The Malone University baseball team survived to play another day after defeating Cedarville University in a win-or-go-home contest at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Baseball Championship Tournament Wednesday in Mason, Ohio. The Pioneers saw themselves facing elimination after suffering a 6-5 setback to Ohio Valley University in the Tournament opener Wednesday morning, but they regrouped and responded with an 11-1 victory over the Yellow Jackets in game two. Only five teams now remain in the double elimination bracket with a possibility that as few as four will still be alive by the end of Wednesday's competition.
 
Malone vs. Ohio Valley Recap
The Pioneers dug themselves into a first-inning hole from which they were never fully able to dig themselves out. Making his first start since being named the G-MAC Pitcher of the Year, Roscoe Blackburn (4-2) was roughed up for three runs in the opening frame. He settled in, though, to shutout the Fighting Scots over the next four innings.
 
The Malone offense, meanwhile, stranded four runners on base over the first three innings before finally breaking through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. After leading off the inning with a walk, Matt Noel would come in to score on Ryan Sarbaugh's double into the right field gap. Sarbaugh would cross home plate two batters later when Michael Mathieu delivered a run-scoring single.
 
Leading 3-2 in the top of the sixth, Ohio Valley took advantage of a leadoff double to go up by two. Malone cut the deficit back down to one in the bottom half when Zach Mottice singled in another run. In the top of the seventh, OVU went ahead by three on a pair of two-out RBI singles.
 
Still down 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth, the Pioneers took advantage of an OVU throwing error to cut the lead to 6-4. In the bottom of the ninth, Joe Crank doubled to leadoff the inning but was quickly followed by two straight outs. After a Matt Noel walk put the game-tying run on base, Ryan Sarbaugh singled through the right side of the infield to make it a 6-5 contest. Malone was unable to tie it up, however, as a game-ending flyout left the tying run 90 feet from the plate.
 
Despite the loss, Sarbaugh had a fantastic game at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two walks. He drove in two runs and scored all three others. Damian Maglione added a pair of base knocks.
 
Malone vs. Cedarville Recap
Neither team would score over the first two innings in what looked like the makings of a close ball game. Malone starting pitcher Joshua Hurford was dealing early on as he struck out the side in the first inning before registering two more punchouts in the second.
 
Cedarville starter Nathan Bancroft, who held the Pioneers to one hit through the first two frames, was greeted rudely by a latent Malone lineup in the top of the third. Damian Maglione sparked the inning with a leadoff double and later scored on a Nate Cobb hot-shot off the first baseman's glove. Later in the frame, Brenden Wells single in a second run before a third run scored on a bases-loaded double play. Matt Noel drove in another run to give Malone a 4-0 lead.
 
The Pioneers added three more runs in the fourth to go ahead 7-0. Zach Mottice's RBI single made it 5-0. He later scored on a double steal to make it 6-0 before Joe Crank's double off the centerfield wall put Malone up by seven.
 
The Pioneers tacked on an eighth run on an RBI single from Ryan Sarbaugh in the fifth before scoring three more times in the top of the seventh. Sarbaugh singled in a run once again before Michael Mathieu drove in a run with sacrifice fly. Mottice drove in an important 11th run with a single to left.
 
With the 10-run rule in effect through seven innings at the G-MAC Tournament, Joshua Hurford took the mound in the bottom of the seventh with an 11-0 lead in search of a complete game shutout.  His shutout was wiped out two pitches into the frame, however, when he made his only real mistake of the day on a Cedarville solo blast. Hurford was able to work around a two-out walk before closing out the complete game effort with lazy infield popup.
 
Hurford (7-0) was tremendous in the Pioneer victory, striking out 10 Yellow Jackets while allowing just four hits.
 
He was backed by a Malone lineup that pounded out 14 base hits. Cobb and Mottice recorded three hits apiece while Noel and Sarbaugh each collected a pair of singles. Every player in the starting lineup scored at least one run or recorded an RBI.
 
Up Next:
Malone, now 33-17 on the season, will play again on Friday, May 12th at 3:15 pm. Friday's opponent has yet to be determined.