Triceratops fall to No. 1 Kellogg C.C. in Region XII Championship

JACKSON, Mich. (athletics.tri-c.edu) – The Cuyahoga Community College Triceratops baseball team (34-18-1, 13-3 OCCAC) fought hard, but ultimately fell 26-7 to the No. 1 Kellogg Community College Bruins (48-6, 25-1 MCCAA) in the NJCAA Region XII Championship Game, May 16.

For their outstanding efforts in the tournament, two Triceratops earned All-Tournament slots: Keagan Gilbride (So./Akron, Ohio) and Vinny Gallaher (So./Toledo, Ohio). Gilbride was the anchor for the Triceratops in a crucial elimination game against Henry Ford College, pitching 8.1 outstanding innings to stabilize the worn pitching staff with 10 strikeouts. Gallaher was perhaps the biggest offensive contributor in the entire tournament, going 12-for-18 at the plate with five doubles, nine RBIs and three runs scored across Tri-C's five games in Jackson.

In the game against Kellogg, Gallaher once again led the way for the Triceratops with two hits – including one double – and three RBIs. Joining Gallaher in the multi-hit club were Kohan Merritt (So./Belle River, Ontario, Canada), Alex "A.J." Trobenter (Fr./Euclid, Ohio) and Pat Farrell (So./Cleveland, Ohio), all of whom had two hits in the contest. Trobenter, Jamir Ross (R-Fr./Dayton, Ohio) and Nathan Hill (So./Medina, Ohio/Toledo) all picked up an RBI in addition to Gallaher's three.

The Bruins, who are on a 21-game winning streak, simply were too much on offense for the Triceratops pitching staff to contain, running away with the game by the fifth inning. Kellogg was all over the Tri-C pitchers' stuff, notching 21hits in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Gallaher continued his hot tournament with an RBI single in the first inning, knocking in Merritt after he led the game off with a single.
• The Bruins got the run back and more in the bottom of the first with four hits and a walk putting Kellogg up 4-1.
• Gallaher struck again in the top of the second with a two-RBI double that knotted the game up 4-4 following an RBI walk by Hill.
• The tie wouldn't last long, as Kellogg was able to plate three more runs in the bottom of the second to take a 7-4 lead.
• Two more runs came across for the Bruins in the bottom of the third before Coach Kaplack turned to Caleb Obee (So./Springfield, Ohio) out of the bullpen with one out and runners on first and second. All told, three more runs would cross and Kellogg closed the third inning with a 12-4 lead.
• Obee locked in for the fourth inning, tossing the Triceratops' first clean frame of the day.
• Tri-C started drawing closer with a single by Trobenter scoring Merritt and trimming the deficit to 12-5 through one half of the fifth.
• The Bruins stormed back after that run, posting seven of their own runs including a grand slam off the bat of Tylor Morehouse to take a 20-5 lead.
• Tri-C wouldn't give in, though, with Farrell scoring off an error to move the score to 20-6 in the top of the sixth.
• Four more runs by Kellogg in the bottom of the frame pushed the score to 24-6.
• The score moved to 26-6 in the bottom of the seventh with a Kellogg two-run home run.
• Tri-C added one final run in the top of the ninth by way of Adam Rich (So./Oshawa, Ontario, Canada) scoring on a passed ball following a walk by Evin O'Reilly (Fr./Burlington, Ontario, Canada).

UP NEXT

The Triceratops' scheduled season concludes with the loss to Kellogg today, but there is still hope for more baseball. Tri-C is in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division II College World Series.

The bracket – including both at-large spots – will be unveiled May 19 at 5:30 p.m. on the NJCAA Division II Baseball Selection Show, live on the NJCAA Network and NJCAA YouTube channel.

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