Valp-Oh So Close; Beats Florida, Drops 2 NCAA Cliffhangers

The Valparaiso Crusaders saw their season end on Sunday afternoon after a hard-fought loss to No. 2-seed Austin Peay, 5-4, at the Bart Kaufmann Field in Bloomington, Ind.

Austin Peay 5, Valparaiso 4
A season that included a second consecutive Horizon League Championship and the first NCAA Regional win since 1966 ended Sunday in Bloomington, Indiana as the Austin Peay Governors defeated Valpo 5-4.

All three NCAA Regional games Valpo played in ended with 5-4 scores.

"I'm ecstatic about our season, how we performed here. I think a lot of people thought we were fortunate to play all three teams and all three were one-run games so I'm very proud of what our guys did and I'm excited for what we have to continue on starting next year again," head coach Tracy Woodson said.

For the third straight day, the Crusaders scored in their half of the first inning. Shortstop Spencer Mahoney laced a rope up the middle for Valpo's first hit of the afternoon. He came all the way around from first to score when Tanner Vavra lined a triple over the head of Austin Peay right fielder Tommy Hager.

John Loeffler worked a full count before he added to the Valpo lead with a single to right. Vavra touched home on Loeffler's 40th RBI of the season.

The Governors plated an unearned run in the top of the third on a Jordan Hankins sacrifice fly to center. After reaching on an infield single, Brett Carlson advanced to third on a missed catch at first base by Loeffler. The sacrifice fly cut the Valpo lead in half.

Austin Peay tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning. Hager stepped to the plate and sliced a two-out single to left field that scored Cody Hudson.

After three scoreless frames, Valpo regained its two-run lead in the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Bain and Mahoney hit back-to-back singles to kick off the inning. The pair advanced to second and third on a balk called on Ryan Quick. Vavra and Loeffler drove both in via sacrifice flies to right and center field respectively.

The 4-2 advantage didn't last long as Hudson hit a leadoff double to left-center then advanced to third as the carom of the wall was bobbled. A Michael Davis sacrifice fly to center brought Austin Peay back to within one run.

A seesaw game teetered back towards even when Reed Harper singled home all-American Craig Massoni in the Austin Peay seventh.

Valpo was unable to cash in on a golden opportunity in its half of the seventh.

After two singles and a walk, the Crusaders had the bases loaded with one out for Chris Manning. Facing reliever Lee Ridenhour, Manning hit a fly ball to left too shallow for Mahoney to tag from third. After a lengthy two-out at bat, Andy Burns was retired on strikes as Valpo stranded three.

Ben Mahar was called on to get the last out of the seventh in place of starter Dalton Lundeen. Lundeen threw 6 2/3 innings, allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits while walking four and striking out one.

In a 4-4 deadlock, Mahar surrendered a leadoff home run to designated hitter Michael Davis in the eighth. The long ball to left ended up being the difference as Valparaiso was unable to push a run across against Tyler Rogers, the NCAA leader in saves.

Rogers worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings for his 23rd save of the season.

Valparaiso 5, Florida 4
Less than 24 hours after suffering one of the more disappointing losses in program history, Valpo showed remarkable resolve by rebounding from a late three-run deficit to defeat the Florida Gators 5-4 at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Indiana.

“I just want to say how proud I am of the guys. The players are the ones that have to go out and do the job, and I think we've got good ones," head coach Tracy Woodson said.

Spencer Mahoney gave the Crusaders their second first-inning lead in as many days. Last year's Honorable Mention All-American sent a Johnny Magliozzi fastball over the left-center field wall to jump out on top 1-0.

Chris DeBoo kept the Gators off the scoreboard until their half of the fourth inning. Florida rattled off five hits in the three-run frame. Cody Dent put Florida ahead 3-1 with a two-run double down the right field line. Dent had entered the at-bat with just one hit in his previous 22 plate appearances.

The Gators manufactured an insurance run in the top of the fifth. Harrison Bader reached on a two-out single before stealing his 15th base of the season to advance into scoring position for Josh Tobias. Bader touched home on a Tobias RBI single to left to make it 4-1.

Just when it seemed that Magliozzi was settling in, Billy Cribbs led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to center that ended a string of seven straight Crusaders retired. Valpo kept things in motion as Bryce Hara drew a five-pitch walk before Andrew Bain loaded the bases with a floater to left center that fell in for a hit. Bain's single ended Magliozzi's day.

