Box Score (html)
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The top two teams from the Great American Conference had to go all the way to Minnesota for their first meeting this season, but SWOSU and No. 24 Arkansas-Monticello played one of the best games of the Central Regional in front of 219 fans at Joe Faber Field on Saturday.
SWOSU scored once in the second inning, but they stranded 13 runners on base and were shut out the rest of the way, allowing UAM to hit a walkoff sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth inning and advance in the regional. The defeat is the second for the Bulldogs at the Central Regional Tournament, eliminating SWOSU and ending their season with a 34-17 record.
Bulldog starting pitcher
Devin Ring was outstanding on the mound, tossing 9.1 innings and allowing just six hits and two runs against a UAM offense that had put up at least four runs in 46 consecutive games dating back to early February. Ring gave up two walks, but struck out seven UAM batters while throwing 130 pitches on the day.
Offensively, SWOSU had six hits but left 13 runners on base after being the beneficiary of nine walks by UAM's pitchers. The Bulldogs plenty of scoring opportunities but they left the bases loaded in the first inning and had two runners stranded in the second, fifth, sixth and tenth innings.
"It's a heartbreaker, to watch
Devin Ring go out and pitch his guts out like that and allow just one run, you hate to see that happen," SWOSU Head Coach
Zack Saunders said. "It's a tough way to lose a game, but more importantly it's a tough way to see 15 seniors play their final game."
In the top of the tenth inning, SWOSU had a chance to score with
Joel Baxley sparking a two-out rally with a single to left field.
Greg Bruno then drew a walk to bring
CJ Faddis to the plate with two runners on. Faddis worked a deep count and hit a hard ground ball up the middle, but UAM's second baseman made the play and ended the inning with a play at second.
With more than 120 pitches to his credit, Ring came back out to the mound for the bottom of the tenth and got the first out of the inning before plunking UAM's leadoff batter, Evan Comeau, in the back with a 3-1 pitch. With the heart of the Boll Weevils vaunted lineup heading to the plate, SWOSU called upon
Jeremy Smith in relief of Ring. Smith faced two UAM batters, allowing a single and a walk to load the bases with still one out in the inning.
Another pitching chance brought
Quintin Dougherty on to face UAM's cleanup hitter, Travis Steinke. SWOSU needed a ground ball for a potential double play or a play at the plate, but instead it was Steinke driving the 1-1 pitch deep into center field where it was caught by
Tanner Dearman, who had no play as Comeau came into score from third for the walk off.
By allowing the eventual game-winning run to reach base in the tenth, Ring took the loss and ends his junior year with a 6-4 record. That decision, however, in no way takes away from the gutsy performance he put forth in his first NCAA Central Regional start.
"Our starting pitching has gotten better all year," Saunders said. "Our rotation guys were lights out this week and I can't say enough about effort from
Devin Ring today. He was all heart up there and he went out and battled, giving us more than an opportunity to win the ball game."
While the sting of elimination from the NCAA Tournament will hang with the Bulldogs initially, the 2016 SWOSU Baseball season will be remembered as a resounding success. Led by a large graduation class of 15 seniors, the Bulldogs bounced back from not making the 2015 GAC Tournament and set a new single-season school record with 34 victories in 2016.
Additionally, the Bulldogs won the 2016 GAC Championship, the program's first conference title since 1992, and earned an at-large bid to their first-ever NCAA Division II Central Regional. While in Minnesota this week, more history was made when the Bulldogs defeated Minnesota Duluth on Friday for their first-ever NCAA postseason victory.
While he was not yet ready, or able, to completely reminisce on the breakthrough season, the 2016 GAC Coach of the Year deflected the credit of leading the turnaround to his senior class.
"You tell them thank you and you tell them you love them," Saunders said when asked of his postgame message to the senior class. "We made history as a group and what an up and down ride for those guys. After last year, never could I have imagined the ride that this team took SWOSU Baseball on but now that you get a taste of it, you sure want some more of it."
