NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A day after a pair of late home runs cost the Washington baseball team at the Nashville Regional, sending them into the loser-out game, the Huskies hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning and a two-run blast in the eighth inning to rally from an 8-2 deficit and beat host Vanderbilt, 9-8, and keep their post-season alive.
Joey Morgan hit the three-run homer in the seventh inning that cut into an 8-4 deficit and Jack "Boo" Meggs gave the Huskies their first lead of the game with a two-run shot an inning later.
KJ Brady walked in front of Meggs, who hit the first pitch he saw against Matt Ruppenthal (5-2) just out of reach from a jumping Jeren Kendall in right-center field. Meggs, who was not quite sure whether or not Kendall caught the ball because the right fielder laid dejected on the warning track, sprinted his entire way around the bases. It wasn't until he crossed home plate and celebrated with his teammates that the enormity of the situation sank in.
“I was looking for fastball the first pitch and I got one,” Meggs recalled of his second home run of the season – his first since the opening weekend at Baylor. “I wasn't going to let that one go to waste. I put a good swing on it and it jumped off my bat.”
The win kept the Huskies' (33-22) season alive and they will play the loser of Xavier and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. PT. The Musketeers and Gauchos play a winner's bracket game at 12:00 p.m. PT.
The loss ended the season for No. 1 seed Vanderbilt (43-19), who lost earlier in the day to Xavier. The Commodores were playing less than 48 hours after losing their teammate, Donny Everett, in an accidental drowning on Thursday.
“It shows you how important their culture is and what a great example of it, to be able to deal with such a tragic thing and still play baseball,” said Husky Coach Lindsay Meggs. “It puts everything in perspective.
“It's a heart-breaking loss for them, I'm sure, and it's a great win for us,” continued the Huskies' seventh-year coach, “but at the end of the day I'm proud of them for the way Vanderbilt exemplified what college athletes are supposed to be about.
“I'm proud of our guys because they understood how difficult this game was for Vanderbilt to play and yet how important is was for our program and our culture and our future.”
For a while, the grieving Commodores rode the arm of its ace Kyle Wright and the strength of the top of its batting order to put the Huskies behind the eight ball. The one-through-three hitters in Vandy's lineup – led by Washingtonian Ethan Paul's 4 for 5 night with 3 doubles and 3 runs – were 7 for 12 with 5 RBI and 5 runs.
The Commodores broke open a 1-1 game with four runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth, but the Huskies kept chipping away until finally breaking through late. The Huskies showed off their resilience and hung seven runs on Wright, who at times dominated with a mid-90's fastball and sharp breaking pitch. But the Washington hitters hung tough, as every starter contributed by reaching base and each batter either had a hit or a run.
Vanderbilt used some two-out magic to take a 1-0 lead over the Huskies in the top of the third inning. Paul, out of Bellevue's Newport HS, doubled, and Jeren Kendall followed with a single to center field. Paul slid under the tag of catcher Joey Morgan as Meggs' throw from the outfield was just a tad late.
The Huskies tied things up 1-1 in the fourth on a solo home run by John Naff. The junior first baseman from Marysville, Wash. hammered a 1-0 fastball from Wright the opposite way and over the left-center field wall for his fifth long ball of the season.
The tie game was short-lived as Vanderbilt re-took the advantage with a big fifth inning. The Commodores opened the inning with four-straight hits and capped it with a two-run single that was aided by Meggs losing the ball in the lights. Paul had a RBI single and Kendall a RBI double that was just out of reach of a diving Meggs.
After a ground out and intentional walk to load the bases, Will Toffey hit what looked to be a routine fly ball to center. But the ball landed 20 feet in front of Meggs who could not find the ball in the dark night sky. The hit scored two runs and gave Vandy a 5-1 lead.
The Huskies nibbled away in the bottom half of the fifth, but left the bases loaded, missing on an opportunity to cut further into the Commodores' lead. Gage Matuszak doubled to start the inning and moved to third on a single by Levi Jordan. After a strike out and walk to load the bases, Meggs hit the ball on a line to center field, but Bryan Reynolds caught it for a sacrifice fly.
The Huskies re-loaded the bases when Chris Baker walked, but Wright got Naff to ground out to end the threat.
In the sixth, Ryan Schmitten was lifted after giving up a one-out single. He gave the Huskies a strong effort, lasting 5 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and three walks. He struck out five and most importantly made it deep into the game.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, Vandy was able to continue its hitting ways against the UW bullpen. Reynolds drove in two runs with a single off Spencer Jones and Toffey hit a sacrifice fly that made the score 8-2.
The Dawgs did not roll over though, immediately scoring twice to cut the deficit in half. After a pair of walks to start the sixth, Jordan drove in MJ Hubbs on a ground out and AJ Graffanino singled home Morgan to make the score 8-4.
In the seventh the Huskies cut the lead to a single run. Morgan hammered a hanging breaking ball from Wright into the left-center field stands, a three-run shot that put a burst of energy into the Huskies. Morgan's sixth homer of the season scored Baker, who reached after being hit by a pitch, and Naff, who singled.
The Huskies completed the comeback in the eighth, thanks to Meggs. Washington ended up scoring in each of the final five innings to prove their gritty and gutsy attitude.
Jones (6-2) was the unsung hero for the Huskies. He pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, not allowing a run and giving the Huskies hope for the ensuing rally.
The senior struck out four and allowed just four hits – including a two-out ninth inning single to Ro Coleman. But he got Tyler Campbell to fly out to Kyle London in right field to put an end to the game, and cap one of the most memorable games in the program's history.
Washington 9 (33-22), Vanderbilt 8 (43-19)
VU 001 043 000 –- 8 13 1
UW 000 112 32x –- 9 10 0
LOB: VU 10, UW 9. Ryan Schmitten, Greg Minier (6), Spencer Jones (6) and Joey Morgan; Kyle Wright, Matt Ruppenthal (7) and Karl Ellison. W – Jones (6-2). L – Ruppenthal (5-2). SV – none. HR – UW, John Naff (5), Joey Morgan (6), Jack Meggs (2). 3B – none. 2B – VU, Ethan Paul (3), Jeren Kendall, Ro Coleman; UW, Gage Matuszak. Time – 3:51. Attendance – 2,267.
