-Blade Contributing Writer Central Arizona College Baseball

(Grand Junction) - There was a two and a half hour rain/hail delay in the bottom of the eighth inning with Crowder Community College of Missouri.

Maybe you saw the look on Central fireballer Drew Sommers face as the rain and hail started to fall. He had just found the groove, but everyone was called in and fans scattered to the concourse.

Crowder at the time, was leading Central Arizona 4-3, and when the game resumed, Central Arizona had to bring in another reliever in Matt Wilkinson and was able to strand a Crowder runner at third in the eighth, then tie the game up in the top of the ninth to force extras.

Central is seeded sixth, Crowder fifth in this JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, so Crowder gets the home field advantage and man, did they use it.

Catcher Adamo Stornello homered to right field with two outs in the bottom of the tenth, as right fielder Kiko Romero pounded his knees, and it's a walk-off loss for the Vaqs.

Crowder took a 3-0 lead after five, and if you know enough about this Central team, you know that having only two runners reach base after five innings off a pitcher reaching 100 mph, that it ain't over 'til it's over.

Before you could even get another piece of pizza, Central had the game tied at three in the top of the sixth.

Chase Valentine ripped a line drive single, Trey Newman worked a walk off of Jacob Misiorowski, the Crowder starter, then Ryan Ball beat another liner into left. There was a Crowder throwing error, a Jaylin Rae stolen base, and a Dusty Garcia walk that got Central around three times.

The first five innings looked like both teams trading strikeouts, Tyler Woessner threw five and a third as the Roughriders just kind of chipped and chipped and went ahead in the bottom of the sixth 4-3 on a double by shortstop Jackson Cobb. Cobb had a four-for-five day, with two doubles and a triple.

In the top of the ninth with Crowder up 4-3, Dusty Garcia led off with a single and pinch-hitter Tyler Griggs sacrificed Garcia to second, and with nobody covering third, Garcia took off and got there as the Crowder infield milled around after the play.

A discussion ensued, but it was ruled that timeout was called, so Garcia was sent back to second.

After Vinnie Lagatta was called out at the plate for strike three, pinch hitter Tyrese Johnson hit his first pitch into center with two outs, scoring Garcia.

Game tied 4-4.

With a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth with one out and Wilkinson pitching, Central intentionally loaded the bases with two walks, and Wilkinson got a pop-out to short left, and a flyout to center to get this game to the tenth.

Very nice.

Kiko Romero singled with one out in the top of the inning but couldn't get around and with Wilkinson throwing peas and curves, in the bottom half of the tenth, seemingly out of nowhere after two easy outs, the catcher Stornello hit one over the right field fence.

The final was 5-4.

These Vaqueros lost, but played a fabulous baseball game, with smarts, toughness, and an overall grit you can really be proud of. 

Lots of baseball left!

The Vaqueros now have an elimination matchup with the next game coming Tuesday against the loser of the Wabash Valley/San Jacinto State winners bracket game.