GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Brandon Bass singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting Iowa Western Community College to a 5-4 victory against top-ranked San Jacinto College North (Texas) on Saturday in the championship game of the NJCAA Junior College World Series at Sam Suplizio Field.
The title was the first for the Reivers (52-12), who had been to the tournament 12 times before but never won it all. It was also the second dramatic ending in the past three days for fifth-ranked Iowa Western, which got a two-run, walk-off home run to beat Southern Nevada of Las Vegas 9-8 on Thursday.
San Jacinto (50-15), which had won World Series titles in five previous seasons and was one of the tournament favorites coming in, was the only remaining unbeaten team in the tournament coming into Friday night's game. The Gators could have wrapped up a sixth crown with a win against the Reivers on Friday, but Iowa Western's 10-4 victory forced a winner-take-all matchup on Saturday.
Rare JUCO World Series Matchup
This was the Gators' 17th JUCO World Series appearance. The teams had never played each other in the tournament or in the regular season until Friday.
Ivan Hartle and Ryan Hutchinson each had a pair of hits in the Reivers' nine-hit attack. Scot Donner earned the win on the mound, allowing no runs in 5 2/3 innings of relief. He faced 23 batters, struck out four and walked two.
Riley Hornback finished 3-for-4 at the plate and Jarrett Higgins and Will Fontnow each added two hits for the Gators, who chased Reivers starter Zach Willand with a three-run third inning. The frame served as a rally from an early 3-0 deficit for the Gators, who held a 4-3 cushion until Iowa Western rallied in the eighth.
Another Iowa Western Comeback
Hutchinson's one-out triple in the bottom of the eighth started Iowa Western's rally, but Hutchinson was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice groundout to third base by Hartle. Adam Lavelle and Hartle moved up on a double steal, and Lavelle scored on a wild pitch by relief pitcher Clay Schrader to tie it at 4-4.
Up came Bass, who singled up the middle to score Hartle from third and give the Reivers the lead for good.
Todd Eikenberry came on in the ninth inning to earn the save, retiring the side in order. His strikeout of Deric Hawkins to end it set off a wild celebration by the Reivers right in front of the pitchers mound.
Much like Friday night's game when the Reivers jumped to a 4-0 first-inning lead, Iowa Western drew first blood on Saturday. Hartle made it 1-0 when he scored on a failed pickoff attempt by San Jacinto starter Chris McKenzie, and the Reivers went up 3-0 when Kevin Starr and Hutchinson each drew consecutive bases-loaded walks.
San Jacinto cut into the lead in the second when Ryan Hornback scored on a groundout by Ryan Burnaman. In the third, the Gators took the lead on an RBI single by Fontnow and a two-run double by Hawkins, making it 4-3.
Jon Mitchell - Jon Mitchell is a freelance writer for Suite101.com. He has more than a decade of experience in sports writing, spending time at The ...
