Columbus State falls to USC Aiken in 10 innings

The Columbus State baseball team will need to win five games in a row to win the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional after losing 8-5 in 10 innings to USC Aiken on Saturday morning.

The Cougars drop into the losers bracket and will face Mount Olive Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m.

From there, the fifth-ranked and top-seeded Cougars would need to win twice on Sunday and twice on Monday to advance to the Division II World Series, which starts May 28 at Cary, N.C.

“We didn’t get the breaks and didn’t make the pitches when we needed to,” CSU caoch Greg Appleton said, “and you have to give it to Aiken, they did. They got some big hits, made some big pitches.

“We had our opportunities and didn’t cash in on them.”

Aiken got a huge three-run single in the top of the 10th from Tyler Ammerman. The shortstop also hit a homer in the fourth inning.

“What a tough ball game,” Aiken coach Kenny Thomas said. “That is the Peach Belt way. We play like that all year in the Peach Belt. It is battles and battles and battles.

“I have said all year that this team is fighters and that is what they are. We may not be the most talented team we have ever had at Aiken, but we battle, and that is what they did today.”

CSU was behind Aiken for most of the game, which had been scheduled for Friday afternoon then delayed due to heavy rain. The Pacers, the fourth seed, scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first inning as CSU made a pair of errors.

Meanwhile, Aiken starter Erik Davis kept CSU off balance. CSU managed just a Blake Edwards two-run homer through seven innings.

With a 5-2 lead going to the bottom of the eighth, Thomas decided to replace Davis, who missed three weeks late in the season with an injury. But closer Nick Jobst walked Jackson Oliver on four pitches and hit Ryan Ihle in the ribs with the next pitch.

Thomas quickly replaced Jobst with Cole Lee, who hit Mike McClellan with his first pitch. Christian Miller chopped one that bounced over the head of the first baseman to drive in two runs.

After Blake Edwards grounded out, Matt Nettles hit a grounder to the third baseman. McClellan, who was going on contact, stopped halfway between third and home and was tagged out in a rundown.

After Hunter Bowling walked to load the bases, Justin Evans hit a grounder toward the second baseman. The ball took a high hop, but Skylar Mercado caught it and tried to backflip the ball to the shortstop. Marcado’s flip was high and pulled Ammerman off the bag, allowing pinch-runner Grant Berry to score the tying run.

In the 10th inning, CSU’s Robert Hayes, who had come on in the seventh inning, ran out of gas. He gave up a single and a walk around two outs and was taken out for Evans.

Evans walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, then gave up the long single to Ammerman.

“(Ammerman) killed us,” Appleton said. “I knew we needed to get the two guys out in front of him because he was hot, and we just didn’t do it. That was a big key, we walked those two guys in front of him.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Columbus State falls to USC Aiken in 10 innings."