Ticker goes here
Notables
Brockport sweeps Cortland
The Brockport pitching duo of Jake Dennstedt and Rob Maxwell held the heavy hitting Red Dragons of Cortland State in check throughout the day, as they kept hitters off balance and guessing as Brockport (10-4, 2-0) swept a doubleheader from Cortland (14-2,0-2) 4-2 and 9-2.
In the first game, it looked to shape up as a great pitching dual, with Brockport's Jake Dennstedt and Cortland's Jimmy Dougher and that is exactly what it was for the first 5 innings. Cortland opened the scoring in the first inning, when they got on the board early with an unearned run. It looked like they might blow the game open in the first as they had the bases loaded with no outs, but Dennstedt got out of the jam with two strikeouts and a pop-up to first base.
Brockport evened the score at one, in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Brent Nickelson hit a ball that just made it over the right field wall for a home run. The ball hit the Cortland outfielder's glove at the same moment that he hit the outfield fence, the impact caused the ball to bounce out of his glove and it dropped over the fence to tie the score. It was first home run allowed by Dougher in his college career on the mound.
Dennstedt responded with his strongest inning of the game, as he retired the Red Dragons meekly in the top of the sixth on a weak come-backer and two swinging strike outs. In the bottom of the inning the Golden eagles came out and scored three more runs, on a Tim Wilson line drive single to right center field and a Tony Shallo home run deep over the right field wall, to take a 4-1 lead.
Cortland came back with a single run of their own in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Nick DiVito, the third consecutive single to open the inning. After a sacrifice bunt to move both the Cortland runners into scoring position, Dennstedt again got out of the trouble by ending the inning with two consecutive strikeouts to keep the score at 4-2.
Dennstedt scattered 7 hits, and had 9 strikeouts as he improved his record to 4-0 on the season. Dougher took the loss for Cortland, allowing just 4 hits while striking out 5; his record is now 4-1 on the season.
In the second game, Cortland looked like they were going to come out of the gate with revenge on their minds, as they took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by Paul Merriweather and Mike Zaccardo. However, Brockport scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to jump out to a 3-2 lead, a lead that they would not relinquish. The three Brockport runs were scored on a throwing error by Cortland's starting pitcher, George Jweid, a sacrifice fly by Jamie Rose and an RBI single by Rob Maxwell.
Cortland threatened to take the lead back from Brockport in the top of the second as they put runners on second and third with one out, but Maxwell got out of the trouble with two strike outs to end the threat. In the bottom of the second, Brockport once again got on the board with four more runs to take a 7-2 lead. The four runs scored on an RBI ground out by Tim Wilson, two runs scored on a throwing error by the Cortland third baseman and the final run of the inning came in on a Seamus Moran RBI single to right.
Brockport tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the 6th inning on and RBI single by Brent Nicholson and a double steal to increase the lead to 9-2.
Maxwell went the final 5 innings holding Cortland scoreless to earn his third win of the season, to put his record at 3-0. He scattered 10 hits, striking out 4. George Jewid took the loss for Cortland, putting his record at 1-1 on the season.
Brent Nicholson went 4 for 4 (2B, RBI) and Mark Morlock was 2 for 3 (2 runs) for Brockport. Sean Caughey was 3 for 3 (2B) for Cortland.
The last time that the Cortland State Red Dragons had lost both ends of a SUNYAC Conference doubleheader was nearly 20 years ago, April 11, 1987 when they were swept by Albany.
In the first game, it looked to shape up as a great pitching dual, with Brockport's Jake Dennstedt and Cortland's Jimmy Dougher and that is exactly what it was for the first 5 innings. Cortland opened the scoring in the first inning, when they got on the board early with an unearned run. It looked like they might blow the game open in the first as they had the bases loaded with no outs, but Dennstedt got out of the jam with two strikeouts and a pop-up to first base.
Brockport evened the score at one, in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Brent Nickelson hit a ball that just made it over the right field wall for a home run. The ball hit the Cortland outfielder's glove at the same moment that he hit the outfield fence, the impact caused the ball to bounce out of his glove and it dropped over the fence to tie the score. It was first home run allowed by Dougher in his college career on the mound.
