No.20 Eagles bop DMACC in regional semifinals

The top-seeded Kirkwood Eagles defeated DMACC, 13-4, in the semifinals of the regional baseball tournament Friday at the Plaster Athletic Complex.

The 20th-ranked Eagles (37-19) face Iowa Central (34-21) in the winners' bracket finals Saturday at 2 p.m.

Friday's game was tied, 4-4, heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Kirkwood scored four times in the sixth for an 8-4 lead, then tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game by the eight-run mercy rule.

Alex Pendergast belted a two-run, walk-off homer to end the contest.

Tyler Tscherter (5-1) pitched two shutout innings in relief of Reece Beuter for the victory.

Josh Fitzgerald and Justin Martinez also hit home runs for Kirkwood. Martinez was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs. Pendergast was 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBIs. Fitzgerald was 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs. Trevor Burhkart had two hits and Chase Moseley drove in two runs.

The Eagles will face Iowa Central at 2 pm, Saturday, as the championship tournament continues through the weekend.