ELGIN, Ill. – Facing a five-run deficit in the sixth inning and seeing its historic season on the brink of conclusion, the Roosevelt baseball team slugged four home runs to power its way to a 15-9 comeback win over rival Robert Morris Illinois in an elimination game at the 2018 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Baseball Tournament at Judson's Hoffer Field on Monday afternoon.
The Lakers (27-23) stayed alive and advance to meet the winner of Monday's Saint Xavier/St. Francis (Ill.) contest that began after Roosevelt's win. The Lakers will play on Monday night at approx. 7:30 p.m. or shortly after the Cougars/Saints elimination affair at Hoffer Field.
Roosevelt scored seven times in the top of the sixth, erasing a 6-1 deficit against the Eagles (38-18).
Andrew Bohlmann hit a two-run shot to start the sixth-inning scoring, and three batters later and with two runners aboard, Jonah Meidl-Zahorodny walloped a three-run shot to left that evened the game and changed the momentum in the Lakers' favor.
After a pitching change, Matt Marrera, the hero of Saturday's ninth-inning comeback win over St. Ambrose, hit an infield single and Matt Kozlak walked to set the stage for Charley Zeschke, who had scored earlier in the inning on Bohlmann's homer. Zeschke delivered a go-ahead RBI single to center that plated Marrera and also put Kozlak 90 feet away from tallying insurance, and the insurance was cashed in on a balk moments later.
The Lakers tacked on even more by way of the long ball in the eighth. Kozlak led off by going yard, and three batters later Leo Lunatto drove one over the fence in left to bring home Tyler Ward, who had walked after Kozlak's blast, to make it a five-run advantage for the Green and White.
Roosevelt kept its foot on the gas pedal in the ninth. Meidl-Zahorodny led off with a single, moved to second when Marrera was hit by a pitch, and then scored on a single hit by Kozlak. Ward stepped up to the plate next and hit a base knock to right that brought home Marrera, and two more runs came across on an RBI hit from Zeschke and Zach Taylor's sacrifice fly.
Ward had brought in Roosevelt's first run in the third on an RBI groundout before RMU scored six runs between the third and fifth frames.
Nick Simak reprised his relief role from Saturday with another big appearance, tossing four innings of scoreless two-hit ball to allow the Lakers to rally back.
Jalan Williams came on in the ninth, and the senior reliever had plenty of wiggle room to get the final three outs. The Eagles wouldn't bow out quietly, scoring three times, but Williams was able to induce a pop-up for the final out and move the Lakers one step closer to championship round play.
Roosevelt finished with 21 hits, with 16 of those hits coming after the fifth inning.
