Tech Baseball, Trine Softball Wins

Sophomore Brandon Alger (Leo, IN/Leo) went the distance to help the third-seeded Indiana Tech baseball team defeat second-seeded Georgetown College 4-2 on Thursday in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round - Kingsport Bracket at Hunter Wright Stadium.

Alger hurled 135 pitches and had only one difficult inning, the ninth, as he upped his record to 8-2 on the year.

Down 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Georgetown (45-10) loaded the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly by David Higuera drove in the first run for the Tigers, and Brian Smith made it 4-2 with another sac fly. However, Alger closed the door on the Georgetown comeback attempt by getting the final batter to fly out to center.

The left-hander allowed two runs on five hits, three walks and hit a batter with eight strikeouts.

Indiana Tech grabbed the lead early on, scoring a run in the first and second innings for a 2-0 advantage. Senior Craig Herrmann (Ft. Worth, TX/Delta State) started the game with a double down the left field line and came around to score on an RBI single by junior Ignatius Mackenzie (Waipahu, HI/Waipahu).  Herrmann ripped his second double of the day an inning later to send home Thomas Barnes (Marion, IN/Marion).

It remained a two-run game until the eighth when the Warriors (40-20 overall) tacked on two more runs thanks to RBIs from Barnes and Hermann to make it 4-0.

The insurance runs were needed as Georgetown scored twice in the ninth to break up the shutout and make the final 4-2.

Hermann paced the offense going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Mackenzie finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Tiger hurler Tyler Arthur suffered his first loss of the year, dropping him to 10-1 as he surrendered two earned runs on nine hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

Georgetown will now face Campbellsville at 11 a.m. Friday in an elimination game, while Indiana Tech will play the Tennessee Wesleyan/St. Francis (Ill.) winner Friday at 2:30 p.m.

It was a little closer than the top seeded, and 16th ranked Trine University softball team would have liked, but they held on to defeat Geneva 6-5 in the opening round of the NCAA Softball Alma Regional. The Thunder (38-8) advance into the winner’s bracket for the first time in school history.

Geneva scored first, as they plated a run in the top of the first started by a leadoff single.

Their lead wouldn’t last long as a 2-run double in the bottom of the first by junior Lauren Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) scored sisters Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) and Andi Gasco (Levering, Mich./Petoskey).

Trine would plate three runs in the second as junior Lindsey Wise (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) knocked in fellow junior Sarah Belote (Bronson, Mich./Bronson) on a double. After an error by the Golden Tornadoes allowed senior Kelly Tresick (Clinton Township, Mich./L'Anse Creuse) to reach base, Searles would deliver her school record ninth triple of the season to score both runners.

Geneva would plate a run in the third on a sacrifice fly with one out.

Trine escaped trouble in the fourth as Gasco ended the inning with a strike’em out-throw’em out double play as Belote gunned down the runner trying to steal second

In the bottom of the inning, Trine would plate a run on a single by Searles, scoring fellow freshman Leah Hall (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) who had reached on a single.

The Golden Tornadoes would get another run back in the fifth with two outs on three straight hits.

Geneva would make the Thunder sweat it out as they plated two runs in the top of the seventh, but Gasco would strike out the final batter to seal the victory for Trine.

In the circle, Gasco earned the win going all seven innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out seven.

At the plate, Searles led the offense going 3-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Belote and Hall each collected two hits on the day, while Harris drove in two.

Trine will now face the winner of the John Carroll-Chicago game tomorrow, May 11 at 2:00 p.m.