AUSTIN, Texas –
Calvin Bush took a no-hitter into the ninth followed by a four-run 10th inning rally and the Concordia Texas baseball team defeated LeTourneau 5-1 to win the American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship on Friday at Tornado Field.
It is the first conference championship for the Tornados since 2012 when they won in back-to-back years. It is the fourth title in the program's history and the third won under head coach
Tommy Boggs.
Concordia Texas entered the game needing one win after taking game one over the Yellow Jackets 16-7 on Thursday.
After leading 1-0 for eight innings, LETU knotted the game up at 1-1 with a run in the ninth, forcing extra innings.
The Tornados responded quickly and often, scoring four runs on three hits to retake the lead.
Cameron Rape started the rally, leading off with a bunt single. One out later,
Marcus Thach worked a walk and
Bret Leiferman broke up the tie with an RBI single through the right side to make it 2-1.
Reed Carlton followed with an RBI sac bunt to extend CTX's lead. After
Carson Cox reached on a hit by pitch,
Jacob Stegent broke the game open with a two-run double down the right field line to make it 5-1 and putting the Tornados three outs away from a championship.
Michael Smith, who came on in relief in the ninth, worked around a CTX error and a hit batter, inducing a double play and ended the game with a strikeout, securing the 5-1 win and the Tornados their fourth-ever ASC Tournament Championship.
In the first inning,
Casen Novak started the scoring for the Tornados, leading off the game with a single up the middle. After a sac bunt and a single by Leiferman, Novak scored on Carlton's sac fly to center and put CTX up 1-0.
The most valuable player of the ASC Red Bracket,
Calvin Bush, got the start on the mound for the Tornados and was nearly un-hittable, taking a no-hitter into the ninth before Brandon Ramirez led off with a double to record the Yellow Jackets' first hit of the game.
Bush finished the day, tossing 8.2 innings, allowing only three hits, a run and struck out 13 LETU hitters. It is the third game in a row Bush has struck out at least 10 batters.
Leiferman finished 3-for-5 from the plate with a run scored and an RBI, while Stegent had a pair of hits and drove in two runs.
Leiferman, Stegent, Bush and Cox were named to the ASC All-Tournament Team along with
Diego Cruz-Garcia, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the series after his pitching performance in game one.
With the win, the Tornados earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, their third straight postseason appearance.
Concordia Texas will await their next destination and opponent when the field for the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship is announced on Sunday, May 12 at approximately 11 p.m. on NCAA.com.
