SCORE: IT 4, DU 5
RECORDS: Indiana Tech (32-27), #5 Davenport (48-9)
LOCATION: Adrian, Mich. (SHU Baseball Diamond)
 
BRIEF: The fourth-seeded Indiana Tech baseball team saw its Cinderella run in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament come to an end on Thursday, falling to the second seed and fifth-ranked Davenport Panthers, 5-4 in the championship game. The Warriors won the first championship game 1-0 with a dramatic walk-off victory, but couldn't complete the comeback on Thursday as some defensive miscues cost them the game.
 
FLOW:
Junior right-hander Chase Keathley got the ball for the Warriors and worked around a couple of base runners in the first and second inning, but a leadoff double in the third came around to score with two-outs.
 
Tech got their first hit in the fourth when Dezmon Nunn led off with a single to center, but the Orange and Black couldn't get another. Keathley worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the frame and followed with a 1-2-3 fifth.
 
The Warriors chased Corey Sessions from the game in the sixth as Chris Gaynor reached on a single, but Tech again left a man on base. In the bottom of the frame the Warriors committed a pair of errors to allow the leadoff man to reach and then a mental mistake on a rundown allowed the Panthers to extend the inning and plate an unearned run. Freshman left Jason Sterrett inherited a bases loaded, one-out jam, but induced a double play.
 
The Warriors loaded the bases for the fourth time in two games against the Panthers in the seventh, but a fly out ended the threat.  Two more Warrior errors plated another unearned run for the Panthers, making it 3-0 after seven.
 
The Orange and Black came to life in the eighth scoring four two-out runs on six hits to take a 4-3 lead. Senior Zac Pfafman was called on to pinch hit and singled to start the inning and junior catcher, Brian Hakes, followed two batters later with another single. Freshman DH, Tighe Koehring got the scoring started and Matt Bandor, Peyton Newsom and Caleb Heller all followed with RBI singles to go ahead, 4-3.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the first three Panthers reached and a singled tied the score.  Then with one out, a soft ground ball was too slow to turn a double play and the Panthers took the win, 5-4.
 
IN THE NUMBERS:
Tech outhit DU 10-8 in the contest with both Koehring and Newsom leading the way with two hits each…Bandor was the lone Warrior with both an RBI and a run scored while Mead scored twice without an at-bat…Keathley took a no-decision, allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits in 5.1 innings with two walks and a strikeout…Sterrett allowed two runs, one earned, walking two in 1.2 innings while James McReynolds allowed just one hit in his inning of work…Tech lost for just the sixth time when outhitting their opponent…finish the season with a 405-280 scoring margin…Portes finishes the season at .397 while the team swiped 101 bases led by Nunn's 31
 
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Baseball Contact:   Zachary Shore | 260.422.5561 x. 2492 | zrshore@indianatech.edu 
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