O'FALLON, Mo. – Spalding traveled to Missouri over the weekend and came out with the SLIAC title. Spalding defeated Westminster and Webster (twice) to achieve back-to-back championships.
GAME ONE - SPALDING 18, WESTMINSTER 6
The Blue Jays had a great start as they tallied two runs in the first inning. In the bottom of the second,
Evan Fisher homered to left field, making it 2-1. The Golden Eagle defense showed up, putting up back-to-back 3-up, 3-down innings.
Hunter Strong hit a single RBI to center field in the bottom of the third. SU took their first lead as
Jacob Spanyer hit a ground-rule double RBI. Spalding led after three, 3-2.
Matthew McDowell extended the Golden Eagles lead in the bottom of the fourth. He tallied a single through the right side, allowing two runners to come home. Spanyer grabbed his second RBI from a fielder's choice, scoring
Ethan Tuttle from third. Spalding's defense continued to not allow a runner past second base through the fifth inning, setting the table for the offense to put up 3 more runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Whitt Callahan homered to left field, scoring two of the runs.
Michael Speck crossed the plate to score the third-inning run thanks to a balk by the Westminster pitcher. This sequence extended the SU lead to 9-2.
The Golden Eagles' dominance continued through the sixth inning. Defensively, Spalding ended the inning with a double play after only allowing a few Blue Jay base runners. Offensively, Fisher and
Caleb Coffey found the bat's sweet spot, each sending the ball over the outfield fencing. For Fisher, this was his second home run of the afternoon. Later in the inning, McDowell brought home Tuttle with a single to center field, extending the Golden Eagle lead to 13-2. The bats quieted as the seventh inning saw Westminster thinly slice into the deficit, plating a run to make it 13-3 in favor of SU.
Spalding put up five more insurance runs in the eighth inning, extending the lead to 18-3. McDowell doubled to center field, bringing home Tuttle again for his fourth RBI of the game. McDowell was able to trot home thanks to a powerful homer by Strong.
Slade West came in to pinch-hit for Fisher and decided the fifth spot in the batting order needed one more home run filled in. West's shot rocketed over the right-center field fence, scoring pinch-runner A.J. Lopez. Westminster brought home three more runs in the top of the ninth inning, but it was not enough as Spalding cruised to victory, 18-6.
GAME TWO - SPALDING 12, WEBSTER 11
The Gorloks began the day with two runs in the top of the first. The Golden Eagles responded terrifically, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first. The first six Spalding batters all reached base. The RBIs were tallied by Spanyer, Fisher,
Dryden Schroeder, Callahan (2), Speck, and Tuttle. Spalding led going into the second inning, 7-2.
After an action-packed first inning, the offenses went quiet. Both teams sent just four batters to the plate in the second and third innings, with the defense holding strong.
Caden Krystofiak shut down the Webster offense, striking four batters through the first three innings. In the top of the fifth inning, the Gorloks brought home a run to narrow the deficit to 7-3 in favor of the Golden Eagles. From there, the teams continued their stalemate through the sixth inning.
The action and excitement from the first inning picked back up in the seventh inning. Webster scored three runs in the top half of the inning to tighten the game to 7-6. However, Spalding had all the right answers, plating four runs in the bottom half. All four runs came off two RBI deep shots over the outfield fence from Schroeder and Callahan. Webster answered right back with four more runs in the eighth inning, sending the game to the ninth inning with Spalding ahead 11-10.
The Gorloks continued their momentum into the ninth inning. They snagged another run to make it an 11-11 ball game. The intensity of this game continued into extra innings. In the 11th, Callahan hit the dagger. He singled to second base as
Jonathan Lopez scored the winning run.
SU went on to win this one, 12-11.
GAME THREE - SPALDING 8, WEBSTER 5
Spalding opened the Championship game with potent energy. McDowell grabbed SU the first run of the game with an RBI single to center field. The Gorloks tied it right back up in the next inning, 1-1.
The Golden Eagles again found the lead in the bottom of the second. It felt like a ping-pong match as Webster and SU each tallied a run in the third inning. As it reached the top of the fifth, the Gorloks snagged two runs to tie the game up at four a piece. Once again, SU kept fighting. Schroeder, Coffey, and Tuttle all rallied RBIs for the Golden Eagles. Spalding had a 7-4 advantage at the end of the fifth inning.
Webster tallied a home run in the top of the seventh, making it 7-5. Fisher put the nail in the coffin for the Golden Eagles with an RBI single to right field. SU held on strong and secured back-to-back SLIAC Championships, winning 8-5.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding will travel to Transylvania University to compete in the NCAA Tournament. SU will face Beloit in the NCAA Regional round.
