Posted: May 20, 2023

Golden Eagles Split at Regionals, Season Comes to Close

Spalding baseball earned the first NCAA Tournament win in school history with a 4-3 victory in 12 innings over Beloit College before falling 7-0 to Denison University 7-0.

The Denison setback concluded the Golden Eagle season. SU finished the 2023 campaign with a 35-12 overall record.

SPALDING 4, BELOIT 3
It was win-or-go-home in the first game of the day and both teams played like it from the first pitch in a 12-inning marathon.

Spalding started out strong with Michael Newsom leading off and getting walked in the bottom of the first. Newsom then stole second. The runner moved to third on a ground out and then scored on a Jacob Spanyer single.

The Golden Eagles added to their lead in the very next inning. Dryden Schroeder hit a leadoff single before getting caught stealing. Michael Speck was next and walked. He moved to second on a ground out. Matthew McDowell was walked next to place runners at first and second. Newsom hit a single that scored Speck to push the lead to 2-0.

The 2-0 lead held until the bottom of the third when two RBI singles from the Buccaneers tied the contest.

It was not until the top of the sixth that Spalding got back on top. Nicholas Salas singled to kick the frame off and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Schroeder. Another ground-out followed to move Salas to third. Marcus Collins hit a single through the right side to send Salas streaking home.

Beloit answered back in the bottom of the seventh with a double that scored a runner who was plated after being hit by a pitch.

Things looked dire in the bottom of the eighth when the Buccaneers loaded the bases with two outs on the board. Speck made a spectacular play with a diving catch in center field to get the Golden Eagles out of the jam.

Fans in Ohio ended up being treated to free NCAA Tournament baseball with the 3-3 logjam staying in place at the end of the scheduled nine innings.

Spalding plated two in the top of the 10th courtesy of a Spanyer single and a walk by Schroeder. The Golden Eagles could not take advantage of the situation and the game kept moving.

Beloit threatened when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th after a single, an intentional walk, and another walk. Facing two outs Wesley Clark came in to replace Cameron Rayborn on the mound and the final out of the frame came on a flyout.

In the top of the 12th, Ethan Tuttle led off with a double to left center. Spanyer came next and hit a single to score Tuttle. The score sat at 4-3 as the game moved into the bottom of the frame.

The Buccaneers battled to avoid elimination in the bottom of the 12th and got a strong start. A lead-off single followed by a sacrifice bunt put a Beloit runner in scoring position. Another ground out put the second out on the board. The next batter was hit by a pitch to set up runners at first and second. The final out came in the form of a ground ball hit to second where Tuttle tagged the runner out.

A 12-inning, 4-3 victory over the Buccaneers of Beloit made Spalding baseball the first SU program to ever win an NCAA Tournament game.

SPALDING 0, DENISON 7
The second elimination game was a rough one for the Golden Eagles.

In the top of the second, the Big Red scored the first run of the game after a ground out scored a Denison runner who had doubled to get on base.

Spalding had their first runner plated with a walk in the bottom of the fourth, but three-straight outs followed and ended the inning. The Golden Eagles had another runner walk the next time they came up to bat, but the runs did not come.

Facing a 2-0 deficit, after an RBI single came across for the Big Red in the sixth, Spanyer got the only Spalding hit of the game when he hit a double to right center. Schroeder was the final Golden Eagle to end up on base when he was walked in the bottom of the seventh frame.

A total of five runs came home for Denison in the top of the eighth and ended up sealing the win for the home team 7-0.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

Jacob Spanyer led the Spalding hitting effort in the first game with a 3-for-6 showing with two RBI.
Michael Newsom, Hunter Strong, Dryden Schroeder, and Marcus Collins all had multiple hits in the Beloit contest. Newsom and Collins had one RBI each.
Spanyer was the only Golden Eagle to register a hit in the second game.
Garrett Mathews got the start on the mound in the opening game. He pitched two and 1/3 innings and struck out two while allowing two runs on four hits.
Caden Krystofiak and Cameron Rayborn followed on the mound in game one. Krystofiak struck out five in four and 2/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits while Rayborn struck out two in three and 2/3 innings and allowed no runs on two hits.
Wesley Clark earned the win over the Buccaneers after allowing just one hit and no runs in one and 1/3 innings of action.
In the second game, Jake Mueller was the starting SU pitcher and picked up the loss. He was on the mound for seven and 2/3 innings and struck out two while allowing four runs on 10 hits.
Ethan Murphy faced four batters as the second Spalding pitcher in the game. He allowed three runs on three hits.
Eric Wigginton was the final Golden Eagle on the mound in the Denison game. He pitched one and 1/3 innings and struck out two while allowing no hits or runs.

NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding baseball ended the season with an NCAA-era record of 35 wins. The Golden Eagles also earned the program's first St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and locked down the team's first NCAA Tournament berth.

STORY COURTESY OF SPALDING UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION