Box Score GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – After the Ouachita Tigers took a 7-6 lead on a double by
Austin White in the top of the ninth inning, a two-out, walk-off grand slam by the University of Nebraska-Kearney's Kyle Honeycutt stole the 10-7 win for the Lopers. The loss puts the Tigers at 3-2 on the season.
Nebraska-Kearney (2-3) took an early lead on day two of the QuickTrip Division II Classic after scoring three runs in the first two innings. The Lopers struck first on an RBI-triple, and they added two in the second on back-to-back RBI-singles. Mitchell Robinson started on the mound for the Lopers, and he held the Tigers scoreless through the first five innings.
In the sixth inning, a lead-off triple by
Will Wallace sparked a rally that resulted in two runs for the Tigers. The first run came on a sacrifice fly by
Preston Speers, and
Matt Sinclair scored
Drew Feuerbacher later in the inning on an RBI-single to right field.
Despite pulling within one run, the Tigers could not hold the Lopers in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Honeycutt tripled to right center which brought the score to 5-2 in favor of Nebraska-Kearney. The triple ended the game for Ouachita's
Connor Eller, who started the game and recorded four strikeouts in five innings.
Jacob May came in relief for Eller and held the Lopers without a run in both the sixth and seventh innings. On offense, the Tigers added another run in the top of the seventh when Wallace batted in
Parker Norris on a single to left field.
Down 5-3 with two innings to play, Ouachita began its comeback in the top of the eighth when Feuerbacher crossed the plate for the second time on a sacrifice bunt by
Evan Ruiz. Norris immediately followed with an RBI-single to score pinch-runner
Jakahari Howell, tying the game at five.
In the bottom of the eighth, May was replaced by
Lance Cullum after a lead-off single, and the Lopers later took a 6-5 lead on an RBI-single.
The Tigers rallied once again with two outs in the top of the ninth, when
Chandler Blake scored from third on a passed ball, and White's double down the left field line gave Ouachita its first lead of the ballgame.
Clinging to a 7-6 lead, Cullum struck out back-to-back batters after a lead-off walk. Then after a single that loaded the bases, Honeycutt homered to left field to end the game with the Lopers ahead. The homer gave Honeycutt the cycle after he earlier recorded a single, double and triple.
Cullum was handed the loss for the Tigers, bringing his record to 1-1 on the season. Norris and Wallace each recorded a team-high three hits, while Sinclair followed with two. Norris, Wallace, Speers, Sinclair, White and Ruiz each recorded an RBI.
The Tigers (3-2) will play game three of the four-day tournament on Saturday, Feb. 7, against Pittsburg State University. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.