Box Score   

The Malone University baseball team closed out its 2012 season on a positive note Friday afternoon as the Pioneers earned a 5-4 victory over Mid-Continent (KY) University in Malone's fourth and final pool-play game of the 10-team NCCAA World Series in Mason, Ohio.

After losing its first three “pool play” contests on Wednesday and Thursday, Malone kept battling back to overtake the Cougars for the victory despite knowing that they had already been eliminated from contention to advance to the semifinals.

With the victory, Malone closed out the 2012 campaign with a final record of 32-24. Mid-Continent, with the loss, finished the year at 27-37.

The Cougars opened the scoring with one run in the top of the first inning and then added another run in the top of the third to post an early 2-0 lead over Malone.  The Pioneers tied the contest up, though, in the bottom half of the third. The first run came with leftfielder Sam Craciun grounding out to the shortstop as rightfielder Marc Adams scored on the play. Then, three batters later and with the bases full, third baseman Bob Suitca struck out swinging but made it to first on a passed ball that also scored centerfielder Sean Gorby.

With the scored tied 2-2, Mid-Continent tallied two more runs in the top of the fifth but Malone came right back with a pair of runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. The two Pioneer runs came on one play as T.J. Rosenberg smacked a double to left centerfield that scored first baseman Matt Anderson from second. Suitca, who had been on first base, had advanced to third base on the play but then made it all the way home after an errant throw by the Couger centerfielder.

Malone proceeded to break the 4-4 tie in its final at-bat of the season in the bottom of the seventh as Joe Goddard, pinch hitting for second baseman Logan Gray, started things off with a single to center. After the first Pioneer out, Gray, who had come back in to pinch run for Goddard, advanced to second on a single to center by Rosenberg.  The game-winning hit was then swatted by designated hitter Frank Dufour who drilled a single to right center which scored Gray.

Pioneer starting pitcher Matt Litty went 4 2/3 innings and allowed just four hits overall but also the four earned runs before middle reliever Cullen Bahler tossed the next inning and a third, striking out three of the four batters he faced (one batter flied out).  Then, closer Nate Morrison came on to pitch the final inning for Malone to earn the victory and improve to 3-2 on the year.

Malone tallied nine hits in the contest while Mid-Continent had just four. Dufour went two-for-three at the plate for the Pioneers while Craciun and Rosenberg were each two-for-four.