The Aces were all smiles in their semifinal series sweep of the Cropdusters. Photo by Maya Brichacek. 

Written by Mahaley Wise

The Aces and Cropdusters met for Game 2 of best-of-three semifinal series. The Aces already had a win under their belt to give them the advantage in the series, looking to sweep the Cropdusters. The Cropdusters hoped to push for a third game against the Aces to keep their season alive. Ultimately, the Aces captured the win to advance to the LCS Finals, despite a late aggressive push by the Cropdusters. 

The Aces scored first with a single run in the third inning. John Colligan (Ball State) advanced to first on a walk, quickly moving to second with a stolen base. He shot over to third on an error by the pitcher. Colligan danced on base, eager to get home after two scoreless innings. He snuck his way down the baseline before dashing to the plate to pick up the run on a steal of home. 

After another two scoreless innings the Aces struck again in the sixth inning with new energy. Diego Pena (Western Michigan) scored on a passed ball to give the Aces a two-run lead over the scoreless Cropdusters. Cooper Hums (Western Michigan) secured another run for the Aces with an RBI single to bring in Brayden Hubner (Ball State) from second. The Aces continued to extend their lead later in the inning with a liner up the middle by Ernie Echevarria (UPenn) to score two more runs. The Aces now led by five, 5-0.

Aces pitcher Anthony Ehly pitched an impressive 5.2 innings against the Cropdusters, giving up only one run. 

“Anthony had everything,” said Aces Head Coach Chris Berset. “He is a veteran guy. There is no better guy you would want in that situation. He has been with me since he was a freshman…There is no other better guy out there on the mound that I wanted more than Anthony.”

After a weather delay, the Cropdusters came into the bottom of the sixth hungry to get on the board. Jimmy Kirk (Millersville) drove in Zakye Hawkins (University of Utah) after an error by the shortstop. Austin Stalker (West Chester) came to bat in the resumed game with a steady yet aggressive approach. He sent the ball over the right field wall for a home run. In his excitement he rushed around the bases meeting Kirk at home plate for a helmet tap. He launched himself into the dugout, where his teammates erupted in smiles and cheers. The Cropdusters had now cut into the Aces lead, 5-3. 

In the eighth inning, the Aces worked to extend their lead over the now hot Cropdusters. Colligan worked a walk to advance to first for the Aces. Derek Almeda (Chaffey) came to bat, getting the job done with a ball to the left-center gap to bring in the runner. Almeda continued to be aggressive, stealing third to make his journey home shorter. Echevarria came back to the plate after his two-run single in his last at bat, looking for another with the runner on second. He chopped the ball past the pitcher to score Almeda and advance the Aces lead, 7-3.

“We were aggressive. I told them to be aggressive…and to play our game. You know the wind was kind of howling and the Cropdusters have a lot of big hitters over there. We have a lot of speed too, we are going to run, we are going to play our game…It was outstanding to watch them,” Berset stated about his team’s offensive performance.

The Cropdusters entered the bottom of the ninth down four runs, looking for a last opportunity rally. A hit by pitch and a walk for the Cropdusters put two men on with one man in scoring position. Kirk came to bat one last time after being in the league with the Cropdusters for four years. “Mr. Cropduster” hit a line drive to left field to load the bases. A passed ball allowed Brian Scott (Frostburg State) to score from third, cutting the score to 7-4. However, the late push was not enough and the Cropdusters came up short, leaving two men on base to end the game. 

The Aces advance to the finals for the fourth time in team history, while the Cropdusters wrap up their season after a hard-fought run and set their sights on next year.