St. Ambrose gets important first win at CCAC Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
|
Roosevelt (IL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
Photo courtesy Scott McCreary
St. Ambrose scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half of the inning to escape with a 4-3 win over Roosevelt in a first-round game of the CCAC Tournament in Joliet, Ill., Thursday night.
The Bees, despite an RBI double from Noah McCreary in the third and a solo home run from Brock Webber in the sixth, trailed nearly the entire way. The deficit was 3-2 entering the ninth.
Jake Mucha led off the ninth with a solo shot to right to tie the game. Joey Fitzgerald was then hit by a pitch, and pinch runner Tyreece Morgan stole second. Jalen Avery beat out a bunt single to put runners on the corners. A double-play ball erased Avery and kept Morgan at third before SAU caught a break as a Roosevelt error on a ball hit by Adrian Zietara allowed Morgan to score the go-ahead run.
St. Ambrose nearly gave it away in the bottom of the ninth.
The Lakers loaded the bases on a walk, an error and an infield single with one out. A ground ball back to Parker Ruth led to a force out at the plate before Ruth got a strikeout to end the contest.
Ruth, the fifth Bee pitcher of the game, earned the save by getting the final three outs. Sergio Marchizza struck out four while allowing three earned runs over four innings. Nathaniel Johnson, Grant Baker, Joey Turek and Ruth followed in relief. Baker earned the win after striking out three over 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Mucha finished 3-for-4 while Zietara and McCreary each recorded two hits.
SAU will now face Olivet Nazarene Friday at 7 p.m.