Judson falls at NAIA Opening Round
The Judson University baseball team couldn't overcome a big early deficit Monday and fell to Point (Ga.) 11-4 in the first game of the NAIA Opening Round in Montgomery, Ala.
No. 4 seed Judson (42-18) will play No. 2 LSU-Shreveport (42-17) in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Tuesday. LSU-Shreveport lost to No. 3 seed Mid-American Nazarene 14-10.
If the Eagles win Tuesday morning, they will have to play again at 7 p.m. The five-team tournament runs through Thursday with the winner advancing to the NAIA World Series next week in Lewistown, Idaho.
In Monday's loss, Judson gave up 5 runs in the second inning to fall behind 5-1 and could never recover. Fourth-seeded Point (33-25) tacked on single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings then scored 3 more in the seventh to put the game away.
Tony Ruggiero's home run was Judson's only extra-base hit of the game as the Eagles were limited to 7 hits. Tony Rallo had 2 hits and an RBI for Judson. Mark DeYoung and Frank Oliver also had RBI.
Andrew Bergman started and took the loss, lasting just 2 innings on the mound.