CARY, NC – The CSUSB baseball team pulled off a miraculous comeback win against #1 Millersville on Wednesday afternoon, walking off by a score of 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning. With the win, the Yotes improve to 45-18 on the season and advance to the national semifinals.
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Luke Hempel picked a phenomenal game to deliver arguably the best start of his career, throwing eight strong innings while only allowing two earned runs coming from a home run. Since the start of the CCAA Tournament on May 11
th, Hempel has thrown 21.0 innings in three starts with an impressive 1.71 ERA and 13 strikeouts to just two walks. Since the start of the NCAA Tournament, the junior right hander has issued zero walks in 14.0 innings.
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Hempel did everything in his power to keep Millersville off the board, as did the Marauders' starter Colby Gromlich – who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. After Millersville took a 2-0 lead on the two-run home run in the top of the sixth, the Yotes promptly responded by getting one back in the bottom of the frame. This came from a lead off double by catcher
Jake Borst for CSUSB's first hit of the game, followed by an RBI single from
Jason Shedlock to put CSUSB on the board.
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Neither team would score in the seventh, and Hempel would post a zero in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth with one out, Shedlock walked and Johnson reached on a fielder's choice in consecutive at-bats, putting two runners on.
Daryl Ruiz flied out to centerfield for the second out of the inning, setting the stage for
Giovanni Del Negro. On a 1-2 count, Del Negro roped a ball to left center field for a clutch double that scored both Shedlock and Johnson to give the Yotes a late 3-2 lead.
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NCBWA First Team All-American closer
Oscar Rauda entered the game in the top of the ninth looking to close the door. However, the Marauders would fight back to piece together three runs on five hits to retake a 5-3 lead. The gut punch came on the fourth batter of the inning, when Matthew Will hit a two-run single to left field to put Millersville up 4-3. Freshman
Conner Batzer entered the game and forced the second out on a fielder's choice. Millersville then layed down a successful squeeze bunt with two outs to push across another run, extending the score to 5-3. Batzer would later pick up the win, his third of the season.
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In the bottom of the ninth,
Garrett Macias led off with a deep fly out to down the right field line for the first out of the inning. Down two runs and only two outs left in the game, the thought of the season ending came looming over the Yotes' dugout.
Takuto Kataoka was the next batter, forcing a gritty eight-pitch walk. The Millersville pitcher suddenly struggled to find the zone, walking both Borst and
Riley Parker in back-to-back at-bats to load the bases with still only one out.
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As tension began to build, Shedlock came to the plate and was immediately hit by a pitch to bring in a run and make the game 5-4. With
DeShawn Johnson now at the plate, a costly wild pitch allowed Borst to score from third, tying the game up at 5-5. The Marauders elected to intentionally walk Johnson to set up a force out, bringing Ruiz to the plate for the fifth time in the game. On the first pitch, he smacked a ball to deep right field, allowing
Matt Gonzales - who had pinch ran for Parker - to score from third base for the winning run and cap off an incredible comeback. Strangely enough, the Yotes scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth
without recording a hit.
Despite recording a season-low four hits in the game, CSUSB was able to keep the magic alive and keep the flag in the air.
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A New Champion
#6 Southern New Hampshire eliminated reigning national champion #2 North Greenville on Wednesday afternoon, ensuring that each of the final four teams in the tournament have never won a national title before. This means whichever team holds up the trophy on Saturday, will be doing so for the first time in their program's history.
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Up Next
The Yotes will have a rematch against #4 Rollins tomorrow, June 8
th, at 1:30 PM EST / 10:30 AM PST. Because Rollins does not yet have a loss, the Yotes will need to beat them twice in order to advance to the championship. If CSUSB wins tomorrow, they will face Rollins again on Friday at a time yet to be determined.
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You can watch the action for free on NCAA.com
HERE.
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