Championship Central |
Bracket
OZARK, Mo. – After two very lengthy games, including a three-hour-and-forty-five-minute marathon nightcap, to close out the third day of the 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Championship Tournament, two teams will meet in the finals on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark, Missouri. It will be an all-West title tilt, as #1W Drury and #2W Quincy will play a winner-take-all championship game at 12:30 p.m. Central Time.
The day started with an 8-1 opening-day upset win for #4E Saint Joseph’s over #2E Bellarmine that kept the Pumas alive and set up a meeting with Quincy in the nightcap. Before that last game of the day, however, #3E Illinois Springfield followed in the second game with a 6-2 win over #4W William Jewell, which forced an immediate turnaround for the Prairie Stars against Drury. Unfortunately for UIS, the Panthers were too much to handle, picking up an easy 10-4 win to punch their ticket to the title game for the first time since making back-to-back trips – and winning – in 2014 and 2015.
In the last game between Saint Joseph’s and Quincy, the Hawks ultimately remained unbeaten in the postseason event with its 9-5 victory, but it didn’t come easy. The Hawks came out strong, scoring two in the first inning, and then the Pumas answered with two of its own in the second frame. Saint Joseph’s proceeded to take a 5-4 lead through five innings, as the game reached the three-hour mark. Immediately thereafter, Quincy plated two runs for a 6-5 advantage in the sixth and added three additional insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Unfortunately for Saint Joseph’s, the four-run deficit was too much to overcome through its last two attempts at bat.
Quincy will be looking for some redemption in less than 12 hours, as its last two trips to Championship Sunday, ironically, came in 2014 and 2015 against Drury in which the Panthers were victorious both times. The Hawks do, however, have two league crowns to their name, winning in 2000 and 2011, while Drury has three with its first championship in 2007.
For complete coverage of the tournament, archived video from the GLVC Sports Network, and full recaps from each participating school, visit the championship central page at
GLVCsports.com/baseball17. In addition, follow the GLVC’s official Twitter account (@
GLVCsports) for tournament coverage.