SAUGET, Ill. - Webster University resumed play in the NCAA Division III Central Regional Tournament here Saturday morning by falling 7-6 in 11 innings to fourth-seeded Rhodes in a winner's bracket match-up at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
Saturday's game was originally scheduled to be played at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, but was pushed back to Saturday due to rain that forced tournament officials to delay the start of Friday's games to 7:30 p.m. and the only two games were played were elimination round games.
With Saturday's setback, Webster falls to 37-9 overall and falls into an elimination game of the double-elimination tournament at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against No. 7 seed Monmouth (Ill.), who remained alive in the tournament following its 11-10 elimination game win early Saturday morning against No. 6 seed Aurora (Ill.). The game began at 11 p.m. and the last out was recorded 2:08 a.m.
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Trailing 6-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, the seventh-ranked and top-seeded Gorloks were down to its final out when senior designated hitter
Ben Dinter (Gurnee, Ill./College of Lake County) stepped to the plate and he drilled a 3-2 pitch from Jack Mercer that just barely cleared the fence in right field to tie the game and force extra innings. The homer was the fifth of the season for Dinter and the second of the game for the Gorloks as senior leftfielder
Mike Wick (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) hit a solo home run in the sixth to pull Webster within a run at 6-5.
Neither team was able to score in the 10th inning and then in the 11th inning, Will Huertin hit the first pitch of the inning from sophomore
Shane Donovan (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) over the fence in right center for his fifth home run of the season and give the Lynx a 7-6 lead.
In the bottom of the 11th, junior rightfielder
Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) reached on a one-out single down the left field line off of Rhodes' ace reliever Nick Bosma, but Bosma would leave Tholl at first as he forced Wick to foul out and sophomore centerfielder
Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's College) to seal Rhodes' victory and advance the Lynx to Sunday's 10 a.m. winner's bracket final against either No. 2 seeded and No. 1 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater or No. 3 seeded Texas-Tyler, who played in Saturday's other winner's bracket game.
Donovan, who was the fourth pitcher of the game for the Gorloks, earned his first loss of the season after opening the year with six straight wins as he tossed the final three innings and allowed just three hits and one run, while striking out a career-high six and walking none.
The Lynx opened the scoring in Saturday's game in the top of the first inning as they loaded the bases with three straight singles to open the frame and after senior hurler
C.J. Lee (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) struck out Heurtin for the first out, Ryan Palermo would then drive home the first run with a groudout to first and Lee would end the threat by striking out Bosma for the third out.
Webster, though, would get that run back in the bottom of the first on an RBI single to right by sophomore first baseman
Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro). Kent's single plated Dinter, who had reached on a two-out double to right off of Mercer.
The Lynx, though, would add three more runs in the top of the second to take a 4-1 lead. In the inning, Rhodes sent nine hitters to the plate and recorded three hits and took advantage of a Webster throwing error on a bunt attempt by Jon Michael Lauck to plate three runs.
Rhodes lead grew to 6-1 in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Huertin and an RBI single by Palermo off of senior
Austin Beccue (Red Bud, Ill./Gibault Catholic), who replaced Lee in the fourth after a blister opened up on his pitching hand and forced him to the bench.
In three-plus innings of work, Lee allowed seven hits and five runs (four earned), while walking two and striking out three in his 68 pitch effort.
The Gorloks began its comeback in the bottom of the fourth inning as freshman third baseman
Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) led off with a double to left, moved to third on a single by sophomore catcher
Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West) and scored on an RBI single to left center by senior centerfielder
Conner Wardlaw (Arnold, Mo./Jefferson College). The Gorloks second run came home later in the inning as Swords reached on an error by Rhodes third baseman Zac Lange, which allowed Swanson to score an unearned run and push Webster within 6-3.
Webster added its fourth run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single to right by Kent, which plated Dinter, who led off the frame with single through the left side and moved to second on a passed ball.
Wick's homer in the sixth dropped Webster's deficit to one run at 6-5.
In the eighth, the Lynx mounted a scoring chance Zach Liebenson reached on a pinch hit single that chased Beccue from the game. Junior
Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton College) would relieve Beccue and proceeded to walk Paul Giacomazzi to put two runners on base with one out. Santiago, though, would get out of the jam as he forced Lange to hit into a fielder's choice and ended the inning by inducing Jacob Telli to ground out.
After Santiago hit Heurtin to open the ninth, Donovan was summoned from the bullpen and he would force a double play to erase Huertin and after Bosma singled with two outs, Donovan would strike out Levi Greenberg to end the inning and set up Dinter's heroics in the bottom of the ninth.
For the game, Webster was outhit, 15-13 and committed two errors.
Dinter led the way offensively for Webster with three hits and a career-high tying three runs, while Kent, Swords and Swanson eac had two hits.
Giacomazzi led Rhodes with four hits, while Lange, Telli, Heurtin and Bosma each had two hits in the win.
The Lynx left 12 runners on base in the game and Webster stranded eight in the game that took a little over three-and-half hours to play.