AUSTIN, Texas – Trailing by a run going into the bottom of the ninth,
Reed Carlton lifted a three-run game-winning home run to give the No. 25 Concordia Texas baseball team a thrilling 9-6 win to complete the doubleheader sweep of LeTourneau on Thursday night at Tornado Field.
With the score tied 6-6, Carlton, a senior from Austin, Texas, lifted a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall give the Tornados a 9-6 victory and clinch the series after CTX grabbed game one with a dominant 15-3 win.
With the pair of wins, CTX moves to 26-9 overall and 12-5 in American Southwest Conference play. Additionally, the Tornados have now won five straight games and currently sit in third place in the ASC standings.
In the first game of the day, CTX got production from the entire lineup as every starter in the lineup had either a base hit or an RBI in the dominant victory.
Carson Cox started the scoring for the Tornados in the first inning with an RBI single to bring home
Casen Novak.
After LeTourneau tied the game with a run in the top of the second, CTX responded in a big way with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning.
The first two runs of the inning came across on an RBI double down the line from Novak and a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Jacob Gwynne.
With two outs in the frame, the Tornados were able to put together five consecutive hits highlighted by a two-RBI double by Carlton, an RBI single from
Owen Hill and a two-run single to center by
Ryan Clouse.
Leading 8-3 after the end of the top of the third, CTX tacked on two more in the bottom of the third thanks to a RBI fielder's choice from
Bret Leiferman and an RBI double off the bat of Cox.
The Tornados were not done adding to the lead, however, as they produced five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning by taking advantage of an error and a couple of wild pitches to make the score 15-3.
Matthew Williams (9-1) earned the win on the hill after tossing 6.0 innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four. Williams, a junior from Austin, Texas, earned his 23rd career win, which ranks fourth in program history.
The Yellow Jackets jumped ahead first in game two with single runs in both the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 lead.
After
Bret Leiferman was able to cut the deficit to 2-1 on an RBI single in the third, LeTourneau responded with three runs in the top half of the fifth to make the score 5-1.
Casen Novak ensured the lead would not grow any more, however, as he produced a pair of runs on a two-RBI single in the bottom half of the inning and came in to score on a balk to cut the deficit to one run once again.
LeTourneau swelled the lead to 6-4 through seven innings, but CTX answered once again in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a bases loaded RBI groundout off the bat of
Jacob Stegent.
In the bottom of the ninth,
Marcus Thach began the rally with a leadoff walk and moved to third on a bunt single from Novak.
Jacob Gwynne was then able to produce the game tying run on a perfect squeeze bunt to make the score 6-6.
After Leiferman was intentionally walked to try to set up a potential double play, Carlton ensured the game would not continue by depositing his second home run of the season over the right field fence.
On the mound, CTX got a solid effort from
Michael Smith (5-0) who picked up the win after throwing 4.1 innings while giving up just three hits and one run with six punch outs.
In the doubleheader, Novak led the Tornados offensive attack going 5-for-8 with seven runs scored and three RBIs. The junior from Flatonia, Texas, finished game one just a home run shy of the cycle and extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
The series will conclude on Friday with the Tornados looking to complete the sweep beginning at 12 p.m. at Tornado Field.
