Crowder falls to Wabash Valley in slug fest at World Series

Jun. 1—GRAND JUNCTION, Col. — It was a baseball game that came down to who out slugged who.

And Ryan McCoy delivered the knockout swing for Wabash Valley in a heavyweight matchup against Crowder College.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Wabash Valley first baseman belted a fastball middle away out to center field for a walk-off home run to lift the second-seeded Warriors past fifth-seeded Roughriders 13-12 on Tuesday night in the championship bracket of the NJCAA Division I World Series at Sam Suplizio Field.

Wabash (60-7), overcoming a 12-8 deficit in the final four innings, advanced to face top-seeded Walters State at 8:30 p.m. (CST) Wednesday night.

"Hats off to them," Crowder coach Travis Lallemand said in a press conference. "They battled. They were up big. We came back. It was a really good baseball game. I've coached in a lot of them out here. On our side, it was unfortunate we didn't capitalize in those middle innings and separate ourselves on the scoreboard. That's what we have talked about all year."

The Roughriders seemingly had the momentum after they rallied from an 8-3 hole with a whopping nine unanswered runs to take a four-run lead in the sixth.

But with the field of talent at the JUCO World Series, no lead is ever safe.

In the bottom half of the sixth, the Warriors drew closer as McCoy collected an RBI single, while Jonathon Hogart hit a two-run home run as Wabash trimmed the deficit to 12-11.

The Warriors had a chance to do more damage with the bases loaded and only one out, but Lallemand summoned reliever Jace Presley who put out the fire with a ground ball double play to keep the lead intact.

Presley benefitted from the play of his defense in the eighth. Yamil Torres almost scored on a triple by Myles Austin, but got thrown out at home after a perfect relay from center fielder Clayton Gray to second baseman Peyton Holt, who threw a dime to Chaz Poppy at the plate.

One batter later, Wabash got the timely hit when Matt Koszewksi came through in the clutch with a game-tying RBI single to plate Austin.

The Roughriders threatened to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Gray set the table with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Houston King.

It was Josh Patrick's turn to bat, but the Warriors opted to intentionally walk him and pitch to Peyton Holt. The Crowder 3-hole hitter grounded out to third and Patrick was called for interference after he failed to slide into second base.

Holt was called out because of Patrick's interference. Wabash got out of the inning, unscathed.

"That's on us," Lallemand said. "We didn't make the play we should have, just (slide into second). You know you're out. The third baseman made a nice play and went to the middle. Obviously, Peyton is a good runner. He's going to beat it out at first base. That's the kind of stuff that hunts you when you have baserunning errors."

Conner Floyd took over for Presley in the bottom of the ninth. The power righty punched out the first two batters he faced before McCoy ambushed a first-pitch heater to end the game.

Wabash got off to a fast start with four runs in the first, highlighted by a mammoth three-run shot from Brian Kalmer.

The Roughriders answered with three runs in the top of the third. King legged out an RBI triple to get Crowder on the board, while Patrick collected a sacrifice fly.

Holt belted a solo shot out as the Roughriders trimmed the deficit to 4-3.

The Warriors scored four more in the bottom half to take a five-run advantage. The inning was highlighted by a three-run triple from Austin.

But Crowder battled back once again.

Jackson Cobb led off the fourth with a solo home run, while Holt hit a chopper up the middle for a two-run single. Patrick, who reached on a walk, scored on a fielding error as the Roughriders cut the score to 8-7.

Crowder took its first lead in the fifth. Catcher Chaz Poppy hammered a 1-2 fastball to straight away center field for a two-run blast as the Roughriders pulled in front by one.

"All year long, we talk about getting it to the next guy," Poppy said. "I think the first couple of at-bats I was trying to do too much out here. In those at-bats, I was just trying to get to the next guy. Luckily, I put good swings on the ball."

In the bottom half of the inning, Wabash nearly tied it when Knox Preston singled up the middle, but Daleen Adderly missed the third base bag as he sprinted home. Crowder pitcher Josh Barnhouse appealed with a throw over to third and Adderly was immediately called out by the home plate umpire.

It was earlier in the inning when things got heated between Adderly and Barnhouse. Adderly got hit for the third straight at-bat by a Crowder pitcher and both benches were warned.

"First off, I would like to apologize to Mr. Adderly," Barnhouse said. "I had no intention of hitting him. I like the way he carries himself with a lot of energy and I like those kind of matchups. One just got away from me. After that, the adrenaline was running and I just had to calm myself."

The Roughriders tacked on four runs in the sixth, highlighted by a two-run single from Poppy. Crowder had a chance to do further damage, but stranded the bases loaded after King and Patrick went down with strikeouts.

"We had our chances," Lallemand said. "The baserunning mistake in the ninth, not sliding and the interference call. Baserunning mistakes cost teams more games out there than anything. I thought we had great at-bats. I thought the pitching staff did a good job. They are just a tremendous offensive club with some danger bats in the lineup.

"They got their swings and they are going to score their runs. They will do that, but you have to make them not crooked. I thought overall we did a good job of that. You go back to that bases loaded inning and we had a chance to separate it, and we didn't do it."

Wabash totaled 17 hits. Austin went 4 for 5 with two triples and three RBI, while McCoy added a trio of hits and two RBI.

Isaac Crabb was the game's unsung hero. He picked up the win after holding Crowder off the scoreboard over the final 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.

He finished with five strikeouts and two walks.

Crowder (54-13) tallied 12 hits. Gray had another 3 for 3 game with two walks and two runs scored, while Poppy finished with a pair of hits and four runs driven in.

Presley supplied 2 2/3 solid innings in relief for the Roughriders, allowing one run on four hits while fanning two. Floyd took the loss.

It's win or go home time now for Crowder. The Roughriders get a rematch with sixth-seeded Central Arizona on Wednesday at 4 (CST).

"We have been here before," Lallemand said. "We've handled it. We faced elimination in the regional and the district. It's not uncharted waters for us ... We hit the walk-off the other day. It was a really special thing. (Wabash) kid steps up with two outs and just buries a ball over the center field wall. Tip your hat. We move on to the next now. There can't be any hangover from it for tomorrow."