CLEBURNE, Texas – St. Edward’s and Rogers State advanced to the winner’s bracket after picking up wins on a blustery day to open the 2019 Heartland Conference Baseball Championship in Cleburne.
Game 1 – #4 St. Edward’s def. #1 Lubbock Christian 3-2 – Box Score
In a reversal of the two matchups in the tournament from a season ago, St. Edward’s outlasted Lubbock Christian in a pitching duel picking up the one-run win 3-2 against the 2019 Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year Ryan Johnson. The loss was Johnson’s first of the season and ended a 13-game winning streak for the lefty.
Hilltoppers’ starter Nathan Medrano was stellar in a complete-game effort against the conference’s top hitting program. Medrano scattered eight hits allowing two earned runs while striking out six batters and allowing just two walks.
Lubbock Christian struck first picking up a run in the bottom of the first inning after a pair of singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs and put the Chaps in the driving seat. The Hilltoppers stood tough allowing just a sacrifice fly from Andrew Pratt before Medrano struck out Keaton Greenwalt and Will Clark in succession to end the threat.
Heartland Pitcher of the Year Ryan Johnson started the game strong and pitched well throughout allowing just four hits and two earned runs in seven innings of work. Johnson struck out 10 batters in the game, four of which came in the third and fourth innings when Johnson sat down four-straight batters on strikes.
In the top of the fifth, the Hilltoppers got to Johnson after a Zach Schindler walk and a Robbie Lammons single that moved Schindler to third. A squeeze play brought him home on a throwing error. In the sixth, SEU took the lead for the first time as Schindler’s RBI single brought home Morgan Allen.
Lubbock Christian tied the game in the seventh after a pinch hit appearance by Ryan Rijo led to an RBI single that scored Andres Negron.
The Hilltoppers got the run back in the next half inning and Medrano came on in the bottom of the ninth to strike out Peyton Maddox to shut the door on LCU.
With the win, SEU advances to the winner’s bracket game against Rogers State tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. while Lubbock Christian will face UAFS in an elimination game at Noon.
Game 2 - #2 Rogers State def. #4 UAFS 4-0 – Box Score
Rogers State got a complete-game shutout from Jackson Simonsgaard and a three-run home run from Grant Farris as the Hillcats picked up their first Heartland Conference tournament win in their first tournament game.
Simonsgaard went nine full innings allowing just six hits while striking out five Lions’ batters. It was the junior’s second complete-game of the season as he faced off against fellow All-Heartland selection Javon Rigsby. Rigsby pitched well in a complete-game effort allowing three earned runs over eight innings all of which came on a monster swing from Farris. Rigsby also struck out 10 RSU batters.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when Rogers State got the leadoff runner in Christopher Ford aboard on a fielding error. Christian Merriwhether single to put a runner in scoring position for the first time for either team. After a Zack Mann strikeout, Farris took a 2-2 high fastball deep to right and over the wall for the first home run of the tournament on a day when the wind was blowing in strong from left to right.
Simonsgaard continued to keep the UAFS bats silent allowing a runner to reach scoring position just once during the game.
In the seventh inning, Mann brought home Dylan Russell on and RBI single that was set up by a groundout by Merriwhether that moved Russell into scoring position.
Simonsgaard allowed just one hit over the final two innings as the Hillcats advanced to the winner’s bracket to face St. Edward’s on Friday at 3:30 p.m.