GRANVILLE, Ohio. - Spalding fought hard until the very end in a 4-3 loss to No. 2 seed Baldwin Wallace University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Eagles move to the elimination bracket of the region.
TURNING POINT
The Yellow Jackets got off to a hot start with a solo home run in their third at-bat of the game. They then tacked on two more in the second inning with an RBI double, following a walk, and an RBI single.
Spalding cut into the 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth frame. With one out on the board from a ground out,
Hunter Strong walked.
Nicholas Salas was up to the plate next and delivered in a big way. Salas hit his sixth home run of the season to cut the lead to 3-2.
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the eighth when an RBI double sent a Baldwin Wallace player home. The Golden Eagles answered back with a run of their own in the top of the ninth. A
Michael Speck double that fell in the perfect spot on the left field line scored
Jonathan Lopez who was pinch running for
Nicholas Salas.
The rally fell short as
Marcus Collins was called for a strikeout looking much to the chagrin of the Spalding faithful in attendance.
The 4-3 loss sent the Golden Eagles to the elimination bracket of the regional.Â
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
- Nicholas Salas led Spalding in both hits and RBI. He was 2-for-4 with two RBI.
- Michael Speck also had an RBI for the Golden Eagles.
- A total of seven Spalding student-athletes registered at least one hit.
- Caleb Collins was the starting pitcher for the Golden Eagles and put in seven innings of work. He struck out four batters and allowed three runs on four hits.
- Wesley Clark came to the mound in relief and was in action for one inning.
- Spalding outhit the opposition 8-6.
NEXT FOR SPALDING
The Golden Eagles face No. 4 seed Beloit College in the elimination bracket of the Granville, Ohio regional. First pitch from the Denison University campus is set for 11 a.m.Â
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