The Tiffin University baseball team, having been picked to finish 7th in the preseason coaches' poll, found themselves facing the top seeded Northwood Timberwolves in the GLIAC Tournament Championship game on Sunday. The Timberwolves, ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region, and 9th in the nation overcame an early deficit to drop the Dragons 8-4.
Tiffin shot out of the gates to open the game, scoring a pair of runs in the 1st inning. Alec McCurry drove home a run with a single to make it 1-0 Tiffin, and Isaac Perry made 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.
The runs kept coming for Tiffin in the 2nd, plating a run to go up 3-0. A single, error, and sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position for Kyle Lento. An infield single by Lento allowed Jack Dennis to score, giving the Dragons their third run of the game.
An inning later, the Tiffin offense kept chugging along. Kyle Durham picked up a run batted in with a ground ball to the Timberwolves' shortstop, enabling McCurry to scurry home, and make it 4-0 TU.
The lead was cut in half in the bottom of the 3rd, as Northwood scored twice to trail 4-2. In the bottom of the 5th, it all came crashing down for the Dragons. The Timberwolves recaptured the lead at 5-4 with a three run home run.
Northwood added three insurance runs in the 8th inning to drop Tiffin 8-4.
The Dragons sit at 32-22 overall, the best record in school history. Tiffin's runner-up finish is their best ever in the GLIAC Tournament, and their 3rd place finish in the regular season is the highest in program history. Tiffin's Kurt Barbeau and Kevin Borst were selected to the All-Tournament team. Borst logged three saves in the tournament, tossing three scoreless innings. Barbeau finished the tournament with a .412 batting average and three runs scored.
The Dragons will now have to wait to see if their season will continue, as the drawing for NCAA Regional play will be held tonight at 10:00 pm. Tiffin was unranked in the midwest region prior to the GLIAC Tournament, but #3 Wayne State, #8 Walsh, and #10 Grand Valley State all made early exits from the tournament. To watch the NCAA selection show - Click Here