GPAC

[Baseball] Baseball Opens GPAC with Sweep; Walk-off Win

 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play opened on Friday in baseball with Doane hosting Northwestern. The Tigers fell behind early in game one before posting a convincing 10-3 victory. In the nightcap, the Tigers had two late rallies as they won 9-8 in 11 innings to pick up the sweep of the conference doubleheader. Game OneNorthwestern plated two runs in the top of the 1st inning behind three hits. The hit total in the inning was half of the Red Raiders game total as Tiger starter Travis Cowan (JR/Lakewood, Colo.) settled in and held Northwestern in check over the next five innings.Doane came back in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game with two runs on three hits. Talon Little (JR/Lincoln, Neb.) and Aaron Mason (SR/Omaha, Neb.) had RBI-hits in the inning. The Tigers took the lead in the 2nd inning on a RBI-single by Lukas White (SO/Castaic, Calif.).In the 3rd inning, the Tigers plated five runs on five hits as five players had a RBI in the inning. Doane added two runs in the 6th with Northwestern scoring their final run in the 7th.For the game, Doane finished with 13 hits while the Red Raiders had six. White went 4-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in. Andy Theiler (JR/Arlington, Neb.) and Little added two hits apiece. Little matched White for the team high with two RBIs while Theiler led the team with two runs scored.On the hill, Cowen finished with 6.0 innings of work allowing five hits and two runs with 11 strikeouts. Julian Vargas (FR/Denver, Colo.) threw the final inning, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts. Game TwoThe majority of the runs were scored in the sixth inning or later in the final game. In fact, 15 of the 17 runs came in the latter half of the game. The 11-inning contest was the longest game for the Tigers since they went 12 innings against Morningside in 2018.Doane jumped out to the early lead as Theiler hit a home run to lead off the bottom of the 1st inning. The Tigers took a two run lead in the 4th inning on a sacrifice fly.Northwestern used a pair of two-out singles in the 6th inning to take their first lead of the game, 3-2. The Tigers threatened to tie the game in the 7th, stranding the tying run at third base following a strikeout to end the inning. The Red Raiders carried over the momentum by plating two runs in the 8th to take a 5-2 lead. Doane once again threatened in the bottom of the 8th as a potential two-run home run drifted inches foul. Northwestern countered again with two runs in the 9th to take a 7-2 lead.In the bottom of the 9th, Doane put the first three batters on base. A fly ball brought in a run, however, the Red Raiders were able to turn a double play on a baserunning mistake by the Tigers. With two outs, Doane would score one run and load the bases as they trailed 7-4. Bob Mercier (FR/Lincoln, Neb.) came up to the plate as a pinch hitter and laced a double into the right field corner to tie the game and force extra innings.As the teams went to the 11th inning, the sun began to set on the final batters of the day. Northwestern picked up a two-out double to plate the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the inning, Doane's Jack Tillman (SO/Omaha, Neb.) drew a leadoff walk. Cowan, the pitcher of record in game one, entered on the basepaths to run for Tillman. He would advance to third base with one out following a pair of wild pitches. White drew a walk to put runners at the corners. With two outs, Raul Villarreal (FR/Golden, Colo.) entered as a pinch hitter and drew a walk to load the bases. Kellan Voggesser (FR/Fort Collins, Colo.), another Tiger pitcher, entered the game as a pinch runner as he replaced White at second base.Doane tied the game with Nate Mensik (FR/Pleasant Dale, Neb.) at the plate as a wild pitch moved each runner up and scored Cowan. Mensik followed with a walk to load the bases to set up Nakamoto. Doane's only hit of the 11th inning came off the bat of their senior shortstop as he drilled a pitch into left-center and out of the reach of a diving Red Raider defender to plate Voggesser for the win.The victory marked the team's second walk-off win in the last eight days after picking up a walk-off over Cornerstone last Friday. It marks the first time since 2016 that the Tigers have had multiple walk-off wins in the same season.Aaron Forrest (FR/Peoria, Ariz.) started for the Tigers and threw 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Picking up his first collegiate win was Kyler Beekman (FR/Elkhorn, Neb.) as he threw the final 2.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with a strikeout.Doane out-hit Northwestern in the final game, 14-11. Theiler and Mason had three hits apiece with White and Nakamoto adding two apiece. Mercier led the team with three RBIs while Theiler and Nakamoto drove in two apiece. Theiler scored twice to lead the team.