Historic Season for Reinhardt Baseball Comes to a Close...
| Final (11) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reinhardt (GA)
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
|
Tennessee Wesleyan
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
Lewiston, Idaho - The historic season of the 2024 Reinhardt Baseball program came to a close in the semifinal game of the NAIA World Series. The matchup with fellow AAC opponent, Tennessee Wesleyan, was a battle between two great teams and - no doubt - the best game so far in the World Series. The Eagles came up short losing 3 to 2 in 11 innings.
Andrew Herbert was purely amazing in the game and he pitched from start to finish. It was his best performance as an Eagle and he set the team up for the win and a trip to the NAIA Championship game. He struck out 10 Bulldogs and scattered 10 hits across the 11 innings. A few unfortunate plays allowed the Bulldogs to come from behind and snatch this victory away from the Eagles.
Herbert threw 132 pitches (92 strikes) and faced 42 batters keeping the Eagles close the entire game. It was a pitching performance for the archives of Reinhardt Baseball record books.
Reinhardt (GA)Pitchers
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANDREW HERBERT (L, 11-2) | 10.1 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Totals | 10.1 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
Offensively, the Eagles had several chances to increase their lead, but the pitching from Tennessee Wesleyan was just good enough to keep the Eagles only ahead by a run. In the bottom of the ninth, the Bulldogs got a run across the plate leveling the game at two runs each. The extra innings would go in favor of the Bulldogs in the bottom of the eleventh when a hit to left field was just enough to get a runner across the plate and end the game.
Lance Dockery had a blast in the third inning to give the Eagles an early lead. They added to it in the seventh inning on a Matty Maurer single to center field that brought home Sam Kilgore which gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead and what looked like a possible trip to the championship game.
The Eagles had the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, but they failed to bring home any runs and the ending was set up for Tennessee Wesleyan.
It was a tough one for the team - especially those seniors who were playing their final games as an Eagle and possibly their final games ever on a baseball field. There were a lot of emotions on the field after the game as the Bulldogs celebrated on one side and the Eagles tried to console one another on the other and pick up the pieces.
Reinhardt Baseball took Eagles fans on a terrific ride this season which started way back at the end of January. The accomplishments this season are nothing short of amazing and it was the best season in the program's history. Here are just a few of the team's accomplishments this season:
• 44-18 overall record
• 25-5 in AAC play
• NAIA ranking of #9 in the country
• Swept Tennessee Wesleyan in a series for the first time
• Swept #1 ranked Southeastern
• AAC regular season champions
• AAC Tournament runners-up
• NAIA Opening Round Champions of the Waleska Bracket
• NAIA World Series (2nd time in the program's history)
• Won three games in the World Series (Hope International, Arizona Christian, and #2 Georgia Gwinnett)
• Finished as the third-place team in the NAIA World Series
Thank you Rienhardt Baseball for a wonderful and entertaining season. It was one of the best seasons of any sport in Reinhardt Athletics history and we all look forward to seeing the program grow and get right back to the Series in 2025!