Pat Coleman and Jim Dixon wrap up Day 3 from the 2018 Division III World Series.



GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - Day 3 at the Division III World Series featured a 13-inning elimination game that refused to die, an inside-the-park homer, and two teams forcing an extra game apiece on Monday.

Riley Schaefer's bat finally came alive for TLU on Sunday.

Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen, d3photography.com

Swarthmore took Texas Lutheran to 13 innings before the Bulldogs pushed across a run to terminate the Garnet's unlikely postseason run. Randolph-Macon right fielder Rick Spiers smacked a ball to the deepest part of the ballpark and never stopped running, staking his team to a 4-0 lead. And the night ended with a battle of bullpen attrition in Bracket 2.

Randolph-Macon qualified to play for a second time on Sunday by defeating Misericordia 14-6 in the day's opener, Game 9 of the tournament. Cole Migliorini launched a two-run homer in the first inning to get the day started for the Yellow Jackets, then added a two-run double in the sixth inning as Randolph-Macon plated eight runs. The Yellow Jackets then came back later in the afternoon and jumped on UT-Tyler, with Rick Spiers clearing the bases with a three-run, inside-the-park homer to cap a four-run rally in the third inning. Michael Zubovich threw a complete game in the 6-1 victory.

The win meant that Randolph-Macon and Texas-Tyler come back to play one more time on Monday, with the winner advancing to play in the best-of-three D-III Championship Series, which is slated to begin Tuesday.

Texas Lutheran did the exact same thing coming out of Bracket 2, as the Bulldogs went 13 innings to eliminate Swarthmore, then handed Concordia-Chicago its first loss of the tournament to force the Cougars to come back on Tuesday as well. Riley Schaefer, the All-American center fielder who had struggled the first two games of the tournament, finally got the hit he needed to break the school's single-season record, then followed it with a 13th-inning single to bring home Andrew Whitten and give the Bulldogs a 3-2 win. Schaefer had another great game in the night's final game, going 2-for-5 with three RBI. But the final go-ahead RBI belonged to catcher Spencer Brandt. After drawing the initials KB4 in the dirt next to the batter's box, he smacked a single through the drawn-in infield to break a 6-6 tie in the top of the ninth. TLU went on to defeat Concordia-Chicago 9-7.

Similar to Bracket 1, Bracket 2 will come down to the winner-take-all game before TLU or CUC advances to the D3CS.

On Monday, Randolph-Macon and UT-Tyler will meet at noon Central, which Texas Lutheran and Concordia-Chicago to follow.