Conway, Ark. - Back on February 9,
Griffin Baird walked it off with a double versus Belhaven to give the Warriors the win on Opening Day.
And this time, on Friday afternoon with the season on the line in Game 3 versus Oglethorpe, the junior was up to his old tricks again.
Trailing 6-4 in the 9th, Hendrix kept their season alive as
Zach Marriott and
Owen Shaw scrapped together two runs to even the score at 6-6 and send the game into extras. Marriott reached on a hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning, Shaw singled to right field, and
Ian Guthrie smoked a single up the middle to load the bases.
Hogan Ralston scored Marriott on a fielder's choice, before
Austin Rabago laid down a bunt that gave Oglethorpe's infield all sorts of fits and allowed the tying run to score on a fielding error.
Braxton Waller put the Stormy Petrels down in order in the top of the 10th to turn it over the Warrior bats, and with one out and Marriott at first base,
Owen Shaw laced a double to left center field to put the winning run on third base.
Up stepped Baird and, with an 0-1 count, he sent a high fly ball to center field that dropped just shy of the track to bring in Marriott for the winning run and send the Warriors to the final weekend of postseason play for the first time since 2012.
On the back of an exceptional pitching performance from
Dylan Kalmus in Game 2, Waller followed that up with a gem of his own. The Arkansas native allowed just three hits and one unearned run across 4.0 innings in relief to shut the door on Oglethorpe and give Hendrix the opportunity to complete the comeback.
At the plate, Shaw, Ralston, and Rabago each enjoyed three-hit outings, with the latter two driving in two runs each. Shaw also scored a game-high three runs.
Up Next: Hendrix will more than likely be on the road next weekend, with the final four teams converging to play the Championship Tournament at the highest-remaining seed on May 3-4.
