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TIGERS SHAKE UP TOURNEY SCENE, UPSET MARLINS 7-4 Hampden-Sydney comes through with clutch two-out run production for upset
Box Score The Tigers (19-17) move on to day two of the tourney where they will take on the winner of the battle between No. 3 seed Randolph-Macon and fourth-seeded Bridgewater College at 7 pm on Friday, April 24. Hampden-Sydney never trailed in scoring the second major upset of day one; six seed Washington and Lee stunned Lynchburg, the tournament's top seed, 4-1 in the first game of the day. Tigers' catcher Zach Harrelson (Danville, VA/George Washington) belted an RBI single in the first, Erik Herrmann (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run) laced a two-out, RBI double in the fourth and Matt Brown (Chester, VA/L.C. Bird) notched a sacrifice fly in the fifth to help the Tigers build a 3-2 lead with five innings in the books. Williams and West made sure that the Tigers maintained the lead for the duration with several clutch plays that kept the Marlins at bay. Williams turned the narrow 3-2 Hampden-Sydney lead into a more spacious 5-2, sixth inning advantage with a two-out, two-run single to center that scored Herrmann and Chris Martin (Chesterfield, VA/Manchester). It was Williams' third hit of the day and saved the Tigers from coming up empty after putting men on second and third with no outs to begin the inning. With Virginia Wesleyan (23-13) looking to make a move in the bottom of the seventh with runners at the corners, two outs and cleanup batter Mike Marion at the dish, West forced Marion into a weak ground ball back to the bump. West made the easy throw to first to retire the side and maintain the three-run edge. The Marlins cut the lead to 5-3 with a Brandon Hathaway RBI single in the eighth, but the Tigers were the beneficiaries of more two-out magic in the top of the ninth after a momentarily disheartening turn of events. A.J. Prill (Midlothian, VA/James River) led the inning off with a double to right and advanced to third on a wild pitch that walked Harrelson. With no outs and runners at the corners, Brown lined a pitch sharply to third, where the Marlins' Max Axelrod snagged the drive and doubled Harrelson up at first, pinning two outs on the Tigers with Prill stranded at third. With two out, Evan Rogers (Chester, VA/L.C. Bird) lifted a high fly ball into center field. Virginia Wesleyan's outfield lost the ball in the high sky and allowed it to drop to the grass, scoring Prill, giving Hampden-Sydney a 6-3 lead and advancing Rogers to second. Luke Swiney (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) singled Rogers to third, and then coaxed Rogers home with a delayed steal that initially got Rogers into a rundown between third and home. But the Marlins could not convert the chance, and a botched throw between the catcher and third baseman allowed Rogers to stroll home and push the Tiger advantage to 7-3. Virginia Wesleyan loaded the bases with one out in its half of the ninth after plating one run to come within 7-4, but the Tigers' Ryan Daniel (Yanceyville, NC/Bartlett-Yancey) fanned two Marlins to bring the threat, and the game, to an end. West (6-4) allowed 13 hits on the day, but never surrendered a back breaking blow to the Marlins' potent offense, and yielded just three runs. Daniel earned his first save of the year in his effective two-thirds innings of action. Harrelson, Rogers, Swiney and Herrmann (two doubles) each tallied two hits on the afternoon. The Marlins were paced at the plate by Myles Shipp, who went 4-for-5 with a run. C.J. Rhodes, Matt McCutcheon and Marion each registered a pair of base hits and Kevin Nally turned in a 3-for-4 day. www.hsc.edu/athletics- |