GRAND FINALE: Hall’s Walk-Off Grand Slam caps a dramatic comeback win for Ouachita Baseball over No. 4 Central Missouri, 16-12
Feb. 19, 2011
ARKADELPHIA- A walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning by Ouachita Baptist senior Justin Hall capped a dramatic comeback victory over No. 4 Central Missouri, 16-12, at Rab Rodgers Field on Saturday.
Ouachita (4-3) trailed 10-3 entering the eight inning of play against the No. 4 Mules (1-1), but some resilient play at the plate and a flair for the dramatic from Hall evened the non-series at 1-1, with the rubber match of the series set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Hall finished the day with a career-best 4-for-5 day at the plate with six RBI and three runs, while the Tigers collected 18 hits. It was a close match up for the first two innings, as Central Missouri grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, while neither teams scored in the second.
In the third inning, the Mules exploded for six runs, while Ouachita added three in the bottom half, which was highlighted by three doubles for the Tigers. Senior Cass Via collected a double and scored along with Hall on a two-RBI double for senior Kyle Zimmerman to cut the deficit to 7-2. Ouachita added another run on an RBI double from junior Brock Green, scoring Zimmerman from second base for a 7-3 score at the end of three innings of play.
Central Missouri added a solo run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh to take a 10-3 lead, as the Tigers were unable to put any runs on the board from the fourth through seventh innings.
Then, after a single run for the Mules in the top of the eighth inning made it 11-3, Ouachita gave the patient crowd an offensive display for the final three innings. The display began in the bottom half of the eighth with six runs, as senior Ben Warner doubled to left field and came around to score on an RBI single from senior Sam McGill for the Tigers. An RBI single from Hall and a two-run double for freshman Landon Moore set the score at 11-6 with one out. A two-RBI single from senior Cass Via gave the Tigers six runs and five hits in the inning, as Central Missouri led 11-9 entering the final inning.
The Mules scored a single run in the top half of the ninth to stretch the score to 12-9. Then Ouachita stepped up to the plate three outs away from falling to 0-2 in the series.
A single by Green and walks to junior Brett Mazmanian and McGill loaded the bases for junior Tom Ward, who collected an RBI on a hit by pitch to shrink the Mules lead to 12-10. An RBI groundout by Hall scored Mazmanian to bring Ouachita within a run of staying in contention at 12-11, then McGill scored on a passed ball to complete the comeback and send the game into extra innings.
After shutting down Central Missouri in the top of the 10th, Ouachita led off the 10th with a double from Green and a walk on Mazmanian. A single by McGill loaded the bases, and set the stage for the biggest hit of Hall’s career: a walk-off grand slam against one of the top teams in the country.
Along with Hall’s performance at the plate, senior Cass Via finished at 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Green recorded a 3-for-5 day with two runs and an RBI. Junior Taylor Burns (1-0) got the win on the mound, going one inning and allowing just a hit. Freshman Davis Ward got the no-decision on the mound, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing seven earned runs on nine hits. The Little Rock native also struck out six in the start.
For Central Missouri, Eric Silkwood (0-1) took the loss, going 1/3 of an inning and allowing three earned runs. Albert Selanders finished 4-for-5 at the plate, while teammate Nick DeBiasse finished at 3-for-4.
Ouachita and Central Missouri will finish the series with the rubber match at 1 p.m. at Rab Rodgers Field on Sunday.
