MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In the first game of the final regular season Southern States Athletic Conference series of 2014, the Martin Methodist Baseball team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 walkoff loss at No. 2 Faulkner (Ala.) University at Harrison Field Thursday night.
Despite the loss, however, several other results in the league Thursday night ensured the RedHawks (25-17, 16-12 SSAC) still sewed up a berth in next week's conference tournament held at Paterson Field in Montgomery.
The tournament berth did not take away much of the sting of a painful one-run loss for the RedHawks, who held their own for eight-plus innings against the reigning NAIA national champs.
After falling behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first, the RedHawks found themselves with just one hit through the game's first five innings.
That's when the RedHawks made their strongest offensive push of the night as the rattled two hits and capitalized on a rare Eagles error to take a 2-1 lead after five-and-a-half innings.
After Caleb Lindsey led off the inning with a single through the hole at third and short, the sophomore gave way to courtesy runner Davey Smitherman, who moved to second on a one-out walk by Blake Truett. With runners in scoring position for just the second time of the night, the RedHawks broke through when Seth Staggs slapped a single through the same hole that Lindsey found earlier in the frame.
As Smitherman came in to score, the Eagles (41-11, 21-7) committed the game's lone error on a wild throw that allowed Truett and Staggs to advance into scoring position. The RedHawks made the Eagles pay one batter later on Evan Fergerson's sacrifice fly to center that lifted the squad to a 2-1 lead.
The lead would last until the bottom of the eighth when pinch hitter Elvis Rodriguez led off the frame with a solo shot that tied the ballgame at 2-2.
Despite a leadoff walk in the ninth, the RedHawks were unable to cash in and sent starter Clay Brown back out to possibly send the ballgame into extra innings.
The Eagles delivered a one-out double to start a late-inning rally, but briefly appeared as if they would go quietly as RedHawk center fielder Clint Gobbell came through with a huge toss from center to second to gun down the middle runner and leave a pair of Eagles on the corner bases.
And, with two outs, the RedHawks were a nearly-called strike three away from sending the ballgame into extra innings, but Eagle pinch hitter Taylor Sasser's line drove landed just shy of Gobbell's outstretched dive attempt for the walkoff victory.
Brown (8-4) allowed 10 hits and three earned runs in his quest for a league-best ninth victory.
Eagles reliever Brad Griffis (4-2) issued the leadoff walk in the ninth, but battled back to secure the victory on the mound for the Eagles, who can clinch a second consecutive SSAC regular season title with at least one victory over the RedHawks tomorrow.
Meanwhile, with at least one victory in tomorrow's doubleheader, the RedHawks can clinch either a fourth or fifth-place finish in their first season in the SSAC.
First pitch in Friday's doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. at Harrison Field.
