CLARKSVILLE, Ark. –
Marcus Thach's RBI bunt single capped off a four-run fifth inning as the Concordia Texas baseball team scored eight unanswered runs over the final five frames to rally from a four-run deficit and defeat University of the Ozarks 9-5 in the series finale on Saturday.
After trailing 4-1 through the game's first three innings, the Tornados scored four runs in the fifth, one in the eighth and added three insurance runs in the ninth to complete the come-from-behind win and salvage the series.
Bret Leiferman and
Grayson Lee each hit home runs for the second consecutive day, and
EJ Sanchez had a three-hit performance at the plate, scoring twice and knocking in a pair of runs.
Meanwhile,
Hayden Schroeder and
Daniel Lewis combined to toss seven scoreless innings, allowing only four total hits and striking out three as Lewis picked up his first win of the year.
The Eagles jumped on CTX in the opening frame, pushing across three runs.
The Tornados scratched across a run in the third on Sanchez's RBI single, but Ozarks came right back with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 5-1 lead after three.
Leiferman got the rally started for the Tornados in the fifth though, launching his second home run of the season, a two-run shot over the left field wall, to pull within 5-3.
Lee continued the inning with a single and reached third on an Eagles' error. Sanchez followed with his second RBI single of the game to score Lee. After an
Otto Franz single and sac bunt moved the runners over, Thach tied the game up on a bunt single to the pitcher to even it at 5-all.
Concordia Texas took their first lead of the game in the eighth as Thach led off the inning with a single and came around to score later on on a
Casen Novak RBI sac bunt.
In the ninth, Lee provided an insurance run in the with his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to lead off the inning. The Tornados tacked on two more runs in the inning thanks to a bases loaded hit by pitch to
Brandon Goynes and an RBI walk by Novak to push their lead to 9-5.
Lewis made quick work of Ozarks in the bottom half, inducing a pair of fly outs and a ground out to complete the comeback win.
Novak finished the game reaching base three times, including a pair of walks and drove in a pair, while Thach and Goynes each recorded a pair of hits on the day.
Concordia Texas will return home on Tuesday, hosting Trinity in a non-conference matchup at 6:30 p.m. at Tornado Field.
