Cazorla goes grand in Tigers' 1st MSC win

After a 3-run home run in the first game of the day at Lindsey Wilson, Jose Cazorla one-upped himself in the second game. The Tiger DH saw a pitch he liked and crushed a grand slam as part of a 7-run third inning that sent Georgetown to its 1st MSC win of the year, 7-4, over the Blue Raiders.

The day started out dicey for Georgetown. With 1 out in the bottom of the 1st, Lindsey Wilson tallied a double off Chris Lenocker. The next batter launched a home run to center to give the Blue Raiders a 2-0 lead after 1. Georgetown had a chance in the top of the 2nd. Elijah Verge doubled to left and Peyton Young drew a walk. With 1 out, Braden Shepherd grounded into a 4-3 double play to end the inning.

Inning 3 was the one Georgetown had been looking for all conference season. Jacob VonThaden led off with a walk and was lifted on base for pinch-runner, Michael Detzel. Luis Sosa moved Detzel to 2nd with a sacrifice bunt. Jarrett Chapman drew a walk and Payton Rios singled to center to load the bases and set the stage for Jose Cazorla. The right-hander found his pitch and launched the ball well over the left center fence for a stunning grand slam to give Georgetown a 4-2 lead. In all the excitement, the Tigers kept coming for more. With 2 out, Elijah Verge reached on a fielder's choice and promptly stole 2nd and 3rd. Peyton Young drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Those runners became joggers as Braden Shepherd took his turn playing long ball. A homer to straightaway center put 3 more on the board and gave the Tigers a 7-2 lead.

Lindsey Wilson went for the counter-punch on Lenocker in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff HBP and single put the pressure on. Lenocker struck out the next batter and then induced a fielder's choice for out number 2. A wild pitch moved runners to 2nd and 3rd, but Lenocker stayed resilient and got a routine fly ball to center to retire the side. He faced another threat in the bottom of the 4th as Lindsey Wilson loaded the bases but another fly out to center kept the Blue Raiders off the board.

Georgetown's next shot to pad the lead came in the 7th. Nolan Smith and Elijah Verge singled to start the inning. A passed ball put Smith on 3rd and Verge on 2nd with no outs. Peyton Young then walked to load the bases. After a Braden Shepherd strikeout, Jacob VonThaden laced a liner that was caught by the shortstop and flipped to 2nd base for a 6-4 double play to end the threat. Lindsey Wilson got a run back in the bottom of the inning to get within slam range at 7-3. A solo homer in the bottom of the 8th made it a 7-4 game.

Mitchell Knight took the ball for the bottom of the 9th to nail down the save. A leadoff single was quickly negated by a 4-3 double play. Knight allowed another single with 2 outs but sent the final batter down on strikes to seal the save and get the Tigers in the MSC win column.

Chris Lenocker picked up his 1st win of the season. He went 8 innings, allowing 7 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) and struck out 5 on 112 pitches. Knight recorded his 1st save. Jose Cazorla capped his day with his 2nd homer of the doubleheader to tally 7 RBI. Braden Shepherd's 3-run homer in the 3rd proved the breathing room Georgetown needed to close it out.

The Tigers will go for the series win on Tuesday afternoon. The first pitch is set for 4:00pm ET.