Crowder baseball claims Region 16 title with 7-1 win over Jefferson

May 15—For a third consecutive season, the Crowder College baseball team is headed to the NJCAA South Central District Tournament.

The Roughriders punched their ticket to the district round of the postseason by picking up a 7-1 win over Jefferson College on Saturday in a decisive Game 2 of the Region 16 Tournament championship series at Joe Becker Stadium.

The triumph avenged a 12-11 setback that Crowder suffered in Game 1 earlier in the day. The Vikings needed two straight wins to claim the regional title while the Roughriders, who entered the day undefeated in the double-elimination event, needed just one win.

Crowder (50-10) benefitted from stellar pitching outings by starter Riely Hunsaker and reliever Jake Wilson in the title-clinching win. The pair limited Jefferson (33-24) to one earned run and nine hits while accounting for 11 strikeouts in the game.

"It was in question early obviously, but we got a good start," 17th-year Crowder head coach Travis Lallemand said. "We wanted nine to 12 outs from Hunsaker and he gave us that. We weren't even sure how long we were going to be able to use Wilson. He's had a banged up shoulder. But holy cow, was that guy electric. I mean, that's the difference."

Hunsaker was credited with the win after surrendering one earned run and six hits in four innings of work. Wilson went five scoreless innings and allowed just three hits while striking out eight batters.

The game featured a 1-1 tie at the end of the fourth before Crowder went on to plate six unanswered runs.

In the top of the fifth, the Roughriders placed runners on third and second before Peyton Holt drove in a go-ahead run on a groundout to shortstop. Then in the next at-bat, Gavin Glasgow gave Crowder a 3-1 lead on a hit up the middle for an RBI single.

Crowder tacked on another run in the sixth when Adamo Stornello hit a deep sacrifice fly to left field to score Jackson Cobb, who led off the frame with a walk.

The scoring in the game was capped in the seventh as Crowder plated three insurance runs on a pair of hits. After loading the bases with no outs, Kenny DiClemente logged an RBI groundout to shortstop before Cobb took to the plate and lined a two-run single through the left side for a 6-1 lead.

Wilson and the Crowder defense took over from there by holding Jefferson to no runs and just two hits in the final three innings.

"What a warrior of a performance that was," Lallemand said of Wilson's outing. "He was one of our top guys all year long — don't get me wrong. But he has been banged up. Having that ace in the hole, how about that?"

Josh Patrick got Crowder started offensively by hitting a solo home run in the first inning for a 1-0 advantage. He finished 3 for 4 with one homer, a double, one RBI and three runs scored.

"I think the mentality (in Game 2) was to just be who we are," Patrick said. "I know I was determined to do everything I could to win this game, especially for the teammates and the coaches I have. I just wanted to do whatever it took."

Houston King and Cobb added two hits apiece for the Roughriders. Cobb also drove in a pair of runs.

The Vikings tied the game at 1-all in the fourth on an RBI single by Matt Albritton, who went 4 for 4 in the game.

Crowder picked up its seventh regional championship under Lallemand, who was named the Region 16 Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the tournament.

"I love playing with this team, this program," said Patrick, who picked up his second regional title as a Roughrider. "Everyone is phenomenal. Any kid that's wanting to play junior college ball, this is the way to go."

The Roughriders' regional title streak includes the 2019, 2021 and 2022 seasons since the 2020 campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crowder will compete in the South Central District Tournament next weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tourney field will also include the champions of Region 23 (Delgado Community College) and Region 2 (TBD).

"It feels good because we get to keep playing with this group," Lallemand said. "With the most dominant arm in the country (Jacob Misiorowski, the Region 16 Player of the Year), that feels pretty good. and seeing Wilson do what he did today, he's not too far behind him either. So we can go make some noise down there.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but it's all worth it. It's what we do from August to now that makes it worthwhile. ... We spend a lot of time together and we work our guys' tails off. I'm just happy for these guys because they deserve it."

JEFFERSON 12, CROWDER 11

A solo homer by Matt Schark in the top of the ninth inning lifted Jefferson to the win in the first game of the championship series.

The score capped a wild back-and-forth contest that featured 28 combined hits and six lead changes.

Crowder's last chance in the bottom of the ninth saw Cobb draw a leadoff walk before a deep fly hit to center field was tracked down by Jefferson's Payton Howard for the first out of the inning. Chaz Poppy then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to bring the game to a close.

The last lead taken by the Roughriders came in the bottom of the seventh when they plated four runs with two outs in the frame.

Trailing 8-7, Poppy belted a hit off the wooden wall in right field for a two-run double that put Crowder up by a run. Clayton Gray then logged an RBI single in the very next at-bat and later scored from third on a wild pitch to give the Roughriders an 11-8 advantage.

However, a response was made almost immediately by the Vikings, who plated three runs on three hits in the top of the eighth to even up the score at 11-all.

Schark's late-game heroics capped an outstanding performance at the plate as the Jefferson senior finished 5 for 5 with two home runs, a triple, a double, four RBI and four runs scored.

Crowder used four arms in the contest. Maddox Thornton started and surrendered two runs and 10 hits while striking out six in six innings of work. Relievers Josh Barnhouse, Gage Singer and Conner Floyd combined to allow five earned runs and five hits in three innings.

Jefferson closer Hesston Gray was credited the win after shutting out Crowder in the final two innings.

Poppy and Patrick logged one homer apiece for Crowder. Poppy finished 2 for 5 with three RBI, while Wilkerson finished 3 for 5 with three RBI.

Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.