ST. GEORGE, Utah – Austin Peay State University's baseball team fell to Utah Tech 7-6 in extra innings to split the four-game series, Saturday, at Bruce Hurst Field in St. George, Utah.
How it Happened
To 2nd | Andres Matias collected a one-out single to shallow center field before advancing to third on an error by Ryan Kroepel at third. Cole Johnson then stepped up and hit a deep fly ball to center field, allowing Matias to score on the sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.
Bottom 4th | Finnegan Stewart doubled to right center with an out in the inning before Gavin Long came up three batters later, where he singled to right field and brought Stewart in to tie the game at a run.
Top 5th | After striking out the first batter he faced in the fifth, the starting pitcher for Utah Tech, Brandon Kosel, walked Trevor Conley before recording another out for the second out of the inning. Paris Pridgen stepped up to the plate next and hit his first-career home run to put a pair of runs on the board and put the Govs up by two runs, 3-1.
Top 6th | Ty Wisdom led off the sixth with a backside double down the left field line before advancing to third on a fly out to deep center from Matias. Kyler Proctor then came up and hit a fly ball up against the right field wall, which allowed Wisdom to score on the sacrifice fly for a 4-1 lead.
Bottom 6th | A pair of groundouts began the bottom half of the frame before Cooper Smith stepped up to face Kade Shatwell. He worked the count to two balls and a strike before hitting his first-career home run to the opposite field over the left center wall, cutting the Trailblazers' deficit in half, 4-2.
Top 7th | The first two batters for Austin Peay were retired before rallying for a pair of runs with two outs, beginning with Wisdom, as he singled on the infield before advancing to second on a throwing error. Matias came up next and doubled to left center to bring in Wisdom. Then, Proctor came up and brought Matias in from second himself on an RBI single to right, extending the Governors' lead to 6-2.
Bottom 7th | Ryker Walton relieved Shatwell on the mound, as he began the bottom of the seventh for his second appearance of the series. He retired the first batter on a foul out to Keaton Cottam behind the plate before walking Hudson Manwaring. He would come in to score on a double down the left field line from Petey Soto Jr. two pitches later, making the score 6-3 in favor of Austin Peay.
Bottom 9th | Gavin Long began the ninth with a leadoff single to center before advancing on a wild pitch. Then, Manwaring reached base on a fielding error from Velazquez to put runners at the corners. Manwaring would steal second before Soto Jr. singled to left, scoring Long from third. But a fielding error from Zion Taylor in left allowed Manwaring to score and get the Trailblazers within a run. Jackson Hohensee came in to relieve Walton on the mound, and on the first pitch out of the pen, Soto Jr. advanced to third on a passed ball before coming home on a sacrifice fly to left, tying the game at six.
Bottom 10th | Following its three-run ninth to tie the game, Utah Tech's Smith drew a one-out walk before being pinch-ran for by Gavin Grutzmacher. Andrew Pyle singled through the right side to bring Long to the plate. He hit a ground ball to Proctor at second that he had to dive for, and his throw to the plate was not in time to get Grutzmacher out at the plate, as the Trailblazers walked it off on the fielder's choice.
Wrap Up
Kroepel picked up his first win of the season to improve to 1-0 after completing the top of the 10th inning and not allowing a run to score in the six batters he faced.
Hohensee was given the loss to fall to 0-1 on the season after allowing one run to score on one hit and a walk while striking out one batter across 1.1 innings.
Up Next
The Governors return home for midweek action against Ohio starting at 4 p.m. (CT), Tuesday, at Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tennessee.
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