Carthage vs Aurora

Central Regional - Game 8 - May 19, 2006


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Aurora Defeats Carthage, 5-4, to Survive at NCAA Central Regional

St. Louis, Mo., May 19, 2006 -Fourth-seeded Aurora University held on for a 5-4 win Friday against top-seeded Carthage College at the NCAA Central Region Championship at Kelly Field. Aurora (31-12) advances to face the College of Mount St. Joseph at 4 p.m. today, while Carthage closes out its season with a 34-9 overall record.

Senior Sergio Simental gave the Red Men a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with a solo home run to left field. Aurora, which received some help from two Carthage errors in the bottom half of the inning, responded with three runs to take the lead. Senior John Hopkins capped off the rally with an RBI double down the left field line.

Senior Boe Baitinger led off the third for Carthage, reaching first base on an error by Spartans junior pitcher Matt Miller. Baitinger went on to score to draw Carthage within one run (3-2). Aurora, though, bounced back when Hopkins led off the fourth with a single to left field. Freshman Zach Starkey sacrificed Hopkins to second base, and Hopkins advanced to third when senior Aaron Thor's grounder to second base was bobbled for another error. Hopkins then scored on a sacrifice fly to shallow left field for a 4-2 AU advantage.

Carthage knotted the game at 4-4 in the top of the fifth. Baitinger, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, was hit by a pitch. He then stole second base and made it to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore Tyler Creekmore drove in Baitinger with a single to right field, and senior Warren Even doubled to left center field to drive in Creekmore.

AU scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Starkey reached first base on an error by the CC second baseman. Thor followed with a base hit to center field, moving Starkey to third base. Sophomore starter Jacob Husing was relieved by Carthage junior Jeff Livek with two outs. However, AU junior Jay Zimmerman delivered the game-winning base hit to right field to score Starkey from third base.

Hopkins finished 2-for-5 with two RBI for the Spartans. Junior reliever Ryan Fair picked up his ninth save to preserve the win for junior Jonathan Turek (4-0).

The winner of today's Aurora/Mount St. Joseph game will face second-seeded Millsaps College at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Region final.


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Boxscore - Carthage vs Aurora

Carthage College 4 (34-9)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Baitinger, Boe cf........  4  2  2  0   0  0  2  1   2
Gragnani, Anthony dh.....  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
 Creekmore, Tyler ph/dh..  3  1  2  1   0  0  0  0   2
 Jacques, Andrew pr......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Even, Warren 3b/2b.......  5  0  1  1   0  2  4  3   0
Yapp, Tyler 1b/3b........  5  0  1  1   0  2  9  1   1
Simental, Sergio c.......  5  1  1  1   0  1  1  0   2
Romano, Seth ss..........  4  0  1  0   0  0  2  1   1
Hermes, David lf.........  4  0  1  0   0  0  3  0   0
Coughlin, Steve rf.......  3  0  0  0   1  1  2  0   0
Rucks, Steve 2b..........  3  0  0  0   0  2  1  1   2
 Wuis, David ph..........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Shannon, Chris pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 McGuire, Mike 1b........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Husing, Jacob p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 Livek, Jeff p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 39  4 10  4   1 10 24 10  10

Aurora University 5 (31-12)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
John Hopkins cf..........  5  1  2  2   0  0  2  0   2
Zach Starkey 2b..........  3  1  2  0   1  0  1  1   0
Aaron Thor ss............  5  0  1  0   0  0  1  2   2
Jay Zimmerman lf.........  4  0  1  2   0  0  3  0   1
Paul Dean dh.............  5  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
Ryan Losacco 3b..........  4  0  2  0   0  0  2  0   0
Nick Weber 1b............  4  1  1  0   0  0  7  0   0
Chris Forbes c...........  1  0  1  1   2  0 10  0   0
Josh Damore rf...........  4  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   4
Matt Miller p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 Jonathan Turek p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Ryan Fair p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 35  5 10  5   3  0 27  6  12

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Carthage College.... 011 020 000 -  4 10  5
Aurora University... 030 100 01X -  5 10  3
-------------------------------------------

E - Even, Warren; Yapp, Tyler; Romano, Seth; Rucks, Steve 2; R.Losacco;
C.Forbes; M.Miller. LOB - CARTHAGE 10; AURORA 12. 2B - Even, Warren; J.
Hopkins. HR - Simental, S. HBP - Baitinger, B; C.Forbes. SH - Z.Starkey. SF
- J. Zimmerman. SB - Baitinger, B 3; Romano, Seth; Hermes, D.

Carthage College       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Husing, Jacob.......  7.2  9  5  0  3  0 33 39
Livek, Jeff.........  0.1  1  0  0  0  0  2  2

Aurora University      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Matt Miller.........  5.2  8  4  3  0  7 27 28
Jonathan Turek......  2.1  1  0  0  1  2  8  9
Ryan Fair...........  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  4  4

Win - J.Turek (4-0).  Loss - Husing, J (6-2).  Save - R.Fair (9).
WP - Husing, J; M.Miller; J.Turek. HBP - by M.Miller (Baitinger, B); by Husing,
J (C.Forbes).
Umpires - HP: Bob Jenkins  1B: Rollie Madison  2B: Jim Ellison  3B: Mike
Contreras  Start: 1 p.m.   Time: 2:29   Attendance: 127

Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play

Play-by-Play - Carthage vs Aurora

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Carthage College.... 011 020 000 -  4 10  5
Aurora University... 030 100 01X -  5 10  3
-------------------------------------------

