(Peru, Neb.) – Win one and they were in. And win they did.
That is what the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat baseball team had to do on Saturday when they travelled to Marshall, Mo., to face the Missouri Valley College (MVC) Vikings in a Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) double header.
The Bobcats knew going into the final HAAC regular-season games that they had to win at least one or have Baker University lose won in order to make the post-season conference tournament. Rather than to leave it to Baker to lose, the 'Cats took the first game and assured themselves of the third seed in the Western Division.
The HAAC tournament is scheduled to be held May 2-5 at the Phil Welch Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo. The official pairings and schedule have yet to be released as four teams were still finishing play on Sunday if Mother Nature permitted.
Against Missouri Valley, Peru State won the first game 6-3. In the second game, PSC lost 4-1.
With the split, PSC finished the regular season with a 31-16 overall record and was 15-11 in their first year in the HAAC. The Vikings finished 7-14-1 overall and 4-22 in the HAAC.
Game One Action
After the first two outs in the first inning,
Jeff Eubank (Fort Pierce, Fla.) reached on a Viking error.
Kyle Fredrickson (Omaha) stepped to the plate, delivered a double to deep right to score Eubank, and gave PSC an early 1-0 lead.
The Vikings tied it up in their half of the inning, so going into the second it was 1-1.
In the top of the second,
J.L. Thomason (Holt, Fla.) got on board with another MVC error. Thomason was able to score when
Brenden Gentry (Sallisaw, Okla.) doubled to deep left-center.
Gustavo Arcia (Caracas, Venezuela) and
James Welty (Omaha) were each issued walks to load the bases.
Jonathan Castillo (Paterson, N.J.) singled thru the hole at second to drive in Gentry to make it 3-1.
Jonathan Arche (Miami, Fla.) reached base on a fielder's choice, which allowed Arcia to score. At the end of the top half of the second, the 'Cats led 4-1.
The Vikings added a run in the bottom of the fourth to cut it to 4-2.
PSC would add a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings.
In the fifth, after a strikeout to start the inning, Gentry reach on a walk. Another strikeout followed before Welty reached on an error by the Vikings with Gentry moving to second. Castillo singled to shallow right-center and Gentry scored making it 5-2 Peru State.
Eubank doubled to deep left to start the sixth inning and was replaced by pinch runner
Dan McGonigle (Blue Springs, Mo.). McGonigle advanced to third on a wild throw. Following a strikeout,
Derek Voigt (Auburn, Wash.) went to first on a misplayed grounder and McGonigle scored, giving PSC a 6-2 advantage.
Mo Valley added one in the bottom of the last inning, but it was not enough as PSC won 6-3 to earn their HAAC post-season tournament berth.
Castillo went three for four and had two RBI while Eubank was two for four.
Tim Crawford (Omaha) started for PSC and earned his seventh win of the year against two losses. Crawford gave up four hits, two runs – both earned, and struck out three.
Bryan Duncan (Seattle, Wash.) pitched one inning of relief and gave up two hits and one earned run.
GAME ONE BOX SCORE
Game Two Action
With the win and the tournament berth secure, the Bobcats gave more players an opportunity to play in the second game.
The Vikings scored two in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead.
Peru State scored their only run in the third. McGonigle got on when he was hit by a pitch. On a ground out, McGonigle went to second and came home when
Aubrey Dezarn (Las Vegas, Nev.) singled to shallow left.
Mo Valley added two more in the bottom of the fifth and eventually won 4-1.
McGonigle and Dezarn each had two hits while Dezarn got the only Bobcat RBI.
Lincoln Mansch (Missoula, Mont.) threw the first three innings in the game and was tagged for the loss. Mansch scattered six hits, gave up two runs – both earned, and struck out one.
Tyler Osborn (Tilden) tossed one inning and gave up two hits, but no runs. Voigt pitched the fifth inning and gave up the other two runs – one of which was earned on three hits.
Danny Borst (Moreno Valley, Calif.) pitched the final inning for PSC and gave up one run.
GAME TWO BOX SCORE
Post-Season Play
As of now, the HAAC Post-Season Tournament schedule has not officially been announced. However, it is scheduled to begin on May 2 in St. Joseph, Mo.
It would appear that the Bobcats would face the Evangel University Crusaders in the first round as the Crusaders won the Eastern Division. Earlier, the two teams split a double header in Peru.
