Central Missouri Phenom Black falls in semifinals

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Central Missouri Phenom Black baseball team lost in the semifinals to the Gators 6-5 on Sunday in a tournament at Lindenwood University, going 2-3 during the weekend with a pair of extra-inning contests.

The Phenom Black started the tournament with an 8-5 loss to the Naturals on Thursday. Tyler Cassmeyer pitched the first three innings, striking out seven while allowing five runs in the third inning. Ethan Rackers pitched the final four innings, fanning five.

Garrett Welschmeyer had an RBI single in the first inning and Andrew Rodriguez drove in a run with a single in the second to give Central Missouri a 2-0 lead. Welschmeyer finished with one single and one double, while Kory Stephens had a pair of singles.

The Phenom Black split its two games Friday, starting with a 5-3 loss to the Central Missouri Phenom White.

The Phenom Black held a 3-0 lead through five innings, with starting pitcher Mason Hunter retiring all nine batters he faced, eight via strikeout. The Phenom White took the lead for good with a five-run rally in the top of the sixth.

Mason Gipe had three hits to lead the Phenom Black.

The Phenom Black bounced back with an 8-0 win against the St. Louis Pirates. Graysan Peneston pitched a three-hitter in six innings for the win.

Nick Easley, Peneston and Rackers each had two hits, while Gipe drove in a pair of runs.

It took 10 innings and two days, but Central Missouri edged past the Naturals 3-1 in a game that started Saturday and didn't finish until Sunday afternoon.

The Phenom Black broke a scoreless deadlock with three runs in the top of the 10th. Cassmeyer hit a two-run triple into right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rackers to give Central Missouri a 3-0 lead.

Hunter started for the Phenom Black, pitching 6 innings, striking out 14 batters. Cassmeyer earned the win, throwing the final 3 innings with two strikeouts. Hunter and Cassmeyer combined to pitch a three-hitter.

The Phenom Black ended the season in the semifinals Sunday with a walk-off 6-5 loss to the Gators in nine innings.

The Gators rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 5 and send it into extra innings.

Welschmeyer put the Phenom Black on the board with a two-run single in a three-run first inning. Stephens, who had a team-high three hits, also had an RBI double in the opening frame.

Peneston added an RBI single in the second to extend the lead to 4-0.

Cassmeyer, Peneston, Rodriguez and Rackers each pitched for the Phenom Black, who finish the season with a 24-11 record.

III

Both the Phenom White and the Phenom Blue also took part in the tournament at Lindenwood for Central Missouri.

In addition to winning against the Phenom Black, the Phenom White team finished the weekend with a 3-1, capping it with a 5-0 win Sunday against the Phenom Blue.

The Phenom White scored all five runs in the bottom of the second. Maclaine McCarter started the scoring with an RBI single to center field and Blake Petsel singled to left field to score another runs. Jacob Crede cleared the bases with a double later in the inning to make the score 5-0.

The Phenom White (23-10-4) won 10-9 against the Pirates Black team Thursday and lost 10-1 to the Gators on Saturday.

Austin Wegman had three hits against Pirates Black, while Chad Volmert struck out 10 in 6 innings to get the win.

The Phenom Blue team went 1-2-1 in four games during the weekend, starting with a 6-1 win Thursday against the Phenom Red team. Hayden Green had two hits and one RBI in the win.

The Phenom Blue (16-18-2) tied the Pirates at 2 on Friday and lost 7-0 to the Pirates Red team Saturday.