DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a rematch of the first game of the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round Tournament held at Embry-Riddle University, Auburn-Montgomery tallied its second win over Union (Tenn.) 5-4, with the Senators eliminating the Bulldogs from the national tournament.
The Senators tallied four runs in the third inning as five consecutive singles gave them a four run edge. They tallied one more run in the fourth inning on the first home run of the tournament in Daytona Beach, hit by Cody Shields. It was his seventh long ball of the season and his 102nd hit of the year.
The Bulldogs put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning as Derek Blackwood led off with a single. Allen Williams followed with a single before the bases were loaded as Danny Grimm was hit by a pitch. Turner earned an RBI on a fielder’s choice and Josh Jones picked up the second RBI of the inning on a single up the middle.
Union’s (Tenn.) Josh Jones raced from second across home plate on a bloop single into left field by Corey Rudolph in the seventh inning to cut the lead to two.
The Bulldog’s had two men in scoring position after cutting the lead to one in the ninth inning but the Senator’s closer, Brock Piper got the final batter to pop out in foul territory as the AUM first baseman made a diving catch to end the game.
The Senators advance to the 2 p.m. game on May 14 against the Union (Ky.) Bulldogs. The winner of the 2 p.m. game will face Embry-Riddle in the championship game of the five-team tournament.
Courtesy: EMBRY-RIDDLE photography