Dennstedt responded with his strongest inning of the game, as he retired the Red Dragons meekly in the top of the sixth on a weak come-backer and two swinging strike outs. In the bottom of the inning the Golden eagles came out and scored three more runs, on a Tim Wilson line drive single to right center field and a Tony Shallo home run deep over the right field wall, to take a 4-1 lead.
Cortland came back with a single run of their own in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Nick DiVito, the third consecutive single to open the inning. After a sacrifice bunt to move both the Cortland runners into scoring position, Dennstedt again got out of the trouble by ending the inning with two consecutive strikeouts to keep the score at 4-2.
Dennstedt scattered 7 hits, and had 9 strikeouts as he improved his record to 4-0 on the season. Dougher took the loss for Cortland, allowing just 4 hits while striking out 5; his record is now 4-1 on the season.
In the second game, Cortland looked like they were going to come out of the gate with revenge on their minds, as they took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by Paul Merriweather and Mike Zaccardo. However, Brockport scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to jump out to a 3-2 lead, a lead that they would not relinquish. The three Brockport runs were scored on a throwing error by Cortland's starting pitcher, George Jweid, a sacrifice fly by Jamie Rose and an RBI single by Rob Maxwell.
Cortland threatened to take the lead back from Brockport in the top of the second as they put runners on second and third with one out, but Maxwell got out of the trouble with two strike outs to end the threat. In the bottom of the second, Brockport once again got on the board with four more runs to take a 7-2 lead. The four runs scored on an RBI ground out by Tim Wilson, two runs scored on a throwing error by the Cortland third baseman and the final run of the inning came in on a Seamus Moran RBI single to right.
Brockport tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the 6th inning on and RBI single by Brent Nicholson and a double steal to increase the lead to 9-2.
Maxwell went the final 5 innings holding Cortland scoreless to earn his third win of the season, to put his record at 3-0. He scattered 10 hits, striking out 4. George Jewid took the loss for Cortland, putting his record at 1-1 on the season.
Brent Nicholson went 4 for 4 (2B, RBI) and Mark Morlock was 2 for 3 (2 runs) for Brockport. Sean Caughey was 3 for 3 (2B) for Cortland.
The last time that the Cortland State Red Dragons had lost both ends of a SUNYAC Conference doubleheader was nearly 20 years ago, April 11, 1987 when they were swept by Albany.
Permalink | Apr 01, 2007
Wartburg's Danny Broiher scored five runs last weekend against Dubuque.
Wartburg Athletics
By Tim Calderwood
For the third straight season the Iowa Conference will have a different conference schedule format as the league coaches voted in the fall to expand from a 16-game schedule that played two games against every conference opponent to a 24 game schedule featuring three-game series.
The result was starting conference play a week earlier as teams are heading into their second weekend of conference play today. As with any schedule tweak the weather is always going to be an issue, but last weekend 10 of 12 scheduled contests were played with only the Loras-Cornell and Luther-Central series missing contests.
"I think the early fear was that we wouldn't be able to get any games played this early in March," Iowa Conference Commissioner John Cochrane said. "To be able to have 10 contests played I am taking as a positive."
Last season the Iowa Conference crowned three co-champions as Central, Wartburg, and Simpson all finished with identical 11-5 records. The conference is optimistic that the new schedule will enable the conference champion and runner-up to gain an advantage as the league also implemented a policy for the conference tournament that will give the top two teams a first round bye.
"The coaches really wanted to have a regular season champion that meant something," Cochrane said. "I think with the 16-game schedule it wasn't always a real indicator of who your best team was and now that two teams are going to be rewarded with a bye we wanted to make sure that they earned it."
The conference tournament, held every year at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, home of the Midwest League's Cedar Rapids Kernels, has only once in the last five years been won by the regular season champion (Wartburg in 2005). Coe won the tournament last year as the fourth seed after finishing 10-6 in league play. Prior to last season the top seed had been defeated in the first round in consecutive tournaments and last season the number two seed fell in the opening game of the double elimination tournament.
