Baseball: Hawks are eliminated from GLVC Tournament

The Rockhurst Hawks were eliminated from the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Friday night, falling to Northern Kentucky 14-7 in Sauget, Ill.

The Hawks rallied from an 8-3 deficit to pull within 9-7 of the Norse in the fifth inning. Northern Kentucky reliever Kevin Jordan held Rockhurst scoreless on one hit in the final four innings.

Steve Braun, Tyler Knust and Tom Stevison each collected two hits among RU's nine hits. Braun hit his eighth home run in the third. Tyler Rzepka smacked a three-run homer in the fifth.

Starter Jeremy Pope (7-3) was knocked out of the game in the third when the Norse erupted for seven runs. NKU added five unearned runs in the eighth off Hawk reliever Frank Allen.

The Hawks, 35-21, will now await the NCAA Midwest Regional pairings on Sunday night. Rockhurst was ranked fourth in the latest regional poll. The top six teams advance to the regional.

On Thursday, the Hawks suffered a 10-9 loss to Indianapolis on the opening day of the GLVC Tournament.

Indianapolis scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth on a bases-clearing double to edge the Hawks. Rockhurst rallied to take a 9-7 lead in the top of the ninth. Braun tied the game with a one-out single and senior Jordan Myers put the Hawks in front with a two-run home run.

Braun led the Hawks with four hits. Myers and Ryan Porter each collected three hits. Rockhurst finished with 17 hits.

Six Hawks named to All-GLVC Team

Mike Walczuk headlines six Rockhurst players named to the 2009 All-GLVC Baseball Team.

Walczuk was voted by the coaches to the first team at designated hitter. The junior from Leawood, Kan., leads the Hawks with a .405 batting average and .658 slugging percentage. He has six home runs, 10 doubles and 30 RBIs.

Porter was named the Freshman of the Year in the GLVC, in additon to being named to the All-GLVC Third Team at first base. He is hitting .367 with a team-high eight home runs and 19 doubles. Porter is tied for the most RBIs on the team with 46 and has a .639 slugging percentage.

Four Rockhurst players were named to the All-GLVC Second Team: senior third baseman Tyler Knust, Myers, sophomore starting pitcher Jeremy Pope and senior outfielder Nick Troilo.

Knust is batting .354 with 27 runs scored. Myers has a .324 batting average with 40 runs scored and 40 RBIs. Troilo has six home runs, 45 RBIs and is hitting .341. Pope leads the pitching staff with a 7-2 record, 57 strikeouts and 3.92 ERA.

Box Score (GLVC Tournament): Northern Kentucky 14, Rockhurst 7

Box Score (GLVC Tournament): Indianapolis 10, Rockhurst 9

2009 All-GLVC Baseball Team

Hawks face Indianapolis in the GLVC Tournament