Ashland University's baseball team's belated series finale against Walsh on Tuesday (April 21) wasn't a favorable result for the home team, as the Eagles lost to the Cavaliers, 5-4, at Donges Field.
AU is 27-11 overall, 16-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 12-2 in the GLIAC South Division. The Eagles lead the South by four games over second-place Malone following the four-game split with the Cavaliers.
Of the Eagles' 11 losses in 2015, seven have been by a single run.
On a wind-swept day on the corner of Katherine Avenue and Park Street for the game rescheduled from Sunday (April 19), Ashland took a 2-1 lead after three innings on a two-run home run by sophomore right fielder Joey Gonzalez. Walsh responded with two runs of its own in the top of the fourth, but the Eagles knotted the game at 3 in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly from junior first baseman Mackenzie Hampshire.
The Cavaliers scored two in the top of the seventh, and the Eagles couldn't catch up in their final three at-bats despite a solo homer from senior second baseman Stephen James in the bottom of the seventh.
All of AU's offense came from the top four hitters in its order – James (3-for-4, three runs scored), Gonzalez (2-for-5), Hampshire (1-for-3) and junior designated hitter Blake Bellman (1-for-2).
The Eagles, ranked No. 20 in Division II, will return to GLIAC South Division play on Saturday (April 25) and Sunday (April 26) in a four-game set at Malone.
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