UNOH Falls Twice to Madonna in Pod Championship

LIMA, OH - In the double elimination WHAC Tournament, UNOH entered the final day of pod play with a 2-0 record having defeated Lourdes, 7-6, and Madonna, 14-6. The Crusaders came in on the loser's side of the bracket after upsetting and eliminating Lawrence Tech in two ten-inning games 10-5 and 10-9. Madonna was able to force an extra game after knocking off the Racers 10-6 to start the day before edging out a 11-10 win to win the UNOH Pod and advance to the WHAC Championship Monday.

Madonna struck first in game one plating two in their first at-bat. An error aided the first run for UNOH in the second with a single and a double tying the game 2-2 after three. The Crusaders put up three in the sixth and one in the seventh before the Racers could get on the board again. Three singles, a double, a hit batter and a walk helped UNOH score three in the home seventh, but Madonna put up another crooked number in the top of the eighth with three more that made it a 9-5 game. The Racers used a sacrifice fly to get one back in the bottom of the frame but the Crusaders added one more for insurance in the ninth to take the game 10-6.

Drake Miller went 3-5 at the plate with two RBI. Joskar Feliciano finished 2-4 with one RBI and Eliomar Otero was 3-4 at the dish.

Sinjon Bobolia (4-3) took the loss after going five and a third innings allowing five runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Five relief pitchers combined for the final three and two-thirds with five runs on nine hits with a walk and a strikeout.

Playing as the away team in game two, UNOH took their first and only lead of the day 1-0 with a bases loaded walk in the first. That lead was short-lived as Madonna put up five in the home second to take control 5-1. A two-RBI single with bases loaded in the third cut into the lead but the Crusaders answered with two of their own in the fourth to hold a 7-3 lead after four. The runs kept coming with the teams trading one in the fifth with UNOH adding another and Madonna adding two in the sixth to make it 10-5. The Racers opened the seventh with a single and two doubles that scored two with a sac fly capping a three run inning before a wild pitch cut the lead to one in the eighth. It looked like the game may need extra innings to decide a winner after another sacrifice fly tied things up in the top of the ninth, but the only Racer error of the day proved costly allowing a Madonna runner to score from second and ending the game 11-10.

Eliomar Otero and Nolan Hull both went 3-4 in the game with Otero driving in three. Joskar Feliciano also drove in three going 2-6 at the plate with Darius Freeman, Tyler Grigalis and Tim Hanible all finishing 2-5. 

Will Myklebust went three and two-thirds innings off the start allowing seven runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout. Three Racers combined in middle relief for two and a third innings with three runs off seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. AJ Buchman (5-3) took the loss finishing the final two and two-thirds with only one hits allowed while striking out four and walking three.

The two losses end the WHAC Tournament for UNOH but as the regular season championship they already hold an automatic bid to the NAIA Baseball Opening Round. The Racers will find out their tournament fate when the opening round brackets are announced in the Selection Show Thursday, May 9 at 5:00 PM.