By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball trailed by as many as eight runs before scoring the final nine runs of the game Sunday afternoon to take down Pittsburg State 10-9 in 10 innings and secure a second straight series victory.
Cale Savage (21) is congratulated by Washburn coach Harley Douglas after hitting a three-run home run in the Ichabods' 10-9 10-inning MIAA win over Pittsburg State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Pittsburg State (10-5 overall, 1-2 MIAA) jumped on the Ichabods (6-7, 2-1) in the second inning with five home runs, including four in a row. All five homers were solo shots and the visitors led 5-0 after the second.
A leadoff triple was followed by a single in the top of the third put Pittsburg State was on the board again, leading 6-0.
Neither team scored again until the Ichabods got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Trey Adams singled to begin the fifth and Payton McHarg doubled into right field to score him.
The Gorillas were able to score three runs on two home runs in the top of the seventh.
WU reliever Jayden Payne got the final two outs to finish the inning with Pittsburg State up 9-1.
Cash Jay led off the eighth inning for the Ichabods with a pinch-hit single.
McHarg was hit by a pitch and Cale Savage took a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left-center to plate three runs.
Shane Morrow (facing) is congratulated by Washburn teammate Seger Holman after his pinch-hit homer in Sunday's 10-9 10-inning MIAA win over Pittsburg State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
One batter later Shane Morrow hit his third pinch-hit home run of the season to score another run.
Hayden Priest kept the line moving with a single and Connor Scott plated him, doubling to right-center to make it a 9-6 game heading into the ninth.
Seaman product Gavin Wilhelm tossed a scoreless eighth inning and began the ninth with two outs before hitting the next batter. Caden Bressler entered and got the final out.
In the Ichabods' last at-bat McHarg was hit by a pitch and Savage walked to put two on base with no outs.
Washburn was unable to bring them around until it was down to its last out and Priest took the first pitch he saw over the deepest part of center field to tie the game at 9-9 and send it to extra innings.
Bressler walked one but kept the Gorillas off the board in the top of the 10th inning to give the Ichabods another chance at the win.
Jett Buck led off the inning with a single and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Cal Watkins before Jay hit the game-winner down the left-field line to walk it off with a 10-9 win.
Washburn notched 15 hits in the game, with six going for extra-base hits and three home runs.
Scott had a team-high three hits while Jay, McHarg, Bruce and Priest all had multi-hit games. Priest and Savage each drove in three runs, all of them on home runs.
The Ichabods used seven pitchers who combined for seven strikeouts with 10 hits and issued eight walks.
Bressler earned the win after throwing the final 1.1 innings, moving to 2-1 on the year.
Pittsburg State had 10 hits in the game, with seven of them going for home runs. Jake Grauberger and Brannan Nixon each hit two out in the game, with Nixon collecting four RBI.
The Ichabods play one game against Rockhurst at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Falley Field.