"There really wasn't much of an advantage (to being a top seed) particularly in baseball where the drain on your pitching staff is considerable during the course of three days," Cochrane said. "There were scenarios where it was really no advantage at all in terms of the number of games you had to play and the majority of coaches felt that was something that needed to be addressed. If there was a way to reward those teams for having a successful season then giving them one less game to play was a way to do that."
"A lot of coaches felt like we didn't play each other enough to justify giving a bye," 11th year Wartburg coach Joel Holst said. "As long as weather permits this is going to be a very exciting thing for us."
Proposing a new schedule is one thing, but being able to put it into motion is something completely different. The conference wanted to keep academic conflicts to an absolute minimum while still allowing coaches flexibility in putting together the non-conference schedule.
"There's going to be less class time missed," Holst added. "The academic people on campuses looked at the schedule and said ‘Wow, this is the best it has ever been in terms of missed classes'. With the new format from a coaches perspective one of the few things we'll have to worry about scheduling is the southern trip."
The new format allows for the games to be played over the weekend with a Friday night opening contest and a Saturday doubleheader. Sunday is available for a rain date and in the opening weekend eight games were played on the rain date. The new policy also indicates that if games can't be played during that span they will be lost. With an odd number of teams there also had to be some weekday contests and the conference has two home and home series scheduled during the week.
"We were already losing games in our 16-game schedule," Cochrane said. "When you add eight more games the chances go up but the coaches felt that the tradeoff was worth it. Sure you might not play the full 24 games, but 20, 21, or 22 is still better than 16."
The thing that will make the schedule interesting is that when the conference race heats up there is no control over what games get rained out.
"We're going to do the best that we can to get games in," Holst said. "It's kind of a tough thing but it has always been tough. It's just that now we have a smaller window now to make decisions in."
Still, coaches feel the new format will truly showcase a team's ability over a full season.
"The new schedule is going to be a good way to showcase depth within each program," Loras Head Coach Carl Tebon said.
"It truly tests the pitching staff," Holst said. "At the end of a three-game series you are going to get a pretty good feeling for each team."
Ranked 28th in the nation, Wartburg is again favored to win the conference title after winning at least a share of the past 10. The Knights opened the season by sweeping Dubuque in their three-game set. Loras and Luther also swept their opening series though each was shortened to two contests. The rest of the spring will be a good gauge to see if the new format will open things up in the conference.
For the third straight season the Iowa Conference will have a different conference schedule format as the league coaches voted in the fall to expand from a 16-game schedule that played two games against every conference opponent to a 24 game schedule featuring three-game series.
The result was starting conference play a week earlier as teams are heading into their second weekend of conference play today. As with any schedule tweak the weather is always going to be an issue, but last weekend 10 of 12 scheduled contests were played with only the Loras-Cornell and Luther-Central series missing contests.
"I think the early fear was that we wouldn't be able to get any games played this early in March," Iowa Conference Commissioner John Cochrane said. "To be able to have 10 contests played I am taking as a positive."
Last season the Iowa Conference crowned three co-champions as Central, Wartburg, and Simpson all finished with identical 11-5 records. The conference is optimistic that the new schedule will enable the conference champion and runner-up to gain an advantage as the league also implemented a policy for the conference tournament that will give the top two teams a first round bye.
"The coaches really wanted to have a regular season champion that meant something," Cochrane said. "I think with the 16-game schedule it wasn't always a real indicator of who your best team was and now that two teams are going to be rewarded with a bye we wanted to make sure that they earned it."
The conference tournament, held every year at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, home of the Midwest League's Cedar Rapids Kernels, has only once in the last five years been won by the regular season champion (Wartburg in 2005). Coe won the tournament last year as the fourth seed after finishing 10-6 in league play. Prior to last season the top seed had been defeated in the first round in consecutive tournaments and last season the number two seed fell in the opening game of the double elimination tournament.
"There really wasn't much of an advantage (to being a top seed) particularly in baseball where the drain on your pitching staff is considerable during the course of three days," Cochrane said. "There were scenarios where it was really no advantage at all in terms of the number of games you had to play and the majority of coaches felt that was something that needed to be addressed. If there was a way to reward those teams for having a successful season then giving them one less game to play was a way to do that."
