Gorloks Season Ends With Loss To Birmingham Southern
The Webster University baseball team saw its season end as it was eliminated from the NCAA III Central Regional with a 6-4 loss to Birmingham Southern College, on May 19 at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. The Gorloks, hosting the Regional, battled throughout the contest with the Panthers but a couple late runs by Southern scooted them by Webster.
The Gorloks may have been disappointed at its ending, but they still had a great season, winning the SLIAC regular season title for an 11th straight season and making the NCAA III Championships for their 11th time as well.
The Gorloks struck first when Conner Wardlaw (JR, Arnold, MO/DeSmet Jesuit) doubled down the left-field line in the first. Wardlaw swiped third and Nate Tholl grounded out to second, as Wardlaw scored. Matt Wollnik (SR, Naperville, IL/Nequa Valley) then blasted an opposite-field home run, his fourth of the year, landing on the right field porch beyond the fence, making it 2-0.
The Panthers scored single runs in the second and third off Webster starter Matt Goro (SR, Wildwood, MO/Lafayette). A solo home run got the Panthers on the board in the second and a single and triple scored a run in the third to tie it at 2-2. Wardlaw had his second straight double in the third, stole third base again, and scored on a squeeze bunt perfectly executed by Tholl to give Webster the lead at 3-2.
Goro, making his first start since April 4 when he pitched to one batter vs. MacMurray College before leaving the contest, had a tough-luck sixth inning. The lead off batter hit a blooper just out of the reach of first baseman Kyle Uhrich (SR, St. Louis, MO/Webster Groves) and the second batter hit a grounder between Goro's legs that deflected to short as everyone was safe. After a sac bunt moved the runners up, a botched pickoff throw to second scored one and left a runner at third. A single to right gave the Panthers their first lead of the day, 4-3.
Uhrich was called to the mound to relieve Goro and, after hitting a batter, struck out the next batter to end the inning. Uhrich set the Panthers down in order in the top of the seventh.
Adam Naliwajko (SR, Mt. Prospect, IL/St. Viator) was hit by a pitch to start Webster's seventh. A sac bunt moved him to second and C.J. Lee (JR, Aurora, IL/Waubonsie Valley) pinch-ran. Wardlaw had his fourth hit of the game, a single up the middle, but Lee was cut down at the plate on a bang-bang play, with Wardlaw taking second. Tholl dropped a single into right, driving in Wardlaw to tie the game up again at 4-4.
Southern broke the tie in a hurry with a solo home run in the eighth. After a single by the next batter, a double looked like it would leave runners at second and third, but a throwing error by the Webster cut-off man allowed a run to score. Uhrich hit a batter to put runners at the corner but then got the next two batters on a strikeout looking and a fly out to end the inning, with Webster down, 6-4.
The Gorloks had an opportunity in their half of the eighth. Wollnik had a leadoff walk, but was erased on a 4-3 double play. Dakota DeFreitas (JR, Brechin, Ontario/Uxbridge Secondary) was hit by a pitch but a ball hit in the gap by Kyler Kent (FR, Pottsboro, TX/Pottsboro) was run down by the Panther center fielder to keep it at 6-4.
Webster went down 1-2-3 in the ninth and their season was over, eliminated from the tournament. Uhrich went 3 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and one earned run, while striking out four. He took the loss and wound up 7-3 on the year. Wardlaw was 4-5 with three doubles, two stolen bases, and three runs scored. Wollnik was 1-3 with a home run, RBI, walk, and run scored.
Eight seniors played their final game for the Gorloks. Joe Elfrink (Leopold, MO/Leopold), Goro, Brett Jungles (Naperville, IL/St. Francis), Johnny Lord (Naperville, IL/Nequa Valley), Naliwajko, Brandon Smith (Imperial, MO/Seckman), Uhrich, and Wollnik. Uhrich wound up his career with 34 home runs, the Webster all-time high, and 141 RBIs, the second-highest total in team history.
Webster finishes at 29-15. Birmingham Southern, the fifth-ranked team in the NCAA III coming into the regional, defeated Greenville College, 14-6 in their first round match-up. The Panthers are 38-8 on the season.
STORY COURTESY OF WEBSTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
