ENID, OKLA. - An opportunity to punch their ticket into the NJCAA Division II World Series Championship Game for the first time in program history fell apart in the eighth inning as Madison College was defeated 11-3 in eight innings by Mesa Community College at David Allen Memorial Ballpark. The loss snaps a 13-game win streak for the #2-seeded WolfPack, who will play the #3-seeded Thunderbirds in another semifinal game Thursday to determine who will play for the 2019 national championship.

Madison College jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Lead-off hitter Walker Jenkins opened with a single, and after advancing to second on a Marquis Reuter sacrifice, Jenkins scored on a line drive single up the middle by Nick Gile. The advantage did not last long, as Mesa Community College evened the score in the top of the second against starter Troy Hickey. The Thunderbirds continued that offensive momentum into the third, where they plated three more runs on three consecutive hits and back-to-back sacrifice flies.

The WolfPack came back in a big way with a pair of home runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to one. Similar to the 12th inning walk-off home run he hit the before to beat Mesa, Gile led off the frame by driving a solo home run over the left field wall for his eighth home run of the year. Three batters later, fellow sophomore Jarrett Scheelk regained his home run lead with a two-out solo blast of his own to right field for his ninth this season.
 

Nick Gile goes yard to bring Madison within 2 #NJCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/ogYnJiY5Ih

— NJCAA TV (@NJCAATV) May 30, 2019

 

Jarrett Scheelk follows his teammate with his own solo blast to bring Madison within 1 #NJCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/08NL522V3I

— NJCAA TV (@NJCAATV) May 30, 2019

The score remained 4-3 into the eighth inning when Mesa Community College exploded for seven runs to end the game via run-rule. Following a one-out single, Hickey was replaced by freshman Taylor Jansen. The righthander recorded the inning's second out before he fell victim to an error and four walks. Lefthander Andy Neu entered and surrendered three hits and committed an error before the score reached 11-3. The 'Pack had a chance to prolong the game and narrow the gap in the bottom of the eighth, but went down in order.

Gile finished with three of the WolfPack's seven hits and is batting .500 at the World Series. The Region IV Player of the Year had two runs batted in and one run scored. Scheelk, a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, had a hit, a run, and a RBI courtesy of his solo home run.

Hickey, a product of Wilmot Union High School, took his first loss since March 20 to fall to 5-2 on the season. The sophomore worked seven and a third innings and allowed five earned runs on six hits and three walks. He also struck out five batters. Jansen was on the hook for four earned runs on four walks and a wild pitch in his one-third of an inning, while Neu surrendered two runs on three hits and a wild pitch in the final one-third inning.

Up Next:

For the third time in three days, Madison College (42-10) and Mesa Community College (43-22) will play at the NJCAA DII World Series on Thursday in Semifinal Game Two. The two teams are now 1-1 in this tournament, while the Thunderbirds own a 2-1 edge on all-time postseason meetings and in three games played this spring. The head-to-head series stands at 5-2 in favor of the Thunderbirds. First pitch at David Allen Memorial Ballpark is set for 3:30 p.m. and can be seen via NJCAA TV. Thursday's winner will advance to the 2019 NJCAA Division II World Series Championship Game against the winner of #5 NOC-Enid (40-18) and #8 Pasco-Hernando State College (FL/35-24), who are also playing a decisive second semifinal game at 7:00 p.m.

For more information on the tournament, including live streaming options, click here.

For more information on the other 9 qualifiers, including the Northeast Community College Hawks, click here.

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