Tartan Comeback Falls Just Short
September 10, 2006
In their best game of the season, the Tartans hung with Penn State Fayette the whole game, but their late rally came up one run short, as they lost 7-6. Matt Corbett threw a solid 8 innings allowing 7 runs (4 ER) on 9 hits.
Trailing 5 to 1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Tartan bats finally broke out. 4 straight singles from Corbett, C Brian Tabata, 3B Jack Bader, and SS Jim Stedman netted one run and a bases loaded walk by RF Chris Manganello scored another. Finally, Bader agressively took home on a passed ball, making the score 5-4.
Corbett would give up one run in each of the next two innings, before the Tartans came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, down by three, Stedman drew a walk and, one batter later, 2B Aaron Hernley drove a deep double over the right fielder to score Stedman. Hernley was thrown out trying to take third, ending the inning.
Bader came on in relief to start the ninth, and worked out of a bases loaded jam, inducing a force out at the plate and then nabbing the batter at first on an ill advised 2 out suicide squeeze.
Down two coming into the bottom of the ninth, 1B Ben Chidester got a 1 out single to left. One batter later, Corbett scorched a triple down the left field line. With two outs, Tabata, the team's best hitter from a season ago, came to the plate with the tying run on third. Unfortunately, Tabata's ground ball between third and short was fielded by the third baseman and the throw to first just beat him, ending the game.
Head coach Claudio Reilsono was very pleased with the team's effort. "I told the team last week after our loss to Penn State Fayette, that Penn State would see a different CMU baseball team the next time we played them and they did. We played hard, and never gave up. Matt Corbett pitched a great game against a very good hitting team. He battled all day out there. We played well on defense, and we will get better there, and we are coming around on offense. I told the team after the game that out of all the years I coached, that was the happiest I felt after a loss because I knew they played hard and never gave up. I am very proud of my team. We are looking foward to playing in the Bob Kloska Tournament hosted by Fransiscan University. I feel we are coming around at the right time."