GREENEVILLE, TENN. – The Limestone University baseball team was one out away from clinching a postseason berth in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday but was eliminated from playoff contention instead as No. 11 Tusculum University scored a 6-5 walk-off win in game one before completing a series sweep and ending Limestone's year with an 11-6 decision in the 2021 season finale.  
 
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: No. 11 Tusculum 6, Limestone 5
Records: No. 11 Tusculum (28-9, 24-7), Limestone (14-21, 12-18)
Location: Pioneer Park
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Senior Devon Cantey (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) went 2-for-3 with a homerun and two RBIs
• Graduate Josh Evans (Indian Land, S.C.) added two base hits and an RBI
• Junior Benjamin Huber (Pendleton, S.C.) hit a solo homerun
• Senior Alex Cornell (Columbia, Conn.) also finished with a solo blast
• Freshman Kyle Raynor (Fort Mill, S.C.) chipped in a base knock and run scored
• Senior Brian Forbes (Rocky Point, N.Y.) doubled for the Saints in game one
• Junior starter Cory Busse (Wonder Lake, Ill.) was one out away from a complete game win
• Instead, he took the loss after allowing six runs on six hits and four walks – he struck out three
• Freshman reliever Cale Wagoner (San Antonio, Texas) issued two walks in a short outing
• Limestone outhit the Pioneers, 8-6, but would leave six runners stranded

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Cornell gave the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, blasting his second homerun of the series over the wall in leftfield. Forbes followed with a double into the leftfield gap but was erased on a lineout double play before the Pioneers tied the game at 1-1 with a solo shot in the home half of the third.
 
Busse, who left a pair of runners stranded over the first two frames, did not let things snowball from there as he quietly retired the next two batters. Huber then put Limestone back on top, 2-1, with a leadoff solo homer in the fourth, but Tusculum countered with a solo jack in the bottom half to again even the contest.
 
The homerun derby continued in the fifth as the Saints again used the longball to move back in front as Cantey crushed a leadoff solo blast. Limestone would add another tally to double up the Pioneers, 4-2, in the frame as Raynor singled with one gone before scoring two batters later on an RBI base hit by Evans.
 
Tusculum threatened in the bottom of the fifth after a one-out walk came around to score, cutting the margin to 4-3, but Busse limited the damage by leaving the tying and go-ahead runs stranded. The Saints would get that run back in the sixth though as an error scored on an RBI single by Cantey to make it 5-3.
 
Looking to add insurance in the seventh, graduate Trace Whetsell (Gilbert, S.C.) worked a walk before Evans singled to put two runners on for the heart of the lineup. However, Limestone would leave both stranded as two of the next three batters struck out, something that came back to haunt the visitors.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Busse got a quick out before issuing a walk to bring the tying run to the dish. He got the next batter swinging for the second out, but Tusculum would follow with a single and a game-tying triple. Following two walks from Wagoner, the Pioneers walked it off, 6-5, on an unusual balk call.  
 
GAME 2 INFORMATION
Score: No. 11 Tusculum 11, Limestone 6
Records: No. 11 Tusculum (29-9, 25-7), Limestone (14-22, 12-19)
Location: Pioneer Park
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Senior DH Matt Hilderbrandt (Bowmanville, Ontario) finished with two hits and two walks
• Evans tallied a base knock, a walk, and an RBI while Huber chipped in an RBI hit
• Whetsell also collected a hit, walk, and RBI while Forbes added two hits, a double, and an RBI
• Graduate starter Marcus Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) struck out six, but took the loss to fall to 0-5
• He gave up seven runs – six earned – on seven hits, four walks, and two hit batters
• Senior Jacob Cornatzer (Waxhaw, N.C.) struck out one in two-thirds of an inning
• The Limestone bullpen allowed four runs on three hits and five walks
• Tusculum edged the Saints, 10-9, in the hit column while both teams left 10 runners stranded

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Pioneers picked up from where they left off in their walk-off win in game three, getting to Johnson for four runs on four hits and two walks in the bottom of the first. Meanwhile, with the season on the line, the Limestone offense must have been in a hurry as it recorded four one-pitch outs over the first two innings.
 
Working the counts in the top of the third, the Saints took advantage of a pair of walks to get on the board as Huber slapped an RBI single to right, cutting the lead to 4-1. Tusculum got that tally back in the home half, however, as an error to start the inning came around to score to push the margin back to four runs.
 
In the Limestone fourth, Hilderbrandt worked a one-out walk before Canty followed up with a base knock. With the bases full and two outs a few batters later, Whetsell forced a run home following an eight-pitch walk before Evans cut the LU deficit to 5-4 after sending a rocket back up the middle for a two-run single.
 
Limestone pulled ahead for the first time in the nightcap, platting two runs in the top of the fifth as a leadoff single by Cornell scored from first to tie the game on a booming double by Forbes. A double-play ball would put the Saints in front, 6-5, but Tusculum tied the game with a solo homerun in the bottom half.
 
The home team moved back in front in the sixth as a leadoff triple proved to be the go-ahead run, scoring on a passed ball to make it 7-6. The Pioneers would pull away in the late innings, extending the lead to 9-6 with a two-run homerun in the seventh, before putting the game out of reach with two runs in the eighth.
 
NOTABLES
 

• Saturday's game was the final game for 19 players in the Blue and Gold
  • Graduate shortstop Trace Whetsell (Gilbert, S.C.)
  • Graduate centerfielder Josh Evans (Indian Land, S.C.)
  • Senior infielder Tyler O'Dell (North Hanover, N.J.)
  • Senior third baseman Devon Cantey (Half Moon Beach, Calif.)
  • Senior outfielder Vance Deese (Norwood, N.C.)
  • Senior leftfielder Alex Cornell (Columbia, Conn.)
  • Senior infielder Michael Roberts (Mount Airy, N.C.)
  • Junior catcher/DH Brandon Banks (Rock Hill, S.C.)
  • Graduate pitcher Eric Mullinax (Greenville, S.C.)
  • Junior first baseman Benjamin Huber (Pendleton, S.C.)
  • Graduate pitcher Marcus Johnson (Lexington, Ky.)
  • Senior pitcher Jacob Cornatzer (Waxhaw, N.C.)
  • Senior pitcher Jordan Adcox (Lawrencville, Ga.)
  • Senior catcher Kyle Strovink (Rocky Point, N.Y.)
  • Senior pitcher Justin Greider (Ridgway, S.C.)
  • Graduate pitcher Trey Jenkins (Durham, N.C.)
  • Senior DH Matt Hilderbrandt (Bowmanville, Ontario)
  • Senior infielder Ethan Danley (Mount Airy, N.C.)
  • Graduate DH Jeff Towle (Stony Brook, N.Y.)
• Huber became the 14^th player in team history to record 100 career RBIs
• He wraps up his career ranked third in program history with a .369 batting average
• Mullinax ranks fifth in team history with 67 career appearances and fourth with seven saves
• Cornell finishes his career with the third highest fielding percentage (.993) in team history
• Whetsell was one game shy of tying the program record for most games played
• He is the program's all-time leader in at-bats (793) and assists (424) while ranking second in games played (197), fourth in career hits (234), sixth in runs scored (143), and sixth in total bases (334)