Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Don't forget this is a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series this week at IPFW, presumably so all the teams in the league can get their travel and pitching lined up for the conference tournament a week from today in Tulsa. First pitch today is 2:00 p.m. local, broadcast on the Sports Animal AM 1550. ORU has clinched the #1 Seed in the tournament, and stands at 20-4 in the conference standings. IPFW is battling for the #4 Seed, currently sitting in 6th place at 10-13. Of course, 6th place is actually 5th place in terms of tournament eligibility, with not-yet-eligibile South Dakota State (4th place, 8- and North Dakota State (8th place, 4-15) finishing their seasons this weekend in balmy Fargo. Southern Utah (2nd place, 13-10) might need to win at least a couple of games at Oakland (7th place, 6-11) to lock up a #2 Seed in the tourney. That's because Centenary (5th place, 11-13) could make a big jump as they host Western Illinois (3rd place, 11-9) in Shreveport. A Centenary sweep might vault the Gents into the #2 Seed and would knock WIU down to a precarious #4 spot. Just one win for Centenary should be enough to sew up the 4th Seed in the tournament. Basically, IPFW needs to win a couple of games against ORU, and hope that Centenary loses a couple, in order for the Mastadons to be in the hunt for the 4th Seed. Tall order... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 From Fort Wayne, where he is getting ready to broadcast today's game, Geoff Haxton said on "The Sports Animal" this morning that, with a sweep of IPFW and an undefeated run through the conference tournament, there is hope among the ORU coaching staff of a #2 NCAA Regional seed for the Golden Eagles. But, they also seem to think we might get sent to a regional out West... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Good guys are struggling so far today: trailing 2-1 after 3 innings, with 3 fielding errors, two ORU runners picked off, lucky to be down by only one run after escaping a bases-loaded, 1-out second inning, and runners-on-1st-and-2nd, no outs third inning. The starting pitcher for the Mastadons is a lefty with a sub-3.00 ERA and a record of 7-0 in 11 appearances. Jarmen on the bump for ORU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Genao just hit a solo shot into a stiff wind in left - tied at 2 in the top of the fourth, still batting with one away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 With two outs in the top of the 4th, pinch hitter Pat Murray doubles home a run off the wall in left. ORU leads it 3-2, headed to the bottom half of the 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 In the bottom of the fifth, the Mastadons load the bases with no outs on a leadoff single up the middle, a bunt single down the first base line, and a hit batter. Jarmen then coaxes a called third strike for out number one, an 0-2 swing in the dirt for the second out, and a groundout to leave the bases loaded for the second time this game. Top of the 6th, ORU leads it 3-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Jarmen hits another batter in the 6th, but he's left stranded at second - the Mastadons have left 13 runners on base so far. Top of the 7th, 3-2 ORU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Minassale walks on four pitches with one out in the top of the 7th, prompting a sudden pitching change for the Mastadons. Their lefty starter had been keeping the ORU batters off-balance all afternoon - the hook seemed a little quick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Petralli strikes out, and on the pitch Minassale is picked off first by the catcher (the third ORU runner to get picked off today). Bottom of the 7th, ORU somehow still leads it, 3-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 The 'Dons go down in order in the 7th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Thanks for the updates..... stuck in my office with no radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Ditto for me - the updates are appreciated. I'm driving through farmland in California and check on the Eagles' quest for 40 wins every 10 minutes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Sorry for the delay - had to run to the bank! Top of the 8th: ORU threatens with two outs with a single and a walk, but Groth grounds out to end the inning. Bottom of the 8th: Jarmen plunks his third batter of the day, but wriggles out of it, stranding the 14th 'Dons baserunner. Top of the 9th: Pinch-hitter Colby Price (sp?) doubles to lead off the inning, and is sacrificed to third by Younger, but Duffy grounds out, then Price is tagged out trying to score from third on a wild pitch to Minassale. Bottom of 9th: Jarmen retires the side for the complete game victory, 3-2 ORU! Dodged a major bullet today - won a game we probably should have lost... Jarmen wins his 10th, ORU wins their 40th, against just 12 losses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Thanks for the recap..... interesting that we won a close game & had to rely on our defense/pitching. Nice to know we can win if our bats go cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 I'm not sure we can attribute the victory entirely to pitching and defense, when we have four errors, and hit three batters while ahead in the count. Not to take anything away from Jarmen - he was nails. But so was their starter for over seven innings, and their reliever held us scoreless. In the big picture, it may just be that, for today, we were merely the team that sucked the least... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Nice win today even though we did not bring our A game...i read where the IPFW pitcher took his FIRST loss of the season today so he must have been their ace with a 7-0 record coming into the game....can't complain about that....let's get a pair tomorrow!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.