KANSAS CITY, Mo. - CIU baseball needed three more wins entering Tuesday to return to the NCCAA World Series title game. The Rams would get one of those wins by upsetting the No. 2 seed Concordia University Ann Arbor (Mich.) in the day's first game. CIU seemed poised to make their title run, but their bats struggled to be productive against No. 1 seeded Oakland City University (Ind.), ultimately falling in their fifth and final game of the tournament Tuesday evening. CIU finishes the season 25-35 with the second-highest win total in program history.
CIU 9 CUAA 7: The Rams jumped on the board in the second inning after scoring four runs on three hits and two errors. Concordia responded with three in the third to trail by one. CIU extended their lead after RBI hits from Graham Peeler and Scott McDonough and then added three more in the sixth on a sac fly from McDonough and a two-run homer from Britton Morris. Concordia came within two in the seventh after scoring four runs off five hits, but the Rams held them scoreless in the final two frames to secure the win.
Box Score Highlights:
- Peeler led the team with four hits and three RBI.
- McDonough, Morris, and Colton Lopez notched two hits a piece.
- Matthew Garris picked up the win after allowing six hits in six innings, and Collin Otte recorded the save with two strikeouts.
OCU 5 CIU 0: The Mighty Oaks scored two runs off of two hits in the top of the second and added another in the third off of an error. CIU threatened to score in the first and third after singles from Morris moved runners into scoring position, but they could not capitalize. They extended their lead by another after scoring a run in the sixth after two Rams errors. Oakland City added another in the ninth to lead by five heading into the final chance for CIU's lineup. A double play and a ground-out derailed their chance of reaching the final day of the 2024 NCCAA World Series.
Box Score Highlights:
- Morris led the team with two hits.
- Rafael Gonzales and Emmanuel Maldonado notched the other hits for the Rams.
- Darius Dunn-Hatchette recorded a season-high of six strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.
What Coach Jonathan Johnson is saying, " Can't be more proud of this team. The effort they showed all year through so much adversity showed the true character of these young men. Gonna miss this group of seniors. As a coach this is the worst day of the year. Knowing you will never coach some of these young men again will bring a tear to your eye."
