A ninth-inning double play on Thursday ended a noteworthy second baseball season for Southeast Arkansas College.
SEARK fell 8-6 to Arkansas State University-Mountain Home in an elimination game at the NJCAA Region 2 tournament at Majestic Park in Hot Springs.
The Sharks (33-25), the No. 4 seed from the East Division, began the ninth inning with a leadoff double by freshman Gunnar Courtney.
After a pop-up was caught in foul territory for the first out of the inning, sophomore Chris Clark hit a fly ball to left field which was caught for the second out.
Courtney attempted to tag up and advance to third, but East No. 2-seed ASU-Mountain Home (32-19) tagged him out as he slid into the base to end the game and SEARK’s season.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
SEARK trailed 5-1 early in the game but battled back. After a 15-minute rain delay in the top of the fourth inning, the Sharks returned to the field and cut the deficit to 5-3 on a 2-RBI hit by sophomore Jayren Foster.
Shark sophomore Logan Deloach went on to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the fifth inning on a 2-RBI single. The game remained tied until freshman Blayde White hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth, giving SEARK a 6-5 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Trailblazers loaded the bases with one out for sophomore Christopher Tillery, who hit a game-tying sacrifice fly.
Two batters later, Mountain Home freshman Spencer Mounce hit the first pitch he saw into left field, driving in two runs to give the Trailblazers an 8-6 lead they did not relinquish.
SEARK finished the Region 2 tournament 0-2 after losing 12-4 to West No. 1-seed Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa late Wednesday night. These losses ended the Sharks’ second baseball season and first as a full Region 2 member. SEARK went 14-10 in conference play in the regular season, finishing fourth out of seven teams in the East Division.