CARY, N.C. – Just call him "Big Game Bayer."
In Cal Poly Pomona's first elimination game of the NCAA Division II World Series, senior righthander
Peter Bayer held No. 3-ranked Central Missouri hitless through 7.2 innings and finished with a career-high 14 strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Bayer's performance fueled a 3-0 victory for the Broncos, who will advance to play South Region champion Nova Southeastern on Thursday at 12 p.m. Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) in another elimination game. The Sharks were ranked at No. 5 in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national poll.
After allowing their opponents to score first in the opening two games of the D-II World Series, the Broncos didn't waste any time getting on the board on Wednesday.
To start the bottom of the first,
Jared James reached first on an infield single.
Chris Stratton then moved James up to second with a sacrifice bunt and with two outs,
Jason Padlo provided an RBI double on a 2-2 pitch to give CPP a 1-0 lead.
The Broncos added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, thanks to an RBI single down the line from freshman first baseman
Nic Hernandez.
Up until two outs in the top of the 8th, Bayer had retired 17-consecutive hitters. That's when Blake Wilfong doubled down the line to break up the no-hitter. Bayer settled back in though, getting a flyout to end the inning.
Ryan Alsworth took over in the ninth, earning his team-leading eighth save of 2016 with two strikeouts and a groundout. In his last nine innings of relief, Alsworth has allowed just five hits.
With the team's 42nd win of the year, that total now ranks in a tie for third all-time in program history. More importantly, the Broncos' team flag stays up at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary.
For Bayer, Wednesday's performance moved his season record to 2-2 and it marks his first playoff win as a Bronco. In his eight shutout innings, he allowed just one hit and struck out 14. Bayer now has 103 strikeouts in 65.2 innings pitched this year. A native of Colorado, Bayer transferred from Division I University of Richmond prior to the 2015-16 academic year.
NOTES: Jared James has now reached base in 57 of the team's 60 games, including the last 26... With a 1-for-3 effort Wednesday,
Jacob Bernardy now owns an eight-game hit streak.
