Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery (Senior Day/Game) | Photo Gallery (Ring Ceremony)

BATESVILLE, Ark. – Saturday was a day full of celebration for the 15th-ranked Lyon College baseball team. The Scots honored five players prior to the game as part of their Senior Day recognition and ended the day with a ring ceremony for the 2018 American Midwest Conference Regular-Season Championship team. In between the two ceremonies, the Scots faced Columbia College in their final game of the 2019 regular season. The Scots trailed early but battled their way back into the game and earned a 7-6 victory on a walk-off, RBI-single by Zane Pritchard in the bottom of the 10th inning.

With the win, the Scots ended the regular season at 37-18 overall and 19-11 in the conference, while Columbia College finished at 25-19 overall and 20-9 in the AMC. Following Saturday's results, the Scots clinched the No. 4-seed in next week's AMC Tournament that will be held on May 1-4, in Joplin, Mo., at Joe Becker Stadium. The Scots will open up the tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m. against No. 5-seed Central Baptist College.

Prior to the game, the Scots honored Tanner Seibel, Kyle West, Brandon Giribaldie, Tacker Colbert and Riley Caraway for their contributions to the baseball program as part of Saturday's Senior Day festivities.

Once the game got started, the score remained tied at 0-0 through the first two innings until the Cougars took a 6-0 lead over the Scots with six runs in the top of the third inning.

The Scots began to chip away at the deficit in the middle innings, starting with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI-double by Ryan Clack.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lyon closed the gap to a single run after loading up the bases for Troy Strack. Jake Michener started the frame with a lead-off single before Kylan Barnett and Alan West drew back-to-back walks. Strack came through in the clutch for the Scots and belted a grand slam that hit the top of the foul pole in left field to cut the deficit to one at 6-5.

After a quiet seventh and eighth inning by both teams, the Scots forced extra innings with a run in the bottom of the ninth. A misplayed grounder by the Cougars' defense proved costly for Columbia College as Barnett was able to reach base safely on the play. Alan West stepped up to the plate next and drove a ball out to left field for a single. Barnett showed great hustle on the play as the Cougars took their time getting the ball back into the infield. Barnett continued to run at full speed around the base path and was able to come around to score from first on the RBI-single by West to tie the game at 6-6 and force extra innings.

After Reese Chovanec tossed his seventh-straight inning of scoreless relief in the top of the 10th, the Scots went to work on the offensive end in the bottom half of the frame. Tristan Buschow roped a double into the gap in left-center field to open up the frame before Darius Anderson came on as a pinch runner. Clack executed a sacrifice bunt to perfection and moved Anderson up to third on the play as the Scots had the winning run just 90-feet away with one out in the inning. With the game on the line, the Cougars had to bring their defense in. Pritchard came up next for the Scots and hit a ball that cleared the center fielder's head for a walk-off single.

Chovanec earned the win on the mound as he allowed just three hits while striking out four over his seven scoreless innings of relief.

Alan West, Kyle West and Pritchard all finished the game with two hits each for the Scots.

 

Baseball Contact: Matt Jagodzinski | 870-307-7516 | matthew.jagodzinski@lyon.ed
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