Baseball team ends 2011 season with pair of losses on Thursday at AAC Championship in Kingsport; Popp concludes career as head coach

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- At the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championship tournament on Thursday, the No. 6-seed Reinhardt University baseball team had its 2011 season end with a pair of losses in the double-elimination event at Hunter Wright Stadium. Reinhardt opened the day with a 7-2 setback to the second-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan College Bulldogs before falling 11-5 to the No. 7-seeded Bryan College Lions. The winner of the tournament receives the AAC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship event.

 

In the Eagles' first contest, Tennessee Wesleyan, which received 31 points in the latest NAIA poll to rank 30th nationally, scored twice in the first inning before Reinhardt came back to tie the game with single runs in each of the third and fifth. The Bulldogs snapped the 2-2 deadlock with three runs in the top of the sixth inning and added two more in the ninth.

TWC outhit the Eagles 10-6 and Reinhardt committed the game's only error. The Eagles left seven runners on base and Tennessee Wesleyan four.

Billy King finished 1-for-2 with a double for Reinhardt while Brett Flick was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice hit. Freshman Phillip Bates stroked an RBI triple while Don DiPetta doubled and scored. Josh Wilson and Jay Huffman each ended with a hit while Michael Lonati chipped in with a walk, RBI on a sacrifice fly and run scored.

On the mound for the Eagles, Ricky Johnson pitched a complete game, throwing 102 pitches with 71 strikes. In taking the loss, he recorded two strikeouts with just one walk.

Against Bryan in Bill Popp's final contest as Reinhardt's head coach, the Eagles pushed a run across in the first inning before the Lions tied the contest in the second. Bryan surged ahead 10-1 after scoring two runs in the sixth inning and seven in the seventh. With a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Eagles trimmed the deficit to 10-3. In the ninth inning, the Lions scored once and Reinhardt twice.

Bryan had a slim 12-11 edge in hits and made two errors while the Eagles were guilty of three errors that led to seven unearned runs for the Lions. Reinhardt stranded 10 base runners and Bryan eight.

Offensively for the Eagles, DiPetta was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and two runs scored while Wilson finished 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Huffman also produced two hits in four at-bats while Lonati (RBI, run scored) and Bates (run scored) each went 2-for-5.

Reinhardt used four pitchers in the game. Taylor Smith started and suffered the loss after allowing two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. Ben Gonglach, and freshmen Trent Sheffield and CJ Oliva worked out of the bullpen.

Popp steps away from coaching after starting the Reinhardt program and guiding the Eagles the last seven years. Also Reinhardt's athletic director since 2005, he remains in that role within the University's growing athletic department.

The Eagles conclude their 2011 campaign with an 18-35 overall record while the Bulldogs are 35-18 and the Lions 31-24. Reinhardt went 9-12 during the AAC regular season, tying for fifth place.