MONMOUTH, Ill. - They say baseball is a game of inches, and the Monmouth College Fighting Scots found that out the hard way Saturday afternoon at Glasgow Field in a 10-7, 14-inning loss to Carthage College in NCAA regional action.

On two consecutive pitches with two outs in the top of the seventh, Monmouth starter Joe Larkins thought he had the Redmen’s Dennis Jackson out on strikes to preserve a 7-3 lead. Although Larkins twice headed for the dugout, both pitches were ruled to be narrowly out of the zone, and Jackson then singled to keep the inning alive. The next batter, Justin Hallock, hit a three-run homer to put Carthage right back in the contest.

Still clinging to the 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth, the Scots were in the field with one out and runners on first and third. Pinch-hitter Pat Goin lined a hard grounder to second that could have been a game-ending double play, but it was bobbled, and Monmouth had to settle for just one out at first, allowing the tying run to score.

Both teams then got very stingy on the hill, particularly Carthage and its star relief pitcher, Brandon Roth, who worked six scoreless innings to get the win. His Redmen produced the game winning runs in the top of the 14th, as two Monmouth errors led to three tallies, one of them unearned. Kyle Mallon had an RBI single to drive in the second run of the frame.

Hallock was a hero for the Redmen with his 5-for-7 day and several fine plays at third base, while Monmouth’s Beau Hellman belted a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth that staked the Scots to a 7-3 lead.

Carthage (33-9) now advances to the championship game at 3 p.m. Sunday against the winner of Sunday’s 11 a.m. game between Monmouth (25-12) and Aurora University (34-5). Aurora eliminated Wartburg 10-2 in Saturday’s early game, ending the Knights’ season at 29-15.

Aurora leadoff hitter Jack Dime was 3-for-6 with three RBI, and teammate Brian Brandenburg was 2-for-5 and drove in two. Brian Dolewski’s two-run single in the top of the fourth made it a 5-1 game, and the Spartans never looked back. AU ace Josh Paddock worked eight innings on the hill and improved to 8-0.

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