With two of the next three batters left-handed, Florida skipper Kevin O'Sullivan called on southpaw Daniel Gibson out of the bullpen.

Gibson struggled to find the plate as he fell behind in the count to Mahoney with the bases loaded. The reliever worked back to a full count before Mahoney hit a short hop to third base. Tobias made a clean scoop, but then bobbled the ball when attempting to make a throw. All runners moved up a base as the error cut the Gator lead to 4-2.

Gibson's command issues continued in the inning as back-to-back bases-loaded walks to Tanner Vavra and John Loeffler tied the game at four.

With the bases loaded and still no outs, O'Sullivan brought in right hander Ryan Harris to limit the damage.

Chris Manning greeted Harris with a hard hit ground ball up the middle on the first pitch he saw. Florida second baseman Casey Turgeon made a nice running stop to his right to get the force out at second, but Valpo took a 5-4 lead on the fielder's choice.

Tensions ran high in the Gator half of the ninth as the first two batters reached via a walk and a base hit respectively. Vickash Ramjit laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Turgeon and Justin Shafer into scoring position with one out.

Kyle Wormington, who came on in relief in the top of the seventh, got Taylor Gushue swinging at an assortment of changeups for the second out. Harrison Bader was the last hope for the Gators but after a lengthy at-bat, the outfielder grounded out to third for the final out of the game.

Wormington threw three shutout innings as he improved to 6-7 on the season.

"It's exciting. It's exhilarating to get that win. As a team, we are just looking forward to tomorrow. We came to win and that's what we want to do," Wormington said after the game.

The win represented Valpo's second over a Southeastern Conference team in the last two seasons. It was also the first for the Crusaders in an NCAA Regional game since they defeated Southern Illinois 4-3 in the Columbus Regional in 1966.

Indiana 5, Valparaiso 4
Valpo silenced the hometown crowd for eight innings, but a four-run ninth sent the Hoosier fans into a frenzy as #13 Indiana defeated the Crusaders 5-4 Friday night in Bloomington.

"I'm disappointed for the guys. We had the game in hand. I thought we controlled it for eight innings," head coach Tracy Woodson said.

The Crusaders wasted no time making their presence known in front of a capacity crowd at Bart Kaufman Field.

Andrew Bain led off the game with a single to right field before Tanner Vavra and John Loeffler recorded back-to-back singles. With the bases loaded, Chris Manning bounced an Aaron Slegers delivery to second base that brought home Bain from third. The fielder's choice gave Manning his 33rd run batted in of the season.

Valparaiso kept the pressure on in the second inning. Elliott Martin reached on an error by IU shortstop Michael Basil to start the frame. Catcher Billy Cribbs replaced him on the basepaths after a fielder's choice erased Martin. Mark Johnson followed with a four-pitch walk and then Bain gave Valpo a 2-0 lead with a single up the middle on a 0-1 pitch.

Armed with an early lead, Webb dissected the Big Ten Champion offense utilizing a lively cutter, change up, and a running fast ball to limit Indiana to one run on five hits in seven innings.

The Hoosiers stayed off the scoreboard until Webb's final inning of work - the 7th - when Chad Clark singled in Casey Smith. Smith had reached on a double that represented Indiana's only extra-base hit of the game until the 9th inning.

Webb passed the torch on to Ben Mahar who worked a perfect bottom of the eighth. The reliever sat down the top of the Indiana order including All-American catcher Kyle Schwarber.

Valpo finally got to the Indiana bullpen in the ninth inning as Hara and Bain came in to score on an error by Clark at second base. The bases were loaded with two outs when Loeffler reached on the miscue.

With a 4-1 lead, Woodson went to closer Karch Kowalczyk. Kowalczyk entered the tilt 12-for-12 in save opportunities. The junior retired leadoff man Scott Donley before Basil reached on an infield single. Dustin DeMuth and Casey Smith ripped consecutive doubles to bring the Hoosiers within a run.

With the tying run on second base and the winning run at the plate, Kowalczyk got ahead 0-1 on Clark before the Valpo closer hung a breaking ball that Clark sent over the left field wall.

Clark's second home run of the year capped the 5-4 Indiana comeback. The Crusaders came into Friday's game 29-0 when leading after eight innings.

Bain finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk.

"We just have to have a short memory. Whether it's an at-bat or a loss like tonight, we've just got to cut it out and be ready to go tomorrow," Bain said after the game.