Osborn Robs NWC Walk-off Bid to Send Baseball to Bracket Championship

Baseball hosted Day Two of the Doane Bracket for the GPAC Championships and low-scoring pitching battles took place for the second straight day. The opening game was a winner's bracket game between Doane and Northwestern, won by the Tigers, 5-4. In the second game of the day, Jamestown won with a walkoff bases loaded hit batter to defeat Morningside, 4-3. Jamestown defeated Northwestern in the final game of the day, 3-1, to advance to the bracket championship game against Doane on Saturday.

In the Tigers' contest, Doane jumped out to a 5-0 lead as the visiting team and battled to hang on for the win, stealing the victory away from the Red Raiders in the last inning.

Doane scored a run in the top of the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Narumi Okayasu to plate Dane Kelsey. The Tigers led 1-0 after two innings but left the bases loaded in both frames.

In the third inning, the Tigers loaded the bases once again but this time they were able to get a two-out hit courtesy of Logan Amick. He doubled to clear the bases and put Doane up, 4-0. Max Harris delivered a two-out single in the fourth inning to give the Tigers their fifth run of the game.

Northwestern came back with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. In the sixth, the Red Raiders received a pinch hit, two-run single with two outs from Brody Ayers to cut the Doane lead to 5-3. A run in the seventh inning on a ground out pulled Northwestern within a run.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Red Raiders leadoff hitter was hit by a pitch to put the tying run on base. Sam Stanford stepped to the plate and smacked a ball out of the ballpark, however, Joe Osborn was standing in the way and leaped up in front of the left field wall and pulled the ball back in for the first out of the inning. A ground out and a line out ended the inning for the Doane win.

The Tigers finished with nine hits in the game and drew seven walks. Justin Nevells and Harris had two hits apiece for Doane. Harris reached base three times in the game, drawing a walk as well. Aaron Vulcano had a hit and a walk, leading to a pair of runs scored.

Kellan Voggesser started for the Tigers and threw 6.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out six to pick up the win. Ethan Merk threw 1.0 inning, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout. Isaiah Miller picked up his third save of the season, throwing the final 2.0 innings and striking out three.

Doane and Jamestown will face off in the bracket championship game on Saturday with a noon start. The Tigers need one win to advance to Tuesday's tournament championship while Jamestown is looking for two wins on the day.