Posted: May 04, 2012
ADRIAN, Mich. -- Kyle Benschoter (Hudson, Mich./Hudson) delivered a two-out, walk-off single to send the Siena Heights baseball team to a 4-3 victory past No. 21 Indiana Tech as the Saints claimed the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Friday at the Siena Heights Baseball Field.
Winning pitcher Matt King (Rockville, Ind./Rockville) tossed a four-hitter for SHU, which earned a berth to the NAIA Tournament. King went the distance, finishing with five strikeouts and two walks. Of the three runs scored by Indiana Tech, only one was earned.
Josh White (Brooklyn, Mich./Columbia Central) added two hits and two runs scored for the Saints, who scratched back from an early 3-0 deficit.
During the Warrior second, a Siena Heights error plated two runs before a sacrifice fly by Adam Krall pushed the Indiana Tech lead to 3-0.
Eventually, King found a groove and retired 14 straight batters, giving the Saints some time to pull even at 3-all. White and Robbie Schwartz (Adrian, Mich./Adrian) had back-to-back singles in the fourth and Todd Vandercook (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) chopped a run-scoring groundout in the sixth.
Schwartz led off the SHU ninth with a walk before he was replaced by pinch-runner Kyle Johnson (Adrian, Mich./Adrian). Johnson moved to second base on a Vandercook sac bunt and then traveled to third on a groundout byChaz Poindexter (Ypsilanti, Mich./Milan), setting the stage for Benschoter's game-winning hit through the middle of the infield.
The Saints will be in action next in the NAIA Tournament, which will begin at nine campus sites on Thursday, May 10. The 56th NAIA World Series will take place May 25-June 1 at Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho.
Winning pitcher Matt King (Rockville, Ind./Rockville) tossed a four-hitter for SHU, which earned a berth to the NAIA Tournament. King went the distance, finishing with five strikeouts and two walks. Of the three runs scored by Indiana Tech, only one was earned.
Josh White (Brooklyn, Mich./Columbia Central) added two hits and two runs scored for the Saints, who scratched back from an early 3-0 deficit.
During the Warrior second, a Siena Heights error plated two runs before a sacrifice fly by Adam Krall pushed the Indiana Tech lead to 3-0.
Eventually, King found a groove and retired 14 straight batters, giving the Saints some time to pull even at 3-all. White and Robbie Schwartz (Adrian, Mich./Adrian) had back-to-back singles in the fourth and Todd Vandercook (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) chopped a run-scoring groundout in the sixth.
Schwartz led off the SHU ninth with a walk before he was replaced by pinch-runner Kyle Johnson (Adrian, Mich./Adrian). Johnson moved to second base on a Vandercook sac bunt and then traveled to third on a groundout byChaz Poindexter (Ypsilanti, Mich./Milan), setting the stage for Benschoter's game-winning hit through the middle of the infield.
The Saints will be in action next in the NAIA Tournament, which will begin at nine campus sites on Thursday, May 10. The 56th NAIA World Series will take place May 25-June 1 at Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho.
