Pride come from behind to earn 8-5 win over Baker in 11 innings
OZARK, Mo. - Searching for an answer offensively after 14-straight scoreless innings, the Clarke University baseball team pulled off a four-run comeback to earn an 8-5 win over Baker University in the Heart Tournament.
The Wildcats jumped out in front 2-0 in the first then added two more in the second to lead 4-0 until the sixth inning when the Pride got their first run since their tournament opener against Park on an RBI from Bubba Thompson to score Daniel Phyle.
Baker would regain that four-run lead in the bottom of the sixth with an unearned run off of Isaac Rohde to go up 5-1 but Clarke wouldn't slow the bats down, scoring one run in the seventh on a Phyle RBI single and two more in the eighth from a Taiga Sato single and a Maguire Fitzgerald sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.
Still down 5-4 in the ninth, Bailin Markridge led off with a single and was sacrificed over to second by Phyle to set the stage for Thompson who delivered with a double to left scoring Markridge and tying the game at 5-5.
The job wasn't done from there as the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth as Rohde was able to get back-to-back strikeouts to force extra innings.
After a scoreless 10th, a leadoff double from Phyle and a sacrifice bunt that turned into a hit for Victor Lara would set Thompson up to be the hero again and he delivered again with a single to right to score Phyle and give Clarke their first lead of the game.
Bryce Hinton would score pinch runner Greg Bennett with a sacrifice fly and Fitzgerald singled home Sato who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning to make it 8-5.
Rohde would finish off what could be the pitching performance of the tournament so far, going 9.2 innings allowing six hits and one unearned run while striking out 11 Baker batters to pick up the win.
The win keeps Clarke alive in the Heart tournament as they will come back tonight to face Heart North rival Mount Mercy with a first pitch scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT but the games at US Ballpark are running behind so an first pitch update will be posted on Twitter @ClarkeBaseball.