The Bruins baseball team opened the regional tournament on Monday afternoon as the team upset #2 seeded Kansas Christian College 11-0 before falling to #3 Champion Christian College 10-4 in Springdale, Arkansas. With the loss, the Bruins drop to the consolation bracket as the team looks to keep their season alive on Tuesday as they face #4 Southeastern Baptist College.
"We came out strong in the first game but game two we just beat ourselves," Bruins Head Baseball Coach Brent Casteel said. "We had several opportunities in the second game and we just couldn't take advantage of those chances."
The Bruins came into the game as the #7 seed for the tournament. They knew they would be in for atough test as they took on the #2 seeded Falcons. Henry Wallach would be on the hill for the Bruins to start the game.
Although the Bruins were cast in the role of underdog, you wouldn't have known it as the team stormed out with seven runs in the top of the 1st. Riley Ramsey singled home a run before Zach Burk drove in a pair of runs with a double. Adrian Lasval smacked a three-run homerun as the Bruins came out strong to take commanding 7-0 lead at the end of the 1st.
That momentum spilled over into the defensive side for the Bruins as Henry Wallach gave up just two hits in five innings. The Bruins continued to make great plays defensively as they held the Falcons scoreless heading into the 5th inning.
In the top of the 5th, the Bruins put the game out of reach as Riley Ramsey singled home another run as part of the four-run 5th inning to push the lead to 11-0. The Bruins then held off the Falcons in the bottom of the 5th as the game ended with the mercy rule and an 11-0 upset win.
After a short break, the Bruins were back on the field for their second game of the day as they faced #3 Champion Christian College. The Tigers had come into the game on the heels of a win over #6 Randall University earlier in the day.
The Bruins again jumped out to an early lead as Isaiah Brandt scored on a pass ball before Daniel Barcena singled home a run to give the team a 2-0 lead. The Tigers came right back as they scored three runs in the bottom of the 1st to lead 3-2.
The Bruins were able to battle back and take the lead in the 3rd inning as Adrian Lasval singled home a run before David Gonzalez scored Daniel Barcena on a sac fly to make it 4-3.
Josh Crane pitched four innings for the Bruins striking out five in his outing, but the Tigers continued to put runners on base as they tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the 3rd.
The Tigers took the lead in the 5th thanks to a double into right field to make it 5-4. The Tigers weren't done as they added four more runs to take a commanding 9-4 lead into the 6th. Unfortunately, the Bruins just couldn't bounce back as the team fell to Champion Christian 10-4 in the game.
"We've made it a little more difficult for ourselves but we're still in this," Coach Casteel said. "We need to come out strong tomorrow and see what we can do."
With the loss, the Bruins will fall to the consolation bracket in this double elimination tournament. The team will take the field on Tuesday at 10 a.m. as they face #4 Southeastern Baptist College in Springdale, Arkansas.
