MACOMB, Ill. - Backed behind a hitless and shutout performance from Jack Carberry in relief, the Western baseball team (7-13, 3-4) rallied in the eighth and took advantage of a South Dakota State (7-12, 2-5) error to take game three 4-3 on Saturday (March 27) afternoon.
Carberry (1-2) completed 3.2 shutout frames en route to his first victory of the season. The right-hander pitched out a bases-loaded threat in the seventh to maintain a one-run game (3-2, SDSU) and fanned four batters on the day.
"Jace Warkentien came out and gave us a competitive start today, and it was a good matchup of two solid college lefties," head coach Andy Pascoe said. "After so many close games and close losses early in the year, our guys still keep fighting, and it paid off today and feels good to be on the good side of a late, comeback win. Jack Carberry came through with a huge senior moment performance to hold them off the board."
Both sides scored in the middle frames to sit 2-2 into the sixth. In the third, Luke Schwartz hit an RBI single up the middle, and Kevin Raisbeck scampered home off an SDSU throw down to second on a steal attempt.
Raisbeck has the habit of coming up clutch at Alfred D. Boyer this season. The senior drilled a two-out RBI single to tie it 3-3 in the seventh.
Jace Warkentien threw 5.1 innings and held the Jacks to five hits with five strikeouts, one behind his season-high.
After Schwartz drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, he stole second and was moved over by a groundball from Alex Dorethy. The Leatherneck centerfielder then crossed home plate off an error from the Jackrabbits for the go-ahead and game-winning run.
Western Illinois aims to take the series tomorrow with the first pitch at 1 p.m.
