AUSTIN, Tex. -On the hottest day in Austin history the No. 5 Cal Lutheran baseball team left the field with a cold feeling after falling 3-2 to No. 17 Texas-Tyler in an elimination game at the 2013 NCAA Division III Baseball West Regionals.
Cal Lutheran served as the designated visiting team for the second game of the week following a coin toss last night. Batting first had its advantages early as CLU took a 2-0 lead, but it was a late season slump from a number of players and a pair of miscues, one offensively and one defensively, that were too much for the Kingsmen to overcome today against TTU, ending their season.
The Cal Lutheran bats were hot early with four hits that scored a pair of runs in the first frame. Jake Petersen doubled to left to lead the game off and Nick Boggan had an RBI double out of reach of a diving Sam Lane in centerfield, scoring Petersen for the first run of the game. Ramsey Abushahla then knocked an RBI single to right centerfield putting the Violet and Gold ahead 2-0.
Texas-Tyler negated the CLU output with a pair of their own runs in the bottom of the first. Two ground ball outs were followed by a single from Isaac Tijerina and a mis-played ball in the outfield that turned into a double for Kevan House, allowing the Patriots to cut the CLU lead in half. A third hit in a row came from T.J. Martin to score House with the tying run.
The Kingsmen worked out of trouble in the bottom of the second as TTU stranded a pair of runners in scoring position. But it was the Patriots who broke the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth. A single by Billy Lirely turned into a runner on third after a CLU throwing error and when Lane laced a double down the left field line, Texas-Tyler plated the winning run to take a 3-2 lead mid-way through the game.
The Violet and Gold had a number of opportunities throughout the game. In the third, Koons drew a one-out walk and Boggan doubled to center. An 8-4-2 relay from the outfield to the plate was just in time as Koons was tagged out by catcher Cayden Cunniff for the second out of the inning. Abushahla also walked, which forced the Texas-Tyler coach to pull his starting pitcher, Tye Weber after 2.2 innings. Joshua Holley (2-0), who earned the victory, came in to get the final out of the third and went on to throw 3.1 innings, keeping CLU hitters at bay throughout.
CLU again generated a pair of hits in the top of the fourth with Spencer DuBois singling to center and Garrett Smith executing a hit-and-run with a pop-up that landed between in the outfield grass between the left fielder, shortstop and second baseman. Unfortunately, one of two innings ending double-plays for the Patriots concluded the frame for CLU.
A two-out Cal Lutheran rally in the seventh got started with a single from Koons. Boggan followed with a double to the right centerfield gap with an opportunity to drive in the tying run as the ball trickled past Lirely, the diving right fielder, but Koons missed the bag at second and had to go back before advancing to third, taking away the chance to score on the play. A ground ball ended the threat.
Petersen was the only other base runner the Kingsmen had today after a one-out single in the ninth. The game ended on a 1-6-3 double play for Texas-Tyler as Derek Miller locked up his 16th save of the season.
Scott Peters worked out of a jam in the fifth as TTU made some more noise at the plate. The CLU sophomore got a fly ball and a strike out for two quick outs before back-to-back singles from the seventh and eighth batters. Peters forced a foul pop-up to DuBois to keep it a one-run game. He retired the side in order in the sixth and after a leadoff single in the seventh handed the ball to Cal Lutheran closer Aaron Roth who sat down six of the seven batters he faced with a pair of strike outs. Of his 20 pitches, 15 went for strikes today.
Suffering his only loss of the season, Peters (8-1) tossed 6.0 innings, allowing 11 hits and three runs, all earned, while striking out two.
In the final collegiate game of his career Boggan went 3-for-4 with a trio of doubles. Abushahla and Petersen had two hits apiece as well. Joining DuBois, Koons and Smith with a hit was Kevin Leonard.
Texas-Tyler collected 12 hits with Cunniff, House, Lane, Lirely and Martin recording two apiece. Three different players had RBIs and three different players scored.
Cal Lutheran (35-9-1) concludes the spring tied, with the 1990 and 1997 teams, for the second most wins in a season. The Kingsmen bid farewell to eight seniors, Boggan, Koons, Leonard, Smith, Ronnie Burton, Nick DeLorenzo, John Leal and Mike Vinyard.
Box Score: TTU 3, CLU 2
Regional Website: West Regional Tournament Information
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