Cougars Earn Third Straight Trip to NAIA Opening Round


	Cougar Baseball Recap Cougars Earn Third Straight Trip to NAIA Opening Round written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Boxscore UPLAND, Ind. (5-4-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team earned its third straight trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round as the No. 3 seed Cougars posted an 11-10 walk-off win over top-seeded Taylor (Ind.) University in the championship game of the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament on Thursday evening on the Trojans' home field. MVNU (33-18) jumped on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore third baseman Jeff Stone gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly. One out and a wild pitch later, junior shortstop Jordan Doherty added an RBI single as MVNU moved in front 2-0. The lead was short-lived, though, as NAIA No. 22 Taylor (37-18), the MCC regular-season champion, responded with three runs in the top of the second inning as Michael Nassar had a run-scoring single and then Ian Nielsen and Jordan Coffey both drew two-out, bases-loaded walks to put the Trojans on top 3-2. The see-saw battle continued as the Cougars regained the lead 4-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning as sophomore outfielder Robert Kane plated the first one when he reached on an error, and Stone later singled in the second run of the frame. Taylor jumped back out in front 8-4 in the top of the fourth inning when the Trojans got a three-run homer from Ryne Otis, the MCC Player of the Year, and then back-to-back solo shots with two outs from Tyler Luna and Austin York. Seemingly unfazed, MVNU answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run double by Stone and then knotted the score at 8-8 on a two-out, two-run triple by Kane in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Cougars took a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on an error by Taylor, but the Trojans responded with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning on a two-run single by Coffey to move in front 10-9. MVNU knotted the score at 10-10 in the bottom of the seventh inning when freshman catcher Clint Spencer was hit by a pitch leading off the frame. Senior pitcher Jerrob Decker came on to run for Spencer and was bunted to second by freshman outfielder Andrew Fila and then advanced on to third on a wild pitch. Senior designated hitter/pitcher Jeff Estep followed with an RBI single to draw the Cougars even. After neither team scored in the eighth inning and Taylor was held scoreless in the top of the ninth inning, the stage was set for MVNU to post the dramatic victory. Fila led off with a single just over the glove of a leaping Nassar at second base. Estep sacrificed him to second and was safe at first on an error by pitcher Craig Martin. Kane followed with a bunt single to load the bases. After sophomore first baseman Seth Eller struck out looking, Stone ended the game with a sacrifice fly to leftfield as Fila beat the throw to the plate easily to give the Cougars a walk-off win and the tournament title. Junior lefty Justin Brown started and worked five innings as he scattered nine hits, seven walks, and eight runs with two strikeouts. Senior right-hander Darren Athey tossed two-plus innings and gave up two hits, three walks, and two runs with two strikeouts, and Estep (4-2) got the win as he threw two scoreless innings of relief and allowed just two walks. MVNU pitchers combined to walk 12 batters in the game, but the Cougars were able to strand 14 Taylor base runners. Josh DeGraaf started for the Trojans and lasted just 4.2 innings as he allowed 11 hits, one walk, and eight runs while striking out three batters. Travis Carsten tossed 1.2 innings and gave up three hits and two runs, while Martin (1-3) took the loss despite allowing just three hits and one unearned run over 2.1 innings with one strikeout. Offensively, Stone *(right)* capped off a monster tournament by going 3-for-4 with five RBI to finish with 13 RBI and a .571 batting average (8-for-14) in the three games. Kane was 4-for-6 with three RBI, Doherty added three hits, and Estep and Fila had two hits apiece with Fila scoring three runs. Dominic Spadafora led Taylor with three hits and three runs scored, while Nassar contributed two hits. Otis and Coffey both finished with three RBI apiece in the contest. "It is great to be able to win the conference tournament title in our first year in the MCC," said MVNU coach Keith Veale. "The other four teams in this tournament were all high quality teams and this was no easy task. Taylor was a very gracious host and did a great job of running this event. They have a great team, and it will be interesting to see how they do in the next round." "I am so pleased with the resiliency and determination of our guys this week," Veale continued. "We've been battling through injuries lately and then they kept coming back when we fell behind the past two days. They just never gave up. For the guys on the team who have been here for a few years, it is a great accomplishment for them to earn their third straight trip to the NAIA Opening Round." The Cougars and Trojans will now advance to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round on May 10-14 at Indiana Wesleyan University as a result of earning automatic berths as the MCC Tournament and regular-season champions respectively. MVNU and Taylor will await word as to who the other three teams in their five-team bracket will be. There will be nine different five-team, double elimination tournaments taking place to determine the nine teams that will join host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College at the NAIA World Series on May 25-June 1 in Lewiston, Idaho.

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