BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The No. 18-ranked and second-seeded Indiana Tech baseball team defeated third-seeded Bryan, 17-10, on Monday afternoon in their opening game of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium.
The Lions would strike first as they scored an unearned run off
Johnny Crawford in the top of the first, but the Warriors would strike back with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead. After
Glen McClain grounded into a double play that allowed
Charlie Sipe to score, Tech would use four straight hits, including a three-run homer by
Peyton Newsom, to tack on four more runs in the inning with two outs.
Doubles from Sipe and
Tighe Koehring would increase the Warriors' lead to 8-1 in the second, but the Lions would keep chipping away at the lead, scoring four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to chase Crawford after tying the game up 9-9.
Dante Biagini would give the Orange and Black the lead again in the seventh with a single up the middle to score
Chris Gaynor, but Bryan would respond right back with a leadoff double in the eight. A sacrifice bunt and a single right up the middle and just out of the reach of
Jacob Koehring would tie the game back up at 10-10.
Gaynor would score the winning run in the bottom half of the frame as he singled drive in
David Barksdale. Pinch hitter
Taylor Nychyk would draw a bases-loaded walk on a full count to make it 12-10 while Biagini added two more insurance runs with a double to left center. The second throwing error of the inning by the Lions shortstop would make allow McClain to reach base with two outs as Biagini and
Benny Clark III extended the lead to six runs.
Jacob Koehring would face some trouble in the ninth as Bryan got runners to the corners with just one out, but the senior lefty induced a game-ending double play to Biagini as the Warriors moved on to the winners bracket of the Opening Round.
Biagini, Koehring and Newsom each drove in a team-high three RBI's while Koehring went 4-6 at the dish. Sipe would finish the game with two doubles while Koehring picked up his second win of the year in 3.2 innings of relief.
Tech (41-12) will now play top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. EDT. in game number five of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Rouond at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium.
