Eagles' 12th-inning rally enough to snuff Blazers

With both pitching staffs dominating and the game stretching into extra innings, Embry-Riddle coach Randy Stegall knew it would come down to a mistake.

"It always turns on a defensive play," Stegall said Friday after his Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the 12th inning to defeat Tennessee Wesleyan College 3-2 in the first game of the Series.

Actually, it might be more accurate to say this game turned on which team could take advantage of the other's problems. Both the Bulldogs, from Athens, Tenn., and the Eagles, of Daytona Beach, Fla., had opportunities. But neither team was able to drive in a run with a base hit until the bottom of the 12th.

The defensive play Stegall referenced came when Eagle Josh Krummel pinch-hit for right fielder Dane Beaudette and slapped a grounder straight at TWC shortstop Ryan Santos, who muffed it off a bounce. Beaudette re-entered the game to run and then stole second base.

After a strikeout, lanky first baseman Branden Roper-Hubbert drove a single from Bulldog reliever Jason Ferguson into right field and C.J. McElroy made a strong throw to the plate. Beaudette beat the throw with a head-first slide, and while catcher David Lindsay was showing the plate umpire that he still had the ball, Roper-Hubbert advanced to second.

Coach Billy Berry of TWC then pulled Ferguson for right-hander Justin Crowell, but the change couldn't stop the first real Eagle rally of the day.

Steve Sabins lined a single to center that was a potential game-winner, but the ball was hit sharply enough that Roper-Hubbert was held at third, a decision that looked good when TWC center-fielder Max Loveland pegged a perfect throw to home.

That brought left-fielder Aaron Glaum to the plate and he lined a base hit between short and third to score Roper-Hubbert for the win.

A crowd of 1,975, the second-largest opening game crowd in Series history, was treated to dominating performances by starting pitchers Hamilton Bennett of TWC and Austin Quinn of Embry-Riddle. Bennett, a lefty carrying a 7-2 season record, kept the Eagles hitless until Roper-Hubbert beat out a roller to third with two outs in the fourth. Bennett ended up pitching seven innings, giving up one earned run while striking out nine and walking two.

Eagle starter Austin Quinn, 11-2 this year, was even more impressive as he pitched 11 innings, gave up only one earned run, walked none and struck out nine.

"All three of my pitches were working," the senior right-hander said after the game. He throws a fastball, slider and change-up and he said he knew he would need all three against the Bulldogs.

"They are a good, aggressive-hitting team and I knew I needed to use all of my pitches to keep them off balance, Quinn said."

Quinn impressed TWC's Berry.

"He had a lot of run to his pitches," Berry said of Quinn. Our guys were coming back to the dugout and saying his pitches were really moving around, especially that two-seamer."

Berry also said he wasn't surprised by the performance of his own starter, Bennett.

"He has done that for us all year. He just goes out there and throws and throws. I might have left him in longer if we had gotten some offense."

Tennesee-Wesleyan (46-17) was making its first appearance at the Series, and Berry thought the pressure may have gotten to his team.

"We might have had some nerves as the crowd started to file in and (with) those kids all cheering out in left field."

Like Stegall, Berry thought the game would come down to a play or two.

"We thought it would come down to an error or a solo homer or something, but we certainly had our chances."

Neither team could sustain a rally until Embry-Riddle's in the 12th. The Eagles broke the scoreless tie in the seventh on a fielder's choice and TWC answered in the eighth on a sacrifice fly.

It stayed tied until the top of the 12th when Quinn gave up a single to Loveland and Stegall decided 11 innings and 119 pitches were enough for his starter. He relieved him with junior Phillip Reamy, who quickly got into trouble when Loveland stole second and went to third when Reamy was called for a balk.

Brad Pippa hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Loveland and put the Bulldogs ahead 2-1. But Reamy, 3-0 going into the game, got out of the game and ultimately was set up to earn the win when Kurtis Bramlett popped up to second.

The way the Eagles ended up winning after an error started the rally didn't surprise Stegall. "That's kind of the way we've been winning games all year - getting the big hit when we've needed it."

Stegall has led his team, now 45-17 this season, to Lewiston for the Series for the third consecutive year.

Tenn. Wesleyan 000 000 010 001 - 2 7 2

Embry-Riddle 000 000 100 002 - 3 11 2

Bennett, Ferguson (8), Crowell (12) and Lindsay. Quinn, Reamy (12) and Goolsby. W - Reamy (4-0). L - Ferguson (2-2). Save - None.

TWC hits - Santos, Smith, Gaskill, Loveland, Carlot, Pippa, Enroy.

ERAU hits - Goolsby, Roper-Hubbert 2, Sabins 2, Glaum 2, Tomaszewski, Warmoth (2B), Jutkiewicz 2.