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The No. 3 seed Jacksonville State defeated No. 2 Tennessee Tech, 4-2, to win its fouth Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship crown.
This season marked the 36th time the event has been held and the fifth year in a row it has been held at The Ballpart at Jackson (formerly Pringles Park) in Jackson, Tenn. The venue is home of the Jackson Generals, the AA-affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
Game 11: #3 Jacksonville State 4, #2 Tennessee Tech 2
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#3 JACKSONVILLE STATE 4, #2 TENNESSEE TECH 2
JACKSON, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State Gamecock baseball team completed an improbable run through the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship, winning six games in four days (all in the elimination bracket) to capture its fourth OVC Tournament crown, 4-2 over No. 2 seed Tennessee Tech.
After losing its opening round game on Wednesday to Eastern Illinois, the Gamecocks (36-25) won an OVC-record six tournament games to earn the OVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Jax State has now claimed tournament titles in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014 (tied for third-most in OVC history).
Jacksonville State made history by becoming the first team to lose in the first round of the tournament and come back to capture the championship; the Gamecocks were also the first OVC team to ever eliminate the other five teams at the Championship, defeating SIUE, Eastern Illinois, Morehead State, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech on its way through the elimination bracket.
It also marked the first time under the current format (since 2005) that the No. 3 seed had won the OVC Tournament Championship.
The 64-team 2014 NCAA Championship Field will be announced on Monday morning at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.
Tennessee Tech (40-19) took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a Zach Stephens two-run home run, his second of the tournament and 62nd of his career (the most in OVC history).
But for the third time in as many games Jacksonville State fell behind only to rally for the victory. The Gamecocks scored lone runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game and Ryan Sebra and Andrew Bishop singled home runs in the seventh to put Jax State on top.
From there it was the Jacksonville State pitching staff, who was collectively named the MVP of the Championship, who took care of business. After starting the tournament opener, Zachary Fowler (7-7) pitched 7.2 innings on four days rest and allowed just five hits and two runs while striking out six. He gave way to Michael Mason who recorded two outs and Travis Stout came on to record the final two outs and pick up his fourth save of the Championship.
Stout now has 15 saves on the season (tied for third-most in OVC history) and 32 for his career (tied for second-most).
Pitching on just two days rest David Hess allowed just three hits and struck out seven in five innings of work for Tennessee Tech. Seth Lucio (3-3) took the loss, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings out of the bullpen.
2014 OVC All-Tournament Team
Matt Borens, Eastern Illinois
Cole Bieser, Southeast Missouri
Dylan Bosheers, Tennessee Tech
Daniel Miles, Tennessee Tech
David Hess, Tennessee Tech
Tyler Gamble, Jacksonville State
Griff Gordon, Jacksonville State
Paschal Petrongolo, Jacksonville State
Ryan Sebra, Jacksonville State
Michael Bishop, Jacksonville State
Casey Antley, Jacksonville State
Zachary Fowler, Jacksonville State
Travis Stout, Jacksonville State
MVP: Jacksonville State Pitching Staff (Casey Antley, Michael Barber, Zachary Fowler, Michael Mason, Connor Metcalf, Michael McCreless, Graham Officer, Adam Polk, Bradley Raulston, Ryan Sebra, Taylor Shields, Travis Stout)