Crowder College erased an early one-run deficit thanks to the long ball in a three-run third inning before blowing the game open late en route to a 10-2 win in seven innings over Jefferson College in the semifinal round of the Region 16 Tournament at Joe Becker Stadium on Friday.
With the win, the top-seeded and sixth-ranked Roughriders remain in the winner’s bracket and will have a rematch with Jefferson in the championship round on Saturday after the Vikings defeated St. Charles CC 15-11 in late game on Friday. With the tournament being double elimination, the Roughriders and Vikings match up at noon in the first game. If Jefferson wins, Game 2 is scheduled for 3 p.m.
“We haven’t been here in this situation the last two tournaments, we’ve had to fight back,” Crowder manager Travis Lallemand said about being in the winner’s bracket on Saturday. “It definitely feels good, especially the way we are pitching it. … The biggest thing right there is completing that run rule and keeping our best bullpen arm (Conner Floyd) to throwing minimal pitches. … It is lined up, and that’s all well and good, but I have been to Championship Saturday a lot and you still have to win.”
ON THE MOUND
Kaleb Hill earned the win on the bump after allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits, three walks and eight strikeouts on 112 pitches in six-plus innings of work. Conner Floyd worked a scoreless inning in relief, striking out one.
“He is a horse,” Lallemand said of Hill. “He is a guy they have to get to early because if they don’t, it’s tough to get to him. … I am very proud of him because that was a character game. … Huge for Kaleb and our guys. He did a great job.”
Bradyen Fetink took the loss for Jefferson after allowing five runs on seven hits, three walks and three strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Eli Ecton allowed four runs on no hits and four walks in 1/3 of an inning. Eli Rivera allowed one run on one hit and a walk without recording an out.
GAME ACTION
Jefferson got the scoring started in the first inning when Josh Gibson tripled off the wall in right field to lead off the game. In the next at-bat, Jack Rigino reached on an infield hit to first to score Gibson.
Crowder didn’t wait long to take the lead. After Gavin Glasgow ripped a ball down the line in left for a double to lead off the inning, Frankie Circello blasted a ball over the wall in left-center field for a no-doubt two-run home run to give the Roughriders a 2-1 advantage. In the very next at-bat, Jeffry Mercado followed suit with a solo shot to right field for back-to-back homers to give Crowder a 3-1 lead.
“We have big-swing ability, not just two-strike and pesky hitters,” Lallemand said. “We have big-inning capabilities throughout the lineup, top to bottom, and I think that’s what has made us go throughout the year.”
Jefferson put the first two runners on in the top of the seventh, prompting a pitching change from Lallemand, who turned to Floyd. Floyd started things off with a strikeout before inducing a double-play ball back to himself, but the throw from second to first was wide to allow an unearned run to score. However, the Vikings’ baserunner was tagged out on the play after rounding first to end the threat.
“He has been our high-leverage guy all year,” Lallemand said of Floyd. “He has a really good arm, obviously, and fills it up. … What a great job keeping that a one-run game.”
Crowder got the run right back in the bottom of the seventh when Logan Chambers connected for a one-out solo home run to left-center to make the score 4-2.
“You make that a two-run game to where it’s not one swing of the bat in a situation where that can tie it,” Lallemand said. “The momentum was starting to shift their way, it really was. … Getting that big swing allowed us to relax and go back to what we do. … Logan Chambers is one of the best players in the country.”
After loading the bases later in the inning, Crowder put the game out of reach after two walks, a hit-by-pitch and another walk each forced in a run to make the score 8-2. Chambers, who homered earlier in the inning, ended the contest via run rule with a two-run double to right-center.
“We had some really good two-strike at-bats and fouled some good pitches off and then took our walks,” Lallemand said. “It was a really good game, and then we broke it open. … This is what we’ve done all year. It’s nothing new. We want to win with 2s—win with two strikes and with two outs. We finished the game there.”
IN THE BOX
Chambers led the Roughriders with a double, a home run, three RBI and a run scored. Glasgow had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs. Circello homered, had three RBI and scored twice, while Mercado homered, scored twice and drove in two.
