walkoff ncaa
Kaitlyn Cole
3
Wayne State WSU 31-20
4
Winner Quincy QU 33-20
Wayne State WSU
31-20
3
Final
4
Quincy QU
33-20
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Wayne State WSU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 3
Quincy QU 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 4 6 0

W: Crawford, Cole (2-2) L: Tompson (1-2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Brendan Bittner

Walters' Double Walks Off Warriors In NCAA Opener

MIDLAND, Mich. – Quincy University senior Jake Walters (St. Louis, Mo.) smashed a one-out double off the wall in left to score junior Brynn Martinez (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) and give the Hawks a walk-off, 4-3 win over No. 6-seed Wayne State in the NCAA Tournament opener early Friday (May 19) morning in Midland, Mich.
 
The double came at 12:34 a.m. local time and it was the first time the No. 3-seed Hawks held a lead on a blustery, frigid night in central Michigan.
  The Hawks (33-20) will now play Friday (May 19) night at 7:30 p.m. Central against No. 7-seed Saint Joseph's, which upset No. 2-seed Southern Indiana, 5-4, earlier in the day. The Hawks beat the Pumas (35-20) in the GLVC Tournament last week, 9-5.
 
When the game started Thursday night, the Hawks got a quality start from freshman southpaw Riley Martin (Salem, Ill.). The rookie struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up a seeing-eye single to Griffin Harris.
 
Justin Kelly followed with a pop up to right field, but junior J.C. DeMuri (Manchester, Mo.) came in from right field and Walters moved back from second, but the duo lost the ball in the lights and it fell for a double. JT Conti's double down the left field line gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
 
Wayne State (31-20) got a leadoff single in the second, but Martin stranded the runner at second. In the third, Wayne State put runners on the corners with two down before Martin got Tristen Jorah to fly out to the warning track.
 
Quincy's offense woke up in the third. After a walk and a double play left the bases empty, senior Dominic Miles (Quincy, Ill.) worked his second walk off Wayne State ace Chris Horvath. Walters followed with a single to put runners on the corners. The Hawks then executed a double steal with Walters sliding in safely at second while Miles came home as the ball skipped away from the fielder covering. QU stranded Walters as DeMuri smashed a liner at Horvath, who made a great play to snag it.
 
Martin settled in in the fourth inning and did not allow a hit in his final three innings of work through the sixth.
 
The Hawks tied the game in the fifth as sophomore Chandler Purcell (Waterloo, Ill.) led off with a double. A fielding error allowed sophomore T.J. Tamaccio (Boca Raton, Fla.) to reach before Martinez executed a sac bunt. Miles then struck out, but Walters' tapper to shortstop was bobbled and the throw was not in time, allowing Purcell to score.
 
Freshman William Sanchez (Miami, Fla.) worked a perfect seventh inning, but Justin Kelly hit a one-out solo homer off freshman Alex Pribyl (Anoka, Minn.) to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead. A walk and a single put runners on the corners, but Pribyl struck out Patrick Adams III to keep it a one-run game.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Hawks pieced together a two-out rally. Junior Troy Wehde (St. Charles, Mo.) and senior Jack Klages (St. Louis, Mo.) each singled before sophomore Nolan Snyder (St. Louis, Mo.) worked a four-pitch walk. Purcell followed and took ball four below the knees, tying the game at 3. Tamaccio hit a drive to right field with two outs and the bases still loaded, but it was hauled in at the warning track.
 
The Hawks turned to junior closer Cole Crawford (Wilton, Iowa) in the ninth. He walked the leadoff batter, but Jeremy Carrell popped his bunt attempt back to Crawford for the first out. The right-hander than got a popout and a fly out to end the inning.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Martinez hit a hot shot to first base that was mishandled, allowing the speedy shortstop to reach. Martinez went to second on a perfect sac bunt by Miles. Walters then drove the second pitch he saw from Tyler Tompson off the wall in left field, and Martinez, waiting to see if the ball would be caught, dove into home with a head-first slide to send the Hawks off with a win.
 
Crawford (2-2) earned the win while Tompson (1-2) suffered the loss. Martin was excellent, giving up just two runs on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in six innings. Horvath made 131 pitches and give up three runs (two earned) in 7 2/3 innings in a no-decision.
 
Walters was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Klages went 2-for-4 while Purcell was 1-for-3 with a double, a run, an RBI and a walk.
 
No. 8 Kentucky Wesleyan will play No. 5 Bellarmine and No. 6 Wayne State will play No. 2 Southern Indiana in elimination games on Friday. No. 1 Northwood vs. No. 4 Drury will precede the QU-SJC finale in the winner's bracket.
 
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