage of two walks and a two-out single before seeing the top half of the frame end on a strikeout. A chance to tie things once again would be had by LeTourneau in the bottom of the eighth, but a pair of two-out singles would not be enough to plate a run as HPU held onto their one-run lead.
Following a one-two-three top of the ninth, LETU would use two errors and a one-out single to put runners at second and third with one out while looking to end things in walk-off style. An RBI groundout from Bradshaw would tie things at 4-4, but LeTourneau would be unable to find a game-winner as the game would be sent to extra-innings tied at 4-4.
In the extra frame, Howard Payne would be retired in order as all three batters wound up as strikeout victims before Mahoney would lead off the bottom of the 10th with a double to right center field. Following a pop out in foul territory towards the first-base dugout, LeTourneau would choose to pinch-run for Mahoney with
Colton Oney getting in the game as
Kyle Guevara would come through in the clutch with a base-hit to center field to score Oney and send LETU home 5-4 winners.
A strong pitching performance would be seen from LETU starter
Kolton Eberlan who would go seven innings and take a no decision after allowing three runs on five hits and striking out six before turning things over to
Ryder Lognion. Lognion would toss the final three innings and strike out five to improve to 3-0 on the year as LETU pitchers held HPU to just six hits in the game.
Brueggemeyer and Guevara would be the only two players in the game with multiple hits (two each) while Mahoney had the only extra-base hit of the game. Opportunities were presented despite just the one-run victory for LeTourneau as LETU would strand 10 runners in the game compared to five stranded runners for HPU.
What's Next?
LeTourneau and Howard Payne face off twice more to close out an early weekend as the three-game series was pushed up 24 hours due to forecasted rain in the Longview area this weekend. Tomorrow will feature a 1 p.m. doubleheader to the series as LETU is going for their first ASC series win since March 8-9.
