SPOKANE, Wash. - On the first day of the 2016 NCAA Division III Spokane Regional at Avista Stadium on Wednesday evening, the No. 2 seed Cal Lutheran baseball team rallied late in the game but came up short in an upset loss to No. 5 seed Texas-Tyler.
The Patriots jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after leadoff hitter Graham Welch doubled to right center and came around to score on a sacrifice fly later in the frame.
The Kingsmen responded with three hits by Davey Casciola, Gabe Gunter and Ramsey Abushahla along with a Jimmy Jauregui walk in the bottom half of the first, but were unable to bring a run across to tie the game.
UT-Tyler held on to a 1-0 lead until the top of fifth when it tacked on three more runs to take a 4-0 advantage. After a leadoff single followed by a walk, Welch continued his hot hitting with a 356-foot single that hit off the top of the wall to drive in a run. With two runners on, Alex Bishop launched a triple to the wall in left center to clear the bases.
Looking to counter, CLU put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to get on the board. Casciola singled up the middle and Chad Clark doubled down the right field line to bring him home.
The Kingsmen added another in the bottom of the seventh when Nick Cohan got the inning started by drawing a walk and promptly stealing second. After moving to third on an Eddie Villegas fly out, Cohan raced home on a sacrifice fly from Max Price. Casciola then stepped up to the plate and hit another single to keep the inning alive. Looking to repeat the sequence of the fifth inning, C. Clark hit a rope down the right field line, but an incredible diving catch prevented the Violet and Gold from scoring another run.
CLU continued to put the pressure on the Patriots, loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth, but once again stranded all three runners.
Still trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter Jeff Rebello led off with a sharply hit single in between first and second base to prompt one final rally. Casciola followed with his fourth single of the game and C. Clark moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Gunter proceeded to single through the left side to score Rebello, but a strong throw by the left fielder erased the game-tying run in Casciola at the plate and halted the Kingsmen rally.
Cason Adams (8-2) picked up the win for the Patriots after throwing seven innings and allowing just two earned runs while scattering seven hits and striking out six. Reese Read pitched the ninth to earn his fifth save.
Trey Saito (9-4) was tagged with the loss after going 7.1 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out five.
At the plate, Casciola led the way with a 4-for-5 performance and Gunter finished 2-for-5 with an RBI. CLU outhit the Patriots 12-7 but left 10 men on base.
Cal Lutheran (31-12) will now face Pacific Lutheran in an elimination game tomorrow, May 19, at 12:00 p.m. The Kingsmen and Lutes faced each other earlier this season in Thousand Oaks, Calif. with CLU winning 14-6.
Box Score: UTT 4, CLU 3
Tournament Central: 2016 NCAA Division III Spokane Regional
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