Now although the result of their two game swing in the conference tournament may not have indicated that, the way those two games played out most definitely did. The Jackets were comfortable in the element and welcomed the underdog role, all at the same time completely dismantling the lucky rumors.
Game One: No. 4 seed Defiance had been pitted against No. 1 seed and conference regular season champ, Manchester, in the first round of tournament play. Because I must give credit where credit is due, Manchester, who was also the host team - may have had the best 3B line hecklers this coach has come across. So kudos, gentlemen. The Spartans, who in their first two games against the Jackets lit up the scoreboard pretty well (known understatement), came into the tournament as the logical pick to win and advance to the Mideast Baseball Regional.
After two and a half innings of play the Jackets had the edge, leading 2-0 on Gary Levengood's two separate RBI singles in the second and third innings, respectively. Manchester would go on to respond in the latter half of the third, plating six runs of their own to go up 6-2. The Spartans would only add one more run in the contest. Fast forward to the top of the ninth inning - Levengood recorded his fourth hit of the day as he singled to center field. JR Matt Staels came on to pinch run, as DC was down 7-5. A two out single by FR Ryan Kohlhofer sent Staels to second and put the tying run on first base. JR Aaron Helland knocked in Staels on a single to the left side, advancing the tying run to second and bringing up SO Chris Donese.
The next turn of events has been on a constant replay in my mind since about 2:30pm Thursday (5/9). Donese singled past the Manchester shortstop - Kohlhofer who was off on the crack of the bat and serving as the tying run, rounded third and turned the jets on for home. Unfortunately the ball was fielded cleanly by the left fielder, and the race started - who would get there first? The Jackets second baseman or the ball just unleashed from the Spartan outfield?
As badly as my eyes wanted to see the home plate umpire signal the runner safe, he did the complete opposite - calling Kohlhofer out at the plate to end the game and send the Jackets to the losers' bracket of the tournament. The Jackets did outhit a Manchester team who cracked the top 10 in the polls this year, by six - recording seventeen hits on the day and in the process, immediately shedding the lucky dog title.
Game Two: Win or go home. No. 2 Anderson had been defeated by No. 3 Franklin in the second game Thursday (5/9) which dropped the Ravens to losers' bracket to take on the Jackets - with the winner going on to face the loser of the Manchester/Franklin matchup. Another one run game, another solid offensive performance for the Yellow Jackets - outhitting Anderson 11-10, and another tying run left unscored in the top half of the ninth. Singles by Darin Waterman and Pat Masopust started the 9th inning off for DC, once again putting the tying run on base as DC was down 5-3. SR Andy Habecker, in what turned out to be his last collegiate at-bat, selflessly executed the sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. SO Joel Musser drew a walk to load the bases, and now served as the go-ahead run. One out. In stepped the catcher, Levengood, looking to continue his tourney hot streak - an infield fly notched two outs. Down to their final out, pinch hitter FR Ben Weber reached on an error by the Anderson shortstop, scoring Waterman and putting the tying run 90 feet away.
With the chance to at least tie the game and possibly take the lead with a base hit, Kohlhofer stepped back into the spotlight. Battling a count to 2-2 after going down 0-2 to start the at-bat, the freshman's bat lagged just enough through the zone for a swinging strike three. Bringing the conference tournament and the 2013 season to an end for the Yellow Jackets.
Two and out is most certainly not the result we expected, but heads were held high after walking off that field, and deservedly so. This DC team notched the most wins in program history since 1995 as well as the first 20-win season since 1995 and the aforementioned first conference tournament birth since 2004.
As I reflect back on this season, not only will it go down in recent memory in terms of the Defiance College baseball program as a whole, it has also been etched into this my own personal memory bank for a long time to come. Thank you to all of you that have supported Defiance Baseball not only this season but in the past as well. I'd also like to bid farewell to the six seniors on this team that will not be joining us again next year - a great group of guys who I have complete faith will all go on to great things. Best of luck in every challenge and opportunity that presents itself to you - Hum Babe!
Stay up to date with all things Defiance Baseball here.
Follow DC Baseball On and Off the Diamond on Twitter: @OnOffTheDiamond