Game 3 Box Score
LOVES PARK, Ill. – Poetry, it wasn’t, but Aurora University won’t care when they play in the Northern Athletics Conference Baseball Tournament championship game on Saturday. The fourth seeded Spartans and Rockford College combined for 12 errors, but Aurora ultimately made the most of their opportunities in a 7-6 victory over the Regents. The Spartans will take a 2-0 tournament record into the championship round.
Rockford College had the majority of the early opportunities. The Regents put the leadoff hitter aboard in each of the first six innings, but netted only two runs. Rockford scored one in the first on an RBI single by TJ Stanfield, but the Spartans escaped further damage with a bases loaded double play to end the inning. Jimmy Polster scored Curt Daughenbaugh with a sacrifice fly in the second for a 2-0 Regent lead.
However, the errors began to pile up for the Regents in the middle innings. The Spartans scored unearned runs in the third and fourth innings to tie the game at two. In the sixth inning, the first two Spartans reached on errors, the first being Tim Mackey who struck out, but gained first base when Regent catcher Jordan Shaver’s throw struck him in the back on the way to first. Matt Mulvaney and Bobby Wilson added RBI singles and another run scored on a wild pitch. Tony Wellner capped the four-run unearned rally with a sacrifice fly to right field, and the Spartans owned a 6-2 lead.
Eric Nicholson crushed a two-run home run for Rockford in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 6-4. It was Nicholson’s second home run of the tournament. Aurora added what turned out to be a crucial insurance run in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Josh Davidson.
In the ninth inning, Rockford nearly rallied for the win. A double by Kyle Standridge and a single from Tyler Clay put runners at first and third with nobody out. Aurora University (26-14) brought in Shawn Gorsline, who had earned a save in the first game of the day, to try and get a second one. Gorsline induced Nicholson into a ground ball double play to put the Spartans one out from victory. However, the next Regent batter Stansfield homered to right center field to cut the Spartans lead to one. The rally continued with a single by Jimmy Dercks, but Gorsline got Mike Catalano to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
Aurora was led by Wellner who picked three hits and had two runs batted in. Starting pitcher Dan McCarthy went eight innings and gave up four runs on eight hits for his seventh win of the season. Rockford College (27-13-1) got three hits including his home run to lead the Regents at the plate. Matt Bates didn’t give up an earned run, but failed to help his own cause by committing two of Rockford College’s season-high eight errors in taking the loss.
Rockford College will meet the winner of Concordia University Wisconsin and Edgewood College in a 12:00 p.m. elimination game on Saturday. The winner of that game will face Aurora University in the first of two possible championship games. In the history of the NAC Baseball Tournament, the last undefeated team has never failed to win the title.
