Baseball Stumbles in World Series Opening Round
MetroSportsReport.com
ENID, Okla. - The Kirkwood Eagles' defense let them down at the national tournament on Saturday.
Kirkwood committed seven errors and lost to Madison Area Technical College, 18-9, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II World Series at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla.
The game was stopped after eight innings due to the college mercy rule.
Kirkwood got off to a fast start and led, 9-1, after three innings, but the rest of the game was a disaster for the Eagles. Madison drubbed the Eagles, 17-0, during the next five innings when Kirkwood committed all seven of its errors.
Kirkwood (42-16-1) will face Scottsdale (29-31) in a losers bracket game on Sunday at 10 a.m. in an effort to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament.
The Eagles used three of their top starting pitchers on Saturday with Peyton Long throwing four innings, Adam Ketelsen lasting only one inning and Cameron Leff throwing two innings. That will make it harder for the Eagles to bounce back in the losers bracket with Long, Ketelsen and Leff having already seen action.
Kirkwood is making its first trip to the World Series in 19 years. For three innings, it looked like the Eagles would sail into the second round in the winners bracket.
Spencer Wiskus had a two-run single and Chili Moseley followed with a two-run double as the Eagles scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning for a 5-1 lead.
Izaya Fullard had an RBI single in the second inning to make it 6-1, and the Eagles scored three more times in the third inning for a 9-1 advantage on a two-run triple by Cal Clark and an RBI single by Korry Howell.
Madison (35-20) scored twice in the top of the fourth to make it 9-3, but then Kirkwood stopped hitting and began kicking the ball all around the ballpark.
The Eagles committed four errors in the fifth inning to help Madison score five runs and pull within 9-8 and the tide had turned. Suddenly, all the momentum was in the visitor's dugout.
Madison scored four runs in the top of the sixth for a 12-9 lead, with the big blow a three-run homer by Nick Gile off Ketelsen.
Madison scored three more times in the seventh inning and tacked on three more runs in the eighth to make it 18-9, and when the Eagles failed to score in the bottom of the eighth the game was called due to the eight-run mercy rule.
Ketelsen, who sparkled in relief in the regional and district tournaments, was charged with five runs (four earned) in one inning and was saddled with the loss.
Howell, Taylor Jackson and Moseley had three hits for Kirkwood. Fullard and Wiskus had two hits. Wiskus, Moseley and Clark had two RBIs.
Madison catcher Logan Michaels went 6-for-6 with a double, home run, four RBIs and four runs. Gile, their second baseman, was 4-for-6 with five RBIs.
Wiskus, the Kirkwood first baseman, committed three errors. Clark, the second baseman, had two errors. Ellison Hanna, the left fielder, and Ross Kramer, the right fielder, also committed errors.
Kirkwood is the No. 3 seed in the 10-team tournament and Madison is the No. 6 seed. Madison did not make any errors.
Madison 100 254 33 - 18 19 0
Kirkwood 513 000 00 - 9 15 7
W - Hamilton. L - Ketelsen.
