SEK Crusaders close out second day with 6-6 draw

If there is one thing that the SEK Crusaders have learned over the last two days of playing in the Premier Baseball Incoming Freshman tournament is that teams get better with time.
After falling in their first game by a run-rule, the Crusaders came back late Wednesday and only lost 5-4 to the Rawlings Redbirds and walked away with a 6-6 tie with the Sliders Mayer Thursday at Seneca (Mo.) High School.
“We’re getting closer,” said Crusaders coach Will Crozier. “We were run-ruled, then we got closer and finally we had a lead and had them beat but, that is just part of it.”
On Thursday, the Crusaders held a 6-2 lead going into the fourth inning before the Sliders scored four unanswered to earn the tie.
Jason Reed pitched four strong innings for the Crusaders, giving up just a pair of runs.
Sliders Mayer tied the game in the bottom of the seventh and tried to win the game but their base runner on third was caught in a rundown and was tagged out to end the game.
“The kids know that they can play with these guys,” Crozier said. “They were a little intimidated but, it is getting better.”
Against Rawlings on Wednesday, Dylan Crozier threw three strong innings of relief to hold the Redbirds at bay by giving up just one hit.
The Crusaders Achillies’ Heel happened to be their stranded base runners. Against Rawlings, there were nine — including bases loaded twice — and against the Sliders, they had 10 stranded runners.
“What is hurting us is that the middle of the order has not been able to produce,” Will Crozier said. “They had bases loaded a few times today and we had ground outs or infield flies and that is a little unusual.”

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140. Follow Morning Sun sports at twitter.com/mssports.