Lexington, Ky. – Matt Broadwater blasted a walk-off two-run home run to give the Transylvania baseball team a dramatic 11-9 win over the Defiance College Yellow Jackets in 11 innings in the opening game of the best-of-3 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament series on Friday evening at Legends Ballpark.
The junior catcher ended a back-and-forth contest with his second home run of the season to give the Pioneers a 1-0 series lead over the Yellow Jackets and the chance to clinch the series victory with game two on the way tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at Legends Ballpark.
Defiance will try to force a third and deciding game that would follow on Saturday afternoon in an if-necessary format Saturday doubleheader. The Pioneers improved to 27-10 on the year while Defiance fell to 6-32 overall.
Transylvania ushered in the HCAC postseason with a high-octane dose of offense, taking a 1-0 lead after two innings on a Devyn Wilson-Cowan RBI single to score Michael Blair.
The Pioneers exploded in the following inning with a four-run explosion to accrue a sudden 5-0 lead. Trent Youngblood led off the inning with a single and Wade Lopiccolo and Hudson Chastain each followed with base hits of their own. Chastain's 68th hit of the season scored Youngblood for a 2-0 lead.
Riley Willbur made the most of his teammates' efforts with a three-run home run to put the Pioneers ahead at 5-0.
Over the next three innings, Defiance chipped away at Transylvania's lead, scoring two runs in the fourth and a lone unearned run in the sixth to forge a 5-3 ballgame still in favor of the home team. Lopiccolo made his mark again with a sacrifice fly RBI to score Trent Pahl in the bottom of the inning to augment Transylvania's lead back up to three runs at 6-3.
After a scoreless seventh inning, the Yellow Jackets turned the game on its heels with a five-run inning off of six hits and a Transylvania error, scoring all five runs with two outs.
The Pioneers shook off the Defiance rally in the bottom of the inning as Broadwater foreshadowed his heroics with a lead-off double to right field. Pahl then smacked a single into right field to move Broadwater to third. Trent Youngblood reached first base on a fielder's choice, scoring Broadwater to cut the Transylvania deficit to 8-7.
The tying run arrived on a wild sequence as Lopiccolo grounded out for the second out of the inning. As Youngblood advanced to third, Defiance's first baseman threw over to third in an attempt to tag out the freshman but the throw errantly missed, and Youngblood sprinted home for the tie at 8-8.
The Pioneers put runners aboard in the ninth and 10th innings but the baserunners were left in waiting each time. Defiance appeared primed for a breakthrough in the top of the 11th as the first two batters reached base, leading to a go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly RBI with one out. Youngblood stepped atop the mound in relief and retired the final two batters and stranded two baserunners to limit the deficit to 9-8.
Needing at least one run to keep the game alive, Blair hit a one-out double into left field to start the Transy rally in the bottom of the 11th. Andrew Winningham provided his latest clutch moment of the season with a liner into right field, scoring Blair and tying the game at 9-9.
With two down, Broadwater stepped up to bat and blasted a no-doubter over the left field fence to give the Pioneers a dramatic tournament-opening win and a critical 1-0 series lead.
The Pioneers tallied 16 hits to Defiance's 12 in Friday's series opener. The offensive nature of the evening was further illustrated as every starter from both teams recorded a hit in the game.
Blair went 3 for 6 with a double while Youngblood, Lopiccolo, Chastain, and Broadwater tallied two hits apiece.
Youngblood picked up the win for the Pioneers to improve his record to 3-2 on the season.
With one win tomorrow, the Pioneers will advance into next weekend's final round of the HCAC Tournament, a five-team double-elimination tournament comprising the five winners of this weekend's best-of-3 series across the conference.
For more on Transylvania baseball, follow @TransyBaseball on Twitter
