Watch
The Basics
Game 1 Score: MNU 2 - William Penn 0
Game 2 Score: MNU 10 - Central Methodist 5
Record: MNU (39-13) - WPU (33-18) - CMU (42-6)
Location: US Baseball Park - Ozark, Mo.
OZARK, Mo. - The Pioneers earned a spot at Nationals with a gutty 2-0 victory over William Penn, then followed it up with a 10-5 victory over #4 Central Methodist to force the if-necessary game in the Heart Tourney final. In
Game 1, the Pioneers and Statesmen scattered a few baserunners over 7 scoreless innings, but neither team mounted much of a threat until the bottom of the 7th. MNU had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, but back-to-back strikeouts kept the game scoreless. In the top of the 8th,
Austin Healy led off with a single and
Josh Torrance followed with a walk. After an
Adam Rellihan sacrifice bunt,
Joshuan Sandoval sent a shallow fly ball to center, and Healy beat the throw home to give MNU a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 9th with 2 outs and nobody on,
Jacob Jenkins walked and stole second.
Kyle Franklin - subbing for the injured
Brycen Sherwood - smoked a triple off the wall, and MNU took a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, 2 hit batsmen chased starter
Jhon Vargas - who had allowed just 2 hits and struck out 13 through 8 innings - and freshman closer
Eric Navarette was called upon to put out the fire. A bunt moved the runners into scoring position, but a popout was the second out and kept the runners in place. A grounder headed up the middle was smothered by shortstop
Austin Healy, and the throw beat the runner by a step and sent the Pioneers to the championship round.
Game 1 Turning Point
Healy's play to end it prevented at least a tie.
Game 1 Individual Leaders
Jhon Vargas struck out 13 in 8 innings for the win.
Eric Navarette recorded his 5th save to preserve the shutout. And
Joshuan Sandoval (1-3, RBI, SF),
Ryan Leo (1-4),
Randy Fernandez (1-3, 2B, Sac),
Kyle Franklin (1-4, 3B, RBI), and
Austin Healy (1-4, R) had MNU's 5 hits.
In
Game 2, the Pioneers needed a win to force another contest on Tuesday, and a 3-run rally in the top of the 2nd put MNU in front.
Daunte Freeman and
Ryan Leo singled to start the inning, and a wild pitch and
Randy Fernandez RBI double made it 2-0. A bunt single made it 1st and 3rd, and a double play brought home a third run. Starter
Kyle Waller kept CMU off the board until a single run scored in the bottom of the 4th, but MNU blew it open in the 6th.
Joshuan Sandoval led off with a double, and
Daunte Freeman followed with an RBI single. A
Ryan Leo double was followed by back-to-back walks to bring home a run, and
Kyle Franklin singled home 1 more.
Austin Healy's 2-run single made it 8-1, and another run-scoring double play brought home the inning's 6th run. The Eagles answered with 2 in the bottom of the 6th and 2 more in the bottom of the 8th, but a
Randy Fernandez sac fly in the 9th pushed the lead back to 5, and
Nathan Torres closed out the 10-5 win.
Game 2 Turning Point
MNU's 6-run 6th put the game away.
Game 2 Individual Leaders
Kyle Waller struck out 4 in 5 innings for the win.
Caleb Jonas,
Nick Michael, and
Nathan Torres pitched 4 innings of scoreless relief. And
Joshuan Sandoval (2-4, 2B, BB),
Daunte Freeman (2-5, R, RBI),
Ryan Leo (4-5, 2 R, 2 2B),
Randy Fernandez (2-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SF),
Jacob Jenkins (1-4, R, RBI, BB),
Kyle Franklin (1-3, R, RBI, BB), and
Austin Healy (2-3, 2 RBI, BB) led the offense.
Up Next
The championship game is Tuesday at 11:00 vs. #4 Central Methodist (42-6).
