Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 (WASHINGTON, Pa.) – The second-seeded Thomas More College baseball team fell, 8-7, to top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College today (Saturday, May 12, 2018) in the first championship game of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament in Washington, Pennsylvania.
The Saints fall to 23-18 and the Presidents improve to 28-15-1. The two teams will play a "winner takes all" championship game at 3:30 p.m.
Thomas More took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when junior catcher Sam Hauer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) scored on a run batted-in single by junior first baseman Sean Lawrence (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton).
W&J scored one in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth to build a 5-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, junior short stop Jacob Whitford (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) and sophomore designated hitter Matt Wellbrock (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) scored on a W&J error. Then junior center fielder Blaise Ostertag (Burlington, Ky./Conner) scored on a bunt single by first-year left fielder Brady Reynolds (White Oak, Ohio/LaSalle) and senior second baseman Ben Laumann (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) scored on a RBI ground out by Lawrence. Senior third baseman Tyler Smith (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) had a RBI single scoring Reynolds to give the Saints a 6-5 lead.
W&J answered with runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-6 lead. Hauer hit a solo home run in the right center field in the seventh inning to tie the game at 7-7. The Presidents plated a run in the bottom of the seventh to take an 8-7 lead.
First-year pitcher Jordan Houze (Lawrenceburg, Ind./Lawrenceburg) had a no-decision as he pitched five and two-third innings giving up seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits and struck out two. Junior pitcher Jonathan Breeden (Erlanger, Ky./Dixie Heights) suffered the loss as he pitched two and a third innings and gave up one run (unearned) on two hits.
Hauer led the team at the plate as he was two-for-five with a home run, a double, a RBI and two runs scored. Smith was two-for-four with a double and a RBI.