"A lot of coaches felt like we didn't play each other enough to justify giving a bye," 11th year Wartburg coach Joel Holst said. "As long as weather permits this is going to be a very exciting thing for us."
Proposing a new schedule is one thing, but being able to put it into motion is something completely different. The conference wanted to keep academic conflicts to an absolute minimum while still allowing coaches flexibility in putting together the non-conference schedule.
"There's going to be less class time missed," Holst added. "The academic people on campuses looked at the schedule and said ‘Wow, this is the best it has ever been in terms of missed classes'. With the new format from a coaches perspective one of the few things we'll have to worry about scheduling is the southern trip."
The new format allows for the games to be played over the weekend with a Friday night opening contest and a Saturday doubleheader. Sunday is available for a rain date and in the opening weekend eight games were played on the rain date. The new policy also indicates that if games can't be played during that span they will be lost. With an odd number of teams there also had to be some weekday contests and the conference has two home and home series scheduled during the week.
"We were already losing games in our 16-game schedule," Cochrane said. "When you add eight more games the chances go up but the coaches felt that the tradeoff was worth it. Sure you might not play the full 24 games, but 20, 21, or 22 is still better than 16."
The thing that will make the schedule interesting is that when the conference race heats up there is no control over what games get rained out.
"We're going to do the best that we can to get games in," Holst said. "It's kind of a tough thing but it has always been tough. It's just that now we have a smaller window now to make decisions in."
Still, coaches feel the new format will truly showcase a team's ability over a full season.
"The new schedule is going to be a good way to showcase depth within each program," Loras Head Coach Carl Tebon said.
"It truly tests the pitching staff," Holst said. "At the end of a three-game series you are going to get a pretty good feeling for each team."
Ranked 28th in the nation, Wartburg is again favored to win the conference title after winning at least a share of the past 10. The Knights opened the season by sweeping Dubuque in their three-game set. Loras and Luther also swept their opening series though each was shortened to two contests. The rest of the spring will be a good gauge to see if the new format will open things up in the conference.
Permalink | Apr 01, 2007
Ryan Dupic has allowed three runs, one earned, in 25 innings for Buena Vista.
Ryan Dupic threw eight scoreless innings and Buena Vista rallied late to defeat Simpson 5-1 Friday in IIAC action.
Dupic threw eight scoreless innings to lower his earned run average to a minuscule 0.36 as he improved to 2-0 on the year. He struck out five batters and gave up six hits.
With the two teams tied 0-0, Justin List led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left field. After he advanced to third on a wild pitch, he was brought home by Marc Goeders who singled through a drawn-in infield. Buena Vista tacked on four more runs in the eighth. The inning was highlighted by Lance Eddie's fourth home run of the year. Full story
Dupic's one no-decision of the season came against the University of Chicago, in which he threw nine scoreless in a game BVU eventually won 1-0 in 12 innings. He has struck out 16 and walked one on the season.
Elsewhere on Friday, St. Lawrence was three outs from getting swept by No. 13 RPI before the Saints scored 11 runs in the top of the ninth and held on to win, 16-9. Junior catcher Joel Kochan hit a three-run homer to give the Saints (6-4, 4-2 Liberty League) the lead and St. Lawrence tacked on eight more runs.
In the opener, RPI drew a bases-loaded walk to win 2-1.
More from Friday's games in our Press Releases section.
Dupic threw eight scoreless innings to lower his earned run average to a minuscule 0.36 as he improved to 2-0 on the year. He struck out five batters and gave up six hits.
With the two teams tied 0-0, Justin List led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left field. After he advanced to third on a wild pitch, he was brought home by Marc Goeders who singled through a drawn-in infield. Buena Vista tacked on four more runs in the eighth. The inning was highlighted by Lance Eddie's fourth home run of the year. Full story
Dupic's one no-decision of the season came against the University of Chicago, in which he threw nine scoreless in a game BVU eventually won 1-0 in 12 innings. He has struck out 16 and walked one on the season.
Elsewhere on Friday, St. Lawrence was three outs from getting swept by No. 13 RPI before the Saints scored 11 runs in the top of the ninth and held on to win, 16-9. Junior catcher Joel Kochan hit a three-run homer to give the Saints (6-4, 4-2 Liberty League) the lead and St. Lawrence tacked on eight more runs.
