VIDEO: Michael Welch's walk-off sacrifice fly
LINCOLN, Neb. – A tension-filled national tournament clash came down to a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for senior catcher Michael Welch. His drive to center chased home Zackery Day for the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth, pushing the Concordia University, Nebraska Baseball team into the winner’s bracket in NAIA National Championship Opening Round action at Sherman Field in Lincoln, Neb. Welch notched three hits as the second-seeded Bulldogs clipped third-seeded University of Science and Arts (Okla.), 5-4, on Monday (May 12).
Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s program has won for the 14th time on the national tournament stage. The Bulldogs (41-11) will return to Sherman Field on Tuesday.
“It was a really gritty win,” Dupic said. “I thought our guys did a great job, first off in the run prevention area. I don’t think Braxton (Greenburg) necessarily had his best stuff today, but he really competed to get us 18 outs. That was a really big deal, and I thought Sam Rambajan bridging the gap was the biggest part of the game. It being 4-3 there, there’s a chance for that thing to blow up. He got some huge outs. We turned a big double play in the ninth. We made enough pitches to keep us in it and then our offense was able to come through.”
The work of Rambajan in the seventh helped open the door for Welch to play the role of hero. With Concordia nursing a 4-3 lead, Greenburg exited in the seventh with two on and no out. Rambajan proceeded to walk the first hitter he faced before a sac fly knotted the score, 4-4. Rambajan then coaxed a pop out and a ground out to end the threat. Two more scoreless frames thanks to Rambajan and Daiten Schmidt set the stage for Welch in the ninth.
USAO reliever Rob Schmidt issued walks to Jaidan Quinn, Brad Hallock and Jaeden Jordahl (intentional) to load the bases with one out. In continuing a fine day, the San Diego native Welch lifted a fly to center that easily plated the speedster Day. Welch went 3-for-4 with a double and the game-winning RBI. It’s a continuation of an all-conference season for Welch.
Said Welch of his ninth-inning at-bat, “I was put in a perfect position by the rest of the lineup – bases loaded, less than two outs. All I’ve got to do is get it in the outfield. I was just trying to get a good rip and get something I could handle. The rest of the lineup did the job for me.”
The grind-it-out work of the pitching staff kept Concordia in it after it fell behind by a 3-1 score. In the fourth, the Bulldogs picked up three runs as Bronx Lewis sent a two-run double to left center and Cade Vanis came through with a pinch-hit RBI single. Lewis joined Welch as a multi-hit performer on the day.
One of the GPAC’s top pitchers this season, Greenburg battled through six innings while allowing four runs on three hits and four walks (one strikeout). After laboring through the third inning, Greenburg put up zeroes in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. Bulldog pitchers combined to limit Drover batters to four hits.
USAO (34-19) is making an appearance in Lincoln for the second-straight year. The Drovers sent ace Brian Ereu to the mound on Monday. He went 4.2 innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks. Naton Herchock starred out of the bullpen with 3.1 scoreless innings.
The Bulldogs will continue to soak up their first ever opportunity to host opening round action. Concordia will take on top-seeded Webber International University (Fla.) at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday from Sherman Field. The complete bracket with updated results can be found below.
Said Dupic, “I know they do (appreciate playing close to home). It’s good to be able to sleep in your own bed. It was a good crowd today. We really appreciate that. It’s really neat to see former players and so many fans and athletic department staffers out here supporting us is a really nice deal. It was a good day for Concordia Baseball and hopefully we can do it again tomorrow.”
Lincoln Bracket Game Schedule | Bracket (PDF)
Monday, May 12
· Game 1 – (4) Indiana Wesleyan def. (5) Mount Mercy, 3-0
· Game 2 – (2) Concordia def. (3) Science and Arts, 5-4
· Game 3 – (1) Webber International vs. (4) Indiana Wesleyan, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 13
· Game 4 – (3) Science and Arts vs. (5) Mount Mercy, 11 a.m.
· Game 5 – (1) Webber International vs. (2) Concordia), 3 p.m.
· Game 6 – (4) Indiana Wesleyan vs. Game 4 Winner, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14
· Game 7 – Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner, 12 p.m.
· Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 15
· Game 9 – Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (if necessary), 12 p.m.