The LaGrange College baseball team punched its ticket to the D-III World Series for the first time with a pulsating 4-2 win over Chapman in the deciding Game 3 of its Super Regional on Saturday night at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium.
Chapman forced the deciding game with a walk-off 9-8 win in Game 2 to start the day. The Panthers turned to sophomore Ethan Fry on the mound for Game 3.
Fry (2-1) responded with his longest outing of the season. He went 7-1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walked three and struck out six.
Fry and Chapman freshman Max Banks were hooked up in a pitcher's duel through four scoreless innings. Banks did not allow the Panthers a hit in the first four innings.
With one out in the fifth, Rhett Hebert doubled to right center for LC's first hit of the night. Gabriel Pallo laid down a perfect bunt to put runners at the corners. Pallo stole second and when the throw went into center field, took third as Hebert scored the game's first run. Pallo came home on Rhett Mixon's sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
The Panthers came back with two more runs in the sixth. Joe Ruth walked to start the inning and took second on a wild pitch. Jack Layrisson tripled to left center to easily score Ruth with the first run of the inning. Layrisson trotted home when Cael Chatham flied out to deep center to up LC's lead to 4-0.
Fry cruised into the eighth before running into trouble. He got the first out of the inning, but a hit batter and a walk ended his night as Tanner Chaffin came on in relief. Chafin got the second out of the inning on a strike out, but Davis Mieliwock's two-run double cut the Panthers' lead in half, 4-2.
In the ninth, Ki Osaka led off the inning with a double down the right field line. Chaffin got the first out of the inning, but Drake Mueller reached first after striking out on a pitch in the dirt put runners on the corners. Chaffin struck out Cole Minato for the second out and ended the game by getting Nick Kondo to line out to Pallo in right field. He picked up his first save of the season.
In the first game of the day, the Panthers rallied three times from two-run deficits to tie the game. Chatham's sacrifice fly and Hebert was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game 8-8. Chapman walked off with the win on Minato's sacrifice fly off Ethan Kramer (2-3).
Ruth collected his 100th hit of the season in the fifth with an infield single. He added another hit in the ninth. Ruth is only the third NCAA Division III player ever to have 100 hits in a season. He needs three hits to break the Division III single season record.
For continuing coverage of Panther athletics, stay up to date with our website and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
