Decatur, Ill. – The Transylvania baseball team's drive to extend its run in the NCAA Regional was halted by the No. 3 Webster University Gorloks, who defeated the Pioneers, 4-3 in a come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon at Workman Family Baseball Field.
Enduring its second loss of the Decatur Regional to the Gorloks, the Pioneers were eliminated from NCAA Tournament play while Webster advanced to tonight's loser's bracket game against the winner of this afternoon's NCAA Regional game between Washington University in St. Louis and Denison.
Transylvania entered Day 3 of the Decatur Regional coming off its first NCAA Tournament win in program history against Illinois College as it faced Webster for the second time in three days.
After losing to Webster, 4-1 in Thursday's regional opener, the Pioneers had different plans in mind on Saturday as they captured two leads against the Gorloks.
Webster jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning against starter Evan Hall on a bases-loaded walk, but the Transy senior eluded further danger with a flyout to end the inning.
The Pioneers took back the run and the lead as well in the bottom of the frame as a walk from Wade Lopiccolo and a single by Hudson Chastain paved the way for Michael Blair. The first baseman powered a base hit into left field to knot up the game at 1-1, and Nick Wade gave Transy the lead on a ground-rule double into right field for a 2-1 Pioneer advantage.
Webster responded with a tying run in the top of the third on a one-out triple coupled with an error on the relay, resulting in a 2-2 score.
Besides the two solo runs, Hall held Webster in check through the first six innings, finishing his day with two strikeouts, four walks, and five hits.
Trent Youngblood led off the fifth inning with a solo home run blast to right field to put the Pioneers in front at 3-2. The lead held until the seventh inning when Webster scored a runner from second base on a two-out RBI single to tie up the game at 3-3.
Webster scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth as the Gorloks converted three walks into a sacrifice fly RBI. The Pioneers were retired in order in the bottom of the frame as Webster held on for the comeback win.
Transylvania outhit Webster, 10 to 6, but stranded nine runners on Saturday. Blair and Wade each compiled two hits while Wade had a double.
Senior Hudson Chastain signed off on his new program career hits record with 218 career hits after adding one final hit on Saturday. His 84 hits in the 2021 campaign also stands as the new Pioneer single-season hits record. Youngblood's home run was his 76th and final hit of his inaugural season with Transylvania; the 76 hits are the second-most amount of hits in a season for a Transylvania baseball player.
The greatest season for the Transylvania baseball team ended with a record of 32-12 and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win, acquired yesterday against Illinois College. The 32 wins are the most by a Pioneer baseball team in the 26-year history of the program.
For more on Transylvania baseball, follow @TransyBaseball on Twitter
