DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite a late-inning rally, Martin Methodist came up short in a 6-2 elimination game loss to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College at the NAIA Opening Round at Sliwa Stadium on the campus of Embry-Riddle (Fla.) University Friday afternoon.
The loss brought an abrupt end to the season for the RedHawks (38-19), who had won 12 of their last 14 games prior to suffering losses on Thursday and Friday.
The Blue Raiders (43-18) seized control of the contest early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third to take an early 3-0 lead. The Mid-South Conference champions would add a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 5-0 before adding a final insurance run in the sixth.
Despite trailing 6-0, the RedHawks continued to fight back, scoring a pair of runs of their own in the top of the seventh.
Senior Matt Thomas roped a two-out, two-RBI single into center field to plate juniors Ryan Jett and Clint Gobbell for the RedHawks only runs of the ballgame. The RBIs were the 100th and 101st of Thomas' two-year career, which matched one of the best two-year stretches in program history.
Thomas, Gobbell and Fergerson all finished with two hits each for the RedHawks, who grounded into three double plays on the afternoon – two of which ended the inning and any potential run-scoring chances.
Additionally, the RedHawks fell victim for the second consecutive day of hitting the ball hard, but right to defenders.
As result, all nine of the RedHawk base hits on the afternoon went for singles. The squad finished the two-day tournament run without a single one of its 20 base hits going for extra bases.
Blake Beavers (9-3) suffered the loss on the mound, allowing 12 hits over six innings of work. The redshirt freshman allowed all six Blue Raider runs – five of which were earned. Jake Shadix pitched two innings of near-perfect relief work, allowing just one hit against six batters faced.
Scott Sebald (3-1) picked up the win for the Blue Raiders, who advanced to another elimination game Friday night against Ave Maria (Fla.) University. The left-hander struck out six RedHawks on the afternoon, which marked the only six strikeouts of the tournament for Martin Methodist.
The loss capped an incredible season for the RedHawks, who finished with the second most wins in school history. Only the 2000 squad (42) racked up more victories than this year's RedHawk bunch.
"I am extremely proud of the way our team battled this season," RedHawks head coach Kelly Bratton said. "We came up short this week, but we fought hard against some really good ball clubs. When our season started, we said that one of our goals was to make it to win a conference championship and make it to a Regional. We accomplished both of those things. We will use this as a learning experience to improve and get better for next season."
The loss also brought an end to the careers of seniors Matt Thomas, Nick Flanagan, Jake Ray, Rob Holley, Dakota Smith, Dillon Sands and Josh Brown.
"After the game, I told each and every one of those seniors how much I loved them," Bratton said. "They were our leaders all year long and they were tremendous role models for our team. I could not have asked for a better group of young men to work with. They have set the bar extremely high for Martin Methodist Baseball. We are going to miss them."
