MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Christian Brothers University baseball (6-8, 1-5 GSC) staged a dramatic six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, capping off a thrilling 13-12 walk-off victory over the nationally-ranked No. 21 Arkansas-Monticello (9-5, 4-2 GAC) on Tuesday afternoon at Nadicksbernd Field.
Trailing 12-7 entering the final frame, the Buccaneers strung together a series of clutch at-bats to stun the Boll Weevils. Cory Steinhauer provided the exclamation point, delivering a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win and send the CBU dugout into celebration.
Ninth-Inning Heroics
After falling behind in the later stages of the game, Christian Brothers found its offensive spark in the ninth. Sam Walker led off with a solo home run, followed by a pair of walks to put two men on base. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third before another walk juiced the bases for Tate Gentleman with one out. Gentleman laced a single up the middle to drive in two runs before the second out of the inning was recorded. Steinhauer then stepped up to the plate with the score at 12-10 and launched a nuke into right field to deliver the three runs needed for the win.
Steinhauer Leads the Charge
Steinhauer was the offensive catalyst for Christian Brothers, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored. Jalen Smith also came through with three hits while driving in two runs.
The Bucs totaled 14 hits and took advantage of six walks and a hit-by-pitch to keep the pressure on Arkansas-Monticello's pitching staff.
Pitching Battle and Resilience
Christian Brothers used nine pitchers in the game, with Brant Stringer (1-0) earning the win after holding UAM hitless in the final two innings. Meanwhile, Monticello cycled through seven pitchers with Lane Imhoff (1-1) taking the loss after giving up the walk-off home run.
Early Scoring and Back-and-Forth Action
Arkansas-Monticello jumped ahead early with a two-run first inning. Christian Brothers tied the score after two with a run in each of the first and second innings. CBU then went up by two runs, 4-2, in the third before UAM tied it up with two runs in the top of the fourth. A run scored by the Bucs in the bottom of the fourth was followed up by a run scored by the Boll Weevils in the top of the fifth, leaving the score deadlocked at 5-5 through five innings.
Monticello put up three runs in the top of the sixth before Christian Brothers responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Up 8-7, UAM posted two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings while keeping CBU off the scoreboard to gain a 12-7 advantage. Stringer came in to pitch with one out and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. He got out of the jam and retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to give his team a fighting chance. The CBU offense delivered with six runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Up Next
Christian Brothers will look to build on this momentum when they travel to face West Alabama on Friday for a conference matchup.
