After watching Ryan Brady get out of a jam in the top of the 10th, senior catcher Boomer Synek wasted little time in bringing the game to a dramatic end on Thursday afternoon, sending a 2-1 pitch sailing over the wall in left to hand the Aces a 4-3 victory over Illinois State in the first elimination game of the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship at Bob Warn Field.
“I knew I hit it well enough, and I honestly didn’t know it was gone until I looked over to the dugout and saw that they were all jacked up,†Synek said. “It’s a special win and we’re going to remember this for a while, but we have to put it away. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.â€
With the win, the Aces (28-26) advance to Day 3, where they will face the loser of a contest between Dallas Baptist and Southern Illinois that will take place later Thursday evening. Meanwhile, Illinois State ends its season with a 17-37 record.
Synek, who had not previously won a postseason game with the Aces, secured the first MVC tournament win for the program since the 2013 season.
An All-MVC catcher out of Northbrook, Ill., Synek had the best seat in the house in the top of the 10th as reliever Ryan Brady worked out of an unenviable situation on the mound. After a wild pitch helped put runners on second and third with no outs, Brady induced three consecutive ground balls, fielding the last two himself, to keep the game level at 3-3 and set the stage for Synek.
“For Brady to get up there in that situation and get three groundballs, that just shows you how good he can be,†UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “He was able to pound the inside of the zone with his fastball, and that was a big time moment for him and our program. He came up big for our seniors here in the conference tournament, and it was fantastic to see.â€
The Aces fell behind early in the contest after UE starter Alex Weigand gave up a pair of scores in the top of the third inning, but a three-run fourth put the Aces ahead for the first time this week. Josh Jyawook got things started with a lead-off double, and Trey Hair followed up with a single through the right side to cut the deficit in half. Back-to-back hits from Travis Tokarek and Eric McKibban brought home the tying run, and Shain Showers followed up with a groundout to make it 3-2.
Jyawook led the Aces at the plate in the contest, going 3-for-4, and as a team the Aces were out-hit 10-7.
From there, Carroll turned to veteran reliever Brent Jurceka, who recorded a pair of quick outs in the fifth before a nearly two-hour rain delay brought the game to a halt. The senior right-hander returned after the extended break, finishing the game with one earned run on three hits over five innings. He struck out three.
“That shows his grit, and it shows his toughness,†Synek said of Jurceka. “He’s been our guy all year, and today shows what he’s about. We’ve got his back, and he’s got ours. What he did today was really special, and it sparked us.â€
Brady was credited with the win, his second of the season, and the Aces will begin play once again in the MVC Tournament at 8 a.m. Central time on Friday. With a win, UE would play another game later Friday afternoon.
