#25 Baseball Walks Off #11 Bridgewater to Win First Regional in Program History

GAME PHOTOS

CELEBRATION PHOTOS

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- How sweet it is! The 25th-ranked University of Chicago baseball team completed a perfect 3-0 weekend to bring home the first Regional title in program history with their 19th consecutive victory, defeating #11 Bridgewater (VA) 10-9 on Sunday afternoon.

Bridgewater struck first with two runs in the first two innings on a pair of RBI groundouts after the Eagles got the leadoff runner on second base in both frames. However, after the quick 2-0 advantage, the Maroons struck back immediately as they did all weekend long.

Following a leadoff single by

Ryan Bhojwani,

Max Wiesner walked, and

Jack Sharp reached on a bunt single, loading the bases with nobody out.

Luke Weston then put the Maroons in front 3-2 with a bases-clearing double into the right-center gap. The Bridgewater starter was knocked out of the game after a pair of walks by

Braden Jirovec and

Erik Rindner loaded the bases again for UChicago. The Maroons pushed two more runs across on a hit by pitch for

Nathan Bae and a sacrifice fly by

Harrison Belden, putting the finishing touches on the five-run inning.

After a quick three-up, three-down frame in the third, UChicago struck right back with a leadoff double by Wiesner and an RBI single by Sharp, extending the lead to 6-2.

The Eagles responded in the fourth inning with a two-run home run, and they had a chance to level the score in the fifth with two runners on and one out. However,

Charlie Hahn came out of the pen and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to slam the door shut.

In the sixth, the Bridgewater offense finally came through with two runs in the inning to level the score to six, but the UChicago offense found some success in the running game, swiping three bags in the sixth inning to manufacture a pair of runs and retake the lead. Jirovec singled and swiped to second, and Gladden was hit by a pitch and stole second base to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Following a sacrifice fly by Bae to give the Maroons the lead back, Belden ripped another RBI single to double the advantage at 8-6.

After

David Flanagan gave up the game-tying runs in the top of the sixth inning, he came back out to the mound and buckled down to be his normal self. He retired six consecutive batters over the next two innings to shut down the potent Bridgewater offense, and following another RBI single by Weston, the Maroons took a 9-6 lead into the ninth, just three outs away from the Regional title.

In the top of the ninth, the Eagles recorded a pair of singles off of Flanagan, turning over the lineup with the tying run at the plate and no outs.

Kevin Tyrrell then turned the ball over to one of his senior captains,

John Butka, who was fresh off a 7.0 inning start on Friday, where he held the Washington and Jefferson Presidents to just three hits and one unearned run. Butka struck out the first batter he faced, and after a hit by pitch, he induced a groundout for the second out of the inning. With the tying run on second and two outs, the Bridgewater first baseman ripped a two-run single, adding to his impressive multi home run day, to level the score at nine.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Eagles countered the Maroons by putting their game one starter into the game with the chance to send it to extra innings. Sharp led off the inning with a two-strike single, and Weston ripped a single through the right side for their seventh and eighth hits of the game. Then, following a wild pitch and an intentional walk, the Maroons had the bases loaded and one out with the winning run on third base. After falling behind 3-0 in the count to Gladden, the Bridgewater pitcher bounced right back with a pair of strikes to send the count full. The payoff pitch was hit hard on the ground to the shortstop, but the speed of Sharp was enough to beat the play at the plate as the Maroons walked it off with a 10-9 win and the first Regional title in program history.

Jack Sharp was incredible on Sunday as he finished 4-4 at the plate and scored three runs for the Maroons, and

** **Luke Weston finished 3-5 at the dish with one run and four RBIs as part of the potent bottom of the UChicago lineup.

** **Braden Jirovec also added a multi-hit game with two hits and two runs, and both

** **Harrison Belden and

Nathan Bae drove in a pair of runs in the win.

After an amazing weekend on the bump,

** **John Butka was named the Regional Most Outstanding Player after earning the win in both game one and game three of the weekend. Butka was joined on the All-Tournament team by

Jack Sharp,

** **Nathan Bae, and

** **Michael Gladden after the trio led the UChicago offense all weekend.

With the win, the Maroons improve to 30-13 overall and extend their program-record win streak to 19 consecutive games. The team also became the first team in University of Chicago baseball history to win 30 games in a season. The Maroons will return to action next weekend as the team hits the road for a three-game series with #6 Salisbury in the Super Regionals, with a spot in the College World Series on the line.