In the opener, RPI drew a bases-loaded walk to win 2-1.
More from Friday's games in our Press Releases section.
Permalink | Mar 31, 2007
Bluffton gets season underway
Bluffton memorialized its five fallen players.
By David Rich for D3sports.com
Tony Moore went 3-for-4 for Bluffton, sparking a two-run rally in the third inning with a leadoff double. The game was attended by 2,500 fans and many national media members, including John Walters of NBCSports.com. Check out Walters' column.
It was Bluffton's return to the baseball field for the first time this season, four weeks after the bus crash that killed seven, including five players. The team was en route to Florida for a spring trip that was to feature seven games in five days.
The team exchanged its usual purple and white uniforms for all black, which team members will wear to honor their fallen teammates. Coach James Grandey, whose leg is in a brace and whose jaw is wired shut, wasn't coaching the team but was on hand for the game.
"For the players, it will be a marker that allows them to move on in some ways, but never forget that part of their team isn't with them anymore," Bluffton president James Harder told the Associated Press earlier in the week in a telephone interview. "I think it's the right thing to do."
According to the AP, there was a festive pregame atmosphere, yet there were reminders of the tragedy. Five white crosses hung on the chain-link fence next to the visitors' dugout, and banners with the victims' uniform numbers hung on the outfield fence. David Betts, Scott Harmon, Cody Holp and Tyler Williams all died when the team bus overturned on a highway overpass on March 2; teammate Zach Arend died a week later. A student coach remains hospitalized.
Permalink | Mar 30, 2007
Jake Shandri, Wartburg is named the Hitter of the Week for the second time.
Wartburg Athletics
First baseman Jake Shandri of Wartburg is a repeat winner for NCAA Division III Hitter of the Week, and no-hit hurler Xander Jones of Ohio Wesleyan has been named Pitcher of the Week for March 19-25, 2007, as chosen by representatives of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Shandri hit .684 (13-for-19) with four doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI and nine runs scored in five games during the week. He had a 1.526 slugging percentage and went 10-for-14 in a three-game sweep of Dubuque. In the first game against the Spartans, he was 3-for-6 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in the Knights' 4-3 win. In the second game of the series, the opener of a doubleheader won by Wartburg (12-6), he was 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, seven RBI and four runs scored. In the nightcap, a 15-11 win, he was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Earlier in the week, he went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored as Wartburg was swept by St. Olaf (7-2, 5-4) in the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Shandri, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week, also won national honors Feb. 26-Mar. 4, the first honoree of the season.
Jones, fired a no-hitter to defeat Wittenberg 2-0, helping Ohio Wesleyan complete a sweep of a North Coast Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader on Sunday. Jones' no-hitter was the 10th in Ohio Wesleyan history and the first since Scott Oberschlake no-hit Defiance on March 23, 1994. Jones allowed one baserunner in the game, that coming on a leadoff walk in the second inning, and retired the last 18 batters he faced. He struck out six and walked one while facing only one batter over the minimum. He was the North Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Hitters: Tom Rhein (Elmhurst) - .500 (11-22), 5 home runs, 8 runs, 17 RBI, 1.182 slugging pct.; Mitch Kuczek (Transylvania) - .619 (13-21), 3 doubles, 2 triples, 11 runs, 10 RBI, 5 steals, .952 slugging pct.; Josh Schultheis (St. Olaf) - .625 (10-16), 1 double, 1 home run, 5 runs, 4 RBI, .875 slugging pct.; Nick Fiorelli (Washington & Jefferson) - .667 (12-18), 1 double, 1 home run, 9 runs, 3 RBI, 2 steals, .889 slugging pct.; Cody Goodell (Olivet) - .4571(8-14), 2 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI, .929 slugging pct.; Neal Allar (Amherst) - .482 (14-29), 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 11 runs, 18 RBI, .931 slugging pct.; Steve Bralver (Emory) - .529 (9-17), 5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 runs, 12 RBI, 1.000 slugging pct.
