EL DORADO, Kan. – Southwestern College baseball's Senior Day festivities were held on neutral turf, as a rainy week forced the Moundbuilders to McDonald Stadium in El Dorado, Kan. Unfazed by the change in scenery, SC mashed the baseball all day long to the tune of a combined 31 hits as a team. They fended off Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) foe Avila University (Mo.), in the process, snagging a pair of victories over the Eagles.
Avila would jump out front to begin the battle, singling up the middle with a runner in scoring position with two outs. That would give them a 1-0 lead that would stand until the bottom of the second frame.
In the bottom of the second, Southwestern's Noah Prince hammered a solo blast to right-center field, tying the score at 1-1. Unfortunately for the Builders, the Eagles quickly responded by scoring three runs in the top of inning number three. A solo homer, followed by a two-run double, made it 4-1 for the visitors.
A counterpunch would be levied by the Moundbuilders, as the bottom of the third was a productive one for the SC offense. A three-run homer by Joseph Finder, scoring both Tyler Seboldt and Zach Boone, was followed by a run-scoring double by Josh Crabtree. The two-bagger sent home Finder, making it a 5-4 Builder lead after three.
Finder would homer again in the bottom of the fourth, after Southwestern thwarted the Avila offense in the top half. His second round-tripper was a two-run shot, as Travis Popenhagen came in on the bomb. A 7-4 lead was held at the time, and that is where the score would stay until the sixth inning.
In the sixth, Boone crushed his first homerun of his injury-shortened 2023 campaign. The blast was drilled to right-center field, and was of the solo variety. Later in the frame, London Penland smoked a double over the head of the center fielder, driving in Seboldt to make it 9-4. That is where the score would stay, as both teams were held off the board for the remainder of the game.
Another game full of crooked numbers would follow, as the seven-inning affair ended up sporting a total of 23 run scored between the two outfits. Avila was responsible for the first two runs, grabbing a pair of tallies in the top of the first. An RBI double and a run-scoring groundout made it 2-0 early.
Run number three of the game for the Eagles was put up in the top of the third, as a single through the middle of the infield made it 3-0. Then, though, a prolific bottom of the third inning occurred for Southwestern that included three homers. A solo bomb by Andrew Brown got the train moving, and a two-run jack by Penland came next. Finder would cross the plate of Penland's jack, while another two-run dinger was hit by Trevor Abitia. Conner Hern would score on his blast. All told, SC grabbed five runs via the three long balls.
With a 5-3 lead, the Builders could not keep the lead, as Avila immediately scored three times in the top of the fourth. An RBI single and a two-run two-base hit made it 6-5 for the visiting team with three-and-a-half stanzas to play.
Finder would get one of those three runs back in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game at 6-6 after four. Seboldt came around to score on the two-base hit.
Then, Brown supplied what may have been the biggest hit of the game, as he tattooed a three-run homerun to right-center field. Both Popenhagen and Abitia scored on the blast, as Southwestern was then in front by a 9-6 tally, feeling much more comfortable.
A run-scoring single for Avila made it 9-7 entering the last of the sixth, where Marcus Burton was able to steal third base and advance home via a throwing error by the Eagle catcher. Then, Sesang Yun smacked a sacrifice fly to deep right field to drive home Abitia, making it 11-7 entering the last half inning for the Eagles.
Avila would not go down lightly, as they rallied back to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning on a grand slam to the opposite field by the leadoff man in the batting order. All that did was allow SC the chance to earn a walk-off win in the bottom of the inning, which they did with an RBI single by Finder after a leadoff double by Seboldt. The 12-11 win marked the first set of consecutive wins for Southwestern since February 18.
Southwestern had six total stolen bags on the day, breaking the previous program record for steals by a team in a single season. The previous record was 121, and stolen base number 122 was recorded by Popenhagen in game two on Saturday.
Several hitters had massive days at the plate for SC, but no one was as impressive as Finder (6-for-8, 2 HR, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 3 R, BB). He was a perfect 4-for-4 in game two and was also responsible for the walk-off hit. A few four-hit performances were put forth on the day, as Penland (4-for-8, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R), Seboldt (4-for-10, 2 2B, 4 R) and Brady Johnson (4-for-4, 2B). A total of eight homers were hit by Southwestern, with four of them coming in each game. Brown (2), Finder (2), Prince (1), Boone (1), Penland (1) and Abitia (1) launched the round-trippers for the Builders.
Gannon Dow had what may have been his most effective start of the conference slate on Saturday. He went six innings with six hits allowed. He also walked just two batters and struck out eight, wile allowing just four runs. He was also helped out by his bullpen, which consisted of single-inning outings from Reyden Rull, Braden Ash and Dylan Navarrette. Each of them tossed a scoreless frame, and only one hits was tallied across those three stanzas.
Jo. Crabtree was not as effective as Dow, letting up six earned runs on nine hits across five innings. However, he kept his team in the game. Micah Cleveland relieved him with a single inning of work. He gave up just one unearned run on one hit and did hit a batter. Jacob Woodburn, though he allowed the game-tying grand slam in the seventh, was helped out by his lineup, who earned him a win with their walk-off heroics.
Senior Day was a major success for SC, honoring the eight seniors that will be graduating this May. Those seniors are Penland, Woodburn, Ash, Yun, Jo. Crabtree, Navarrette, Johnson and Landon Tinsman.
The final game of the 2023 campaign for the Builders (10-38, 4-28 KCAC) will once again be played at McDonald Stadium in El Dorado, as field conditions in Winfield continue to be untenable for Sunday's midday start time. First pitch will be thrown at 12 p.m. on Sunday, as SC looks to earn their first series sweep of the year before the conclusion of their season.
--buildersports.com--
