MONTGOMERY, Ill. – Baseball headed south Wednesday to kick off NACC Tournament action. They took on the Rockford Regents in an elimination game. With the season on the line, the Eagles (20-19) survived and advanced with an impressive 7-5 victory over the Regents (24-15).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Edgewood University struck first with a
Ben Truby RBI single to right field in the second inning. The squads exchanged RBI outfield singles in the third, with
Aidan Kammer sending one into right field as the Eagles held onto a 2-1 lead.
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Carter Kelley added a bit of breathing room with an RBI double to right center in the fourth, but Edgewood University took off with a three-run fifth.
Charlie Tompach singled to right field to open the rally before
Dominic Lee brought in Tompach with a triple down the right field line.
Gavin Wesling stepped up with a fielder's choice wrapping up the scoring in the inning.
- Kelley continued to roll, adding a solo home run to right center to lead off the sixth inning.
- The Regents closed in with a four-run seventh. A pair of singles tacked on a pair. A two-run single to right field cut the edge to 7-5.
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Aiden Shumaker locked in to finish off the complete game. He struck out a pair in the eighth, before striking out the final batter to finish off the NACC Tournament battle.
- Shumaker stepped up in a big way. He tossed a complete game, striking out 10 battles and allowing four runs in the victory.
- Kelley swung 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBIs.
- Lee and
Hayden Hellenbrand each posted a pair of hits with Hellenbrand grabbing two stolen bases. Tompach added on two runs.
- Nate Burdin earned two hits with a pair of runs and an RBI.
- Zach Fabis recorded a double and stepped up late to pitch for Rockford, tossing 2.2 innings with one hit, two strikeouts, and no runs allowed.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With his 10 strikeouts on the day, Shumaker surpassed Matt Krueger (2010) and his 79 strikeouts for the single season strikeouts mark in program history. He currently sits at 86 for the season.
- The Eagles have now eliminated the Regents on back-to-back NACC Tournament elimination game openers. They have won at least one game in four of their last five trips to the conference postseason.
UP NEXT
With the victory in the opener, Edgewood University advances to the double elimination portion of the NACC Tournament. They will battle with the third-seeded Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. tomorrow in Lisle, Ill.
