CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Nebraska Wesleyan's baseball season came to a heartbreaking end Saturday afternoon, falling 8-7 to top-seeded Buena Vista in the A-R-C Championship on a walk-off single in the ninth. The Prairie Wolves battled back from an early deficit and held a late lead, but the Beavers rallied in the final innings to secure the title.
NWU (25-21) took a 7-4 lead into the seventh, but BVU (32-10) scored four unanswered, including the game-winner with one out in the ninth.
Carter Betts led the offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base. Easton Johnson added three hits, including a double, while Tommy Fiocchi added two hits and an RBI. Starter James Van Cleave allowed just one hit in three innings, but NWU's bullpen couldn't hold off BVU's late surge.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NWU struck first in the third when Betts singled home Aaron Chazin, who walked and stole second. BVU answered with two unearned runs in the bottom half, taking advantage of a couple of errors and a sacrifice fly.
The Prairie Wolves responded in the fourth. Duncan Ortega walked, Johnson doubled, and Jake Gerardis drove in Ortega with a groundout. Fiocchi followed with a single and Jack Carver reached on an error to make it 3-2. BVU tied it in the fifth, but NWU retook the lead in the sixth with a three-run outburst. Betts and Johnson delivered RBI singles, and Ortega added a sac fly for a 7-4 advantage.
Buena Vista chipped away, scoring two in the fifth and three in the seventh to tie it at 7-7. The Prairie Wolf bats went quiet in the last two innings. BVU walked it off in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out RBI single.
NOTABLES
- Betts extended his hitting streak to four games.
- NWU stole five bases, bringing their season total to 58.
- The Prairie Wolves' 25 wins are their most since 2009.
UP NEXT
NWU's season concludes with a 25-21 record, marking the program's first winning season in sixteen years.
