UPLAND, Ind. - A
Chasin Cash three-run bash, outstanding defense and a complete game from
Kade Haywood and the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Stallions staved off elimination Tuesday morning with a 6-4 victory over Mount Mercy in the NAIA Opening Round at Taylor University. The victory is ABAC's 40th of the season.
The Stallions will get a very short break. Next up on their schedule is a 6 p.m. game against Shawnee State. It will be another elimination game for the Stallions. If they win this one, they will play Wednesday at 1 p.m. versus the loser of Tuesday's game between Indiana Tech and host Taylor University.
Cash,
Kam Taylor and
Dylan Davis all homered against the Mustangs, but it was Cash's that provided the winning margin. After Mount Mercy went ahead 3-2 in the 6th, ABAC first tied the game before Cash launched a pitch into the construction zone dirt pile in left field, scoring
Zack Bowman and Davis to go ahead 6-3.
Mount Mercy scored a single run in the 8th, but Haywood was unfazed to go the distance. He threw 115 pitches, struck out four, walked only one. All four runs were earned.Â
Defense saved the day for ABAC time and time again.
Rawls took care of everything and then some hit his way at shortstop. A diving snare in the 3rd took a hit a way, as did nice backhand in the 8th. Arguably the most impressive of his plays was leaping on a
Parker Wallace throw and making a sweeping tag in one smooth motion to catch a runner stealing in the 4th.
Davis, too, impressed with three tough catches in the 7th. Out No. 2 was a diving backhand grab on a low liner in right field.
Haywood's finest moment came in the 2nd frame. Mount Mercy had a leadoff triple, but came away with nothing. Haywood held the runner on a grounder to the mound, then threw him out on a failed squeeze bunt. A fly to right finished off the inning.
Taylor opened the bottom of the 2nd by muscling a homer over the left field wall. Davis made it 2-0 in the 4th with a solo shot to left.
Mount Mercy scored three in the 6th with a two-run homer and a two-out double and single.
ABAC's bottom half started with a Rawls single under the third baseman's glove. Bowman followed with an infield single before Davis rapped a sharp grounder up the middle. Rawls scored and the score was 3-3.
Cash rocketed his three-run homer and the Stallions were quickly ahead again at 6-3.
Haywood allowed only two baserunners over the final three innings. The Mustangs had a two-out single in the 9th, but a grounder to Rawls closed the book on Mount Mercy.
A day after his five-hit game,
Billy Girgis took was hit by a pitch on the chin in the 7th. Girgis stayed in the game for the rest of ABAC's half of the inning, but was replaced defensively by
Tre'von Lee at second for the last two frames.
Bowman, Davis and Wallace each had two hits. Taylor had three RBIs - five now in the tournament - and Davis drove in two. Both Davis and Taylor have homered in both games.
