San Jac forces second game in Region 14 tourney final against NTCC Eagles

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The Northeast Texas Community College Eagles Baseball team picked up its first loss of the Region 14 tournament Tuesday night after falling 9-3 to San Jacinto College. The Eagles will play San Jacinto again at 1 p.m. Wednesday to determine which team is headed to the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Both teams got on the board early, with two runs apiece in the first inning. NTCC's runs came from back-to-back homers by Taylor Barber and Kyle Moos. Strong pitching on both sides kept the second and third innings scoreless.

The San Jac bats came out strong in the top of the fourth, scoring four runs. This included a three-run homer by Herbert Iser.

While the Eagles' pitching staff managed to hold San Jac for the next three innings, the Eagle offense was unable to put more runs on the board until scoring one in the bottom of the seventh on a homer by Matt Scheurich.

Neither team scored in the eighth. San Jac's offense came out strong again in the top of the ninth, with another three-run homer, this time by Sergio Macias. NTCC was unable to put more runs on the board in the bottom of the inning, leaving the final score at 9-3. San Jacinto outhit NTCC 12-4.

If the Eagles win tomorrow's matchup, it will mark their second-ever trip to the world series. The last time NTCC went to the JUCO World Series was in 1996, when the Eagles brought home the national title. The tournament begins Saturday, May 26.