DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Siena Heights baseball season came to an end on Saturday as the fifth-seeded Saints dropped a 9-8 contest to two-seed Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) in NAIA Tournament Opening Round play at Embry-Riddle's Sliwa Stadium.
The 15th-ranked Warhawks broke an 8-8 tie in the eighth when Hunter Cross smashed a two-out RBI double. Meanwhile, AUM pitcher Cody Hall silenced the Siena Heights bats, recording eight strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings for the win.
Mike Lollo (Allen Park, Mich./Cabrini) and Corey Caldwell (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln Consolidated) had two hits apiece for the Saints (33-25), who led on two separate occasions. Todd Vandercook (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) added a triple. Brett Howard (Sylvania, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales) and Josh White (Brooklyn, Mich./Columbia Central) scored two runs apiece.
Vandercook's RBI three-bagger gave the Saints a 1-0 lead in the second and then SHU tacked on another run via AUM error in the third, building a 2-0 lead.
Auburn Montgomery eventually answered with a three-run fifth. Chezz McCann had an RBI single and Cross delivered a two-run single, putting the Warhawks up 3-2.
SHU came back with three runs of its own in the fifth, getting an RBI walk from Dan Abbott (Plymouth, Mich./Lutheran Westland) and a two-run single from Caldwell to go ahead, 5-3.
AUM then put up a four-spot in the sixth and added another score in the seventh to take its largest lead at 8-5. In the sixth, McCann and Carson Amick had RBI singles while two other runs came in on a costly Siena Heights miscue. Another SHU error plated the seventh-inning run.
The never-say-die attitude of the Saints took hold once again in their half of the seventh as Vandercook drew a bases-loaded walk and Kyle Benschoter (Hudson, Mich./Hudson) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, setting the stage for a game-tying single from Lollo.
The Warhawks came back with their go-ahead run in the eighth and SHU never mustered an answer as they were unable to put a ball in play during the final two frames.
Matt King (Rockville, Ind./Rockville) started on the hill and went five innings for Siena, allowing five runs on five hits while compiling three strikeouts, four walks and two hit batsman. Tyler Butlin (China, Mich./Saint Clair) suffered the loss in 2 1/3 innings of relief work.
The loss ends a storybook run for the Saints, who qualified for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament on the final day of the regular season. From there, the team went 4-0 while hosting the league tourney and then finished 2-2 in the NAIA Tournament.
An eight-win team a year ago, SHU (33-25) was put on the brink of missing the WHAC playoffs when it dropped four straight games -- including three heartbreakers -- at Davenport. Through Saturday, the Saints ended the season on an 8-3 run.
