KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The No. 15-ranked IU Southeast baseball team fell behind 6-0 to Warner University (Fla.) but a Brody Tanksley two-run walkoff home run completed a comeback for the ages to win 10-9 in the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round.
IU Southeast (46-14) quickly fell behind 6-0 after a half inning of play. Tyler Brown started the rally with a solo home run to right for his sixth home run of the year. A two-run double by David Torres extended the lead to 3-0 and three RBI singles doubled the lead.
The Grenadiers slowly cut into the deficit with a pair of three-run innings in the third and seventh innings.
In the third, Drew Hensley and Daunte DeCello led off with singles. Clay Woeste loaded the bases with a single and sacrifice flies by John Ullom and Brody Tanksley drove in the first two runs of the game for the Grenadiers. A RBI single by Derek Wagner cut the lead in half.
The Royals (33-22) added one run each in the sixth and seventh innings. Taylor Briggs hit his fourth home run of the year to left in the sixth.
The Grenadiers clawed back with three runs in the seventh. Daunte Decello was hit by a pitch and scored on a RBI double by Woeste. John Ullom followed with a RBI single and a RBI double by Marco Romero drove in Ullom.
Warner tacked on another run on a fielder's choice in the 9th inning to take a 9-6 lead.
But the Grenadiers got the rally going quickly as DeCello singled and Woeste recorded his second double of the day. Another clutch two-run single by Ullom cut the lead to one.
Then Brody Tanksley delivered a two-run walkoff home run to left on a 2-2 count to win it for the Grenadiers. That was his 17th home run of the year.
Clay Woeste finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. John Ullom was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI, Tanksley was 1-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI. Daunte DeCello had two hits and scored three times.
IU Southeast will face the winner of the Tennessee Wesleyan-Mount Vernon Nazarene game Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
