Golden Eagles rise to UT pitcher’s challenge
Division I RBI leader Chambers keys rally with two-run double
AUSTIN — There was a glint of mischief in Nolan Kingham’s eyes when he decided to do what he did.
Most pitchers wouldn’t dream of antagonizing Tennessee Tech. The nation’s top offense is imposing enough without compelling those bats to seek vengeance.
Possible repercussions meant nothing to Kingham, who in the fourth inning succumbed to his own impulses by needling the only thing standing between Texas and a berth in the 2018 College World Series. He poked the bear and smiled, confident the beast wouldn’t swipe back. He was wrong. Tennessee Tech ran Kingham from the game the very next inning and defeated Texas 5-4 to take game one of Saturday’s super-regional series at DischFalk Field.
“Anyone that has watched our team all year will describe this team as some of the toughest young men and grittiest young men and most resilient young men that maybe have ever stepped on a baseball field together,” Golden Eagles coach Matt Bragga said. “These guys love each other, they’re going to fight together for whatever it takes to try to get the job done.”
When Kingham gloved John Ham’s comebacker to the mound, he broke into a jog parallel to the Golden Eagles hitter. The junior pitcher stared and jawed before flipping the ball to first baseman Jake McKenzie for the third out.
Kingham’s confidence wasn’t unfounded.
Texas, which jumped out to a 1-0 first-inning lead on a Duke Ellis sacrifice fly, had retaken the lead an inning earlier after losing it in the top half of the third. McKenzie scored on Ellis’ sac fly, then Kody Clemens blasted a solo home run beyond the right-field wall to put UT ahead 3-2.
Kingham had allowed two runs on a Brennon Kaleiwahea single, but aside from that had pitched a relatively clean game against a powder-keg offense capable of exploding at any moment. He just didn’t realize the fuse had already been lit.
Alex Junior drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth, and Kaleiwahea followed with a single. The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch before Division I RBI leader Chase Chambers stepped to the plate.
The barrel-chested 250pound first baseman cranked the first pitch he saw back toward the wall in right-center field. Outfielder Tate Shaw seemed to track the ball accurately, but he missed the sinking white orb and smashed into the green barrier.
His hat popped off as if propelled by a spring, the ball ricocheted away, and both runners scored. Shortstop David Garza then lined a double down the right-field line to score Chambers and put the Golden Eagles ahead 5-3.
“I let (Kingham) have it when I hit that double,” Chambers said. “I was pretty fired up, kind of got caught up in the situation a little bit. But I mean, it’s baseball.
“We seem to, when somebody steps up and chests up, we seem to chest them back. We’re not afraid of a fight. I said, ‘Don’t big-league us. Don’t disrespect us.’ And there’s maybe a few words that I can’t say up here.”
That finished Kingham’s day. He lasted 42⁄3 innings, allowed five earned runs on nine hits and two walks, and struck out five. Texas coach David Pierce after the loss that Kingham had a cyst removed on Monday. And, coming on the heels of his bout with a viral infection last week, he just seemed to sputter.
“Nolan had a lot of guts out there today,” Pierce said. “I was just concerned about his legs staying under him. In that fifth inning, the ball started getting up, so we made the change then.”
UT’s bullpen kept the game within reach. Josh Sawyer recorded two outs on two pitches to escape from a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, and Parker Joe Robinson induced three consecutive outs to erase another Tennessee Tech bases-loaded opportunity in the seventh.
But a two-run deficit proved too much. Closer Ethan Roberts replaced starter Marcus Evey in the sixth and cruised through the final four innings. He allowed only on run — a David Hamilton sac fly — on one hit and struck out four.
Clemens, Ellis, and McKenzie went 5-for-8 with three walks. The rest of UT’s lineup finished 0-for-20 with one walk.
The teams will meet again Sunday at 2 p.m.
“We’ve got an opportunity to still come in here and win the game tomorrow and take it to a game three,” Pierce said. “That’s the plan right now, we’ve got to be ready to go. And we will be.”