Carthage College starters: 4/cf Baitinger, B; 5/dh Gragnani, A; 11/3b Even,
Warren; 23/1b Yapp, Tyler; 33/c Simental, S; 15/ss Romano, Seth; 24/lf Hermes,
D; 7/rf Coughlin, S; 8/2b Rucks, Steve; 34/p Husing, J;
Aurora University starters: 1/cf J. Hopkins; 28/2b Z.Starkey; 43/ss A.Thor;
6/lf J. Zimmerman; 8/dh P. Dean; 20/3b R.Losacco; 24/1b N.Weber; 14/c C.Forbes;
23/rf J.Damore; 35/p M.Miller;

Carthage College 1st - Baitinger, B singled. Baitinger, B stole second.
Gragnani, A struck out. Even, Warren grounded out to ss; Baitinger, B advanced
to third. Yapp, Tyler struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Aurora University 1st - J. Hopkins grounded out to 2b. Z.Starkey singled
to center field. Dropped foul ball, E3. A.Thor flied out to cf. J. Zimmerman
flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Carthage College 2nd - Simental, S homered, RBI. Romano, Seth grounded
out to p. Hermes, D singled to left field. Coughlin, S fouled out to lf.
Hermes, D stole second. Rucks, Steve struck out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.

Aurora University 2nd - P. Dean reached on an error by 2b. R.Losacco
fouled out to 1b. P. Dean advanced to second on a wild pitch. N.Weber reached
on an error by ss; P. Dean advanced to third. C.Forbes singled to center field,
RBI; N.Weber advanced to second; P. Dean scored, unearned. J.Damore reached on
a fielder's choice; C.Forbes out at second p to ss; N.Weber advanced to third.
J. Hopkins doubled to left field, 2 RBI; J.Damore scored, unearned; N.Weber
scored, unearned. Z.Starkey walked. A.Thor grounded out to 3b. 3 runs, 2
hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.

Carthage College 3rd - Baitinger, B reached on an error by p, advanced
to second. Gragnani, A struck out. Baitinger, B stole third. Dropped foul ball,
E2. Even, Warren struck out looking. Yapp, Tyler singled to right field, RBI;
Baitinger, B scored, unearned. Simental, S grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1 hit,
2 errors, 1 LOB.

Aurora University 3rd - J. Zimmerman grounded out to ss. P. Dean
grounded out to 1b unassisted. R.Losacco singled to left field. N.Weber singled
to left field; R.Losacco advanced to second. C.Forbes walked; N.Weber advanced
to second; R.Losacco advanced to third. J.Damore grounded out to 3b. 0 runs,
2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.

Carthage College 4th - Romano, Seth singled. Hermes, D flied out to lf.
Coughlin, S struck out. Romano, Seth stole second. Rucks, Steve flied out to
3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Aurora University 4th - J. Hopkins singled to center field. Z.Starkey
grounded out to 3b, SAC; J. Hopkins advanced to second. A.Thor reached on an
error by 2b; J. Hopkins advanced to third. J. Zimmerman flied out to 3b, SAC,
RBI; A.Thor advanced to second; J. Hopkins scored, unearned. P. Dean grounded
out to p. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Carthage College 5th - Baitinger, B hit by pitch. Creekmore, T pinch hit
for Gragnani, A. Baitinger, B stole second. Baitinger, B advanced to third on a
wild pitch. Creekmore, T singled to right field, RBI; Baitinger, B scored.
Even, Warren doubled to left center, RBI; Creekmore, T scored. Yapp, Tyler
flied out to lf. Simental, S flied out to cf; Even, Warren advanced to third.
Romano, Seth fouled out to 1b. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Aurora University 5th - R.Losacco singled to center field. N.Weber
fouled out to c. C.Forbes walked; R.Losacco advanced to second. J.Damore lined
out to ss. J. Hopkins lined out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Carthage College 6th - Hermes, D reached on an error by 3b. Coughlin, S
flied out to p. Rucks, Steve struck out looking. Baitinger, B singled to right
field; Hermes, D advanced to second. Creekmore, T to dh. J.Turek to p for
M.Miller. Creekmore, T grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1
error, 2 LOB.

Aurora University 6th - Z.Starkey singled to left field. A.Thor flied
out to rf. J. Zimmerman flied out to rf. P. Dean flied out to 2b. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Carthage College 7th - Even, Warren struck out looking. Yapp, Tyler
struck out swinging. Simental, S grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.

Aurora University 7th - R.Losacco grounded out to p. N.Weber flied out
to cf. C.Forbes hit by pitch. J.Damore flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.

Carthage College 8th - Romano, Seth grounded out to p. Hermes, D popped
up to 3b. Coughlin, S walked. Wuis, David pinch hit for Rucks, Steve. Wuis,
David singled to right field; Coughlin, S advanced to second. Shannon, C pinch
ran for Wuis, David. Coughlin, S advanced to third on a wild pitch. Baitinger,
B lined out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Aurora University 8th - Even, Warren to 2b. Yapp, Tyler to 3b. McGuire,
M to 1b for Shannon, C. J. Hopkins flied out to lf. Z.Starkey reached on an
error by 2b. A.Thor singled, out at second cf to 3b to 2b; Z.Starkey advanced
to third. Livek, Jeff to p for Husing, J. J. Zimmerman singled to right field,
RBI; Z.Starkey scored, unearned. P. Dean popped up to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 1
error, 1 LOB.

Carthage College 9th - R.Fair to p for J.Turek. Creekmore, T singled to
center field. Jacques, A pinch ran for Creekmore, T. Even, Warren reached on a
fielder's choice; Jacques, A out at second p to ss. Yapp, Tyler flied out to
cf. Simental, S struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Updated May 2006