Honorable Mention Pitchers: Jake Gasser (St. Norbert) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.0 ip, 2 cg, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, no-hitter vs. Worcester State; Riley Bosch (St. Thomas MN) - 2-0, 0.51 ERA, 15.1 ip, 14 hits, 9 strikeouts; Fabian Gomez (Rockford) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 16.0 ip, 2 cg, 2 hits, 22 strikeouts; Will Chermak (Austin) - 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 6 hits, 14 strikeouts; Eric Smolin (Western New England) - 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 6 hits, 2 strikeouts; Jason Tomlinson (Muskingum) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts
Shandri hit .684 (13-for-19) with four doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI and nine runs scored in five games during the week. He had a 1.526 slugging percentage and went 10-for-14 in a three-game sweep of Dubuque. In the first game against the Spartans, he was 3-for-6 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in the Knights' 4-3 win. In the second game of the series, the opener of a doubleheader won by Wartburg (12-6), he was 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double, seven RBI and four runs scored. In the nightcap, a 15-11 win, he was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Earlier in the week, he went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored as Wartburg was swept by St. Olaf (7-2, 5-4) in the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Shandri, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week, also won national honors Feb. 26-Mar. 4, the first honoree of the season.
Jones, fired a no-hitter to defeat Wittenberg 2-0, helping Ohio Wesleyan complete a sweep of a North Coast Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader on Sunday. Jones' no-hitter was the 10th in Ohio Wesleyan history and the first since Scott Oberschlake no-hit Defiance on March 23, 1994. Jones allowed one baserunner in the game, that coming on a leadoff walk in the second inning, and retired the last 18 batters he faced. He struck out six and walked one while facing only one batter over the minimum. He was the North Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Honorable Mention Hitters: Tom Rhein (Elmhurst) - .500 (11-22), 5 home runs, 8 runs, 17 RBI, 1.182 slugging pct.; Mitch Kuczek (Transylvania) - .619 (13-21), 3 doubles, 2 triples, 11 runs, 10 RBI, 5 steals, .952 slugging pct.; Josh Schultheis (St. Olaf) - .625 (10-16), 1 double, 1 home run, 5 runs, 4 RBI, .875 slugging pct.; Nick Fiorelli (Washington & Jefferson) - .667 (12-18), 1 double, 1 home run, 9 runs, 3 RBI, 2 steals, .889 slugging pct.; Cody Goodell (Olivet) - .4571(8-14), 2 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI, .929 slugging pct.; Neal Allar (Amherst) - .482 (14-29), 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 11 runs, 18 RBI, .931 slugging pct.; Steve Bralver (Emory) - .529 (9-17), 5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 runs, 12 RBI, 1.000 slugging pct.
Honorable Mention Pitchers: Jake Gasser (St. Norbert) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.0 ip, 2 cg, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, no-hitter vs. Worcester State; Riley Bosch (St. Thomas MN) - 2-0, 0.51 ERA, 15.1 ip, 14 hits, 9 strikeouts; Fabian Gomez (Rockford) - 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 16.0 ip, 2 cg, 2 hits, 22 strikeouts; Will Chermak (Austin) - 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 6 hits, 14 strikeouts; Eric Smolin (Western New England) - 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 6 hits, 2 strikeouts; Jason Tomlinson (Muskingum) - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 ip, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts
Permalink | Mar 29, 2007
St Joseph (Maine) junior shortstop Luke Enman has three home runs in 2007.
St Joseph Athletics
The St. Joseph's baseball team is off to a perfect start in 2007. Coach Will Sanborn is used to his team getting off to strong starts, but this year's team is just one win away from matching the best start in school history. Just six years ago Sanborn saw his 2001 team jump out to an 11-0 start and that team wound up leading the all NCAA divisions in team winning percentage as they finished the regular season with a 36-4 record.
"There are a lot of similarities between the 2001 team and our current squad. Both teams feature dominant offensive performers," said Sanborn. Sanborn notes a contrast in the styles of the two teams: "One difference is that the 2001 squad was known for sheer power, this team is a little more tailored for on-base percentage, running, and the ability to play the short game. However, I think both teams put together a great run at the start of the season because of strong defense and pitching."
The 2007 Monks have some punch in the lineup, featuring seven players with batting averages of .400 or higher, and three more player over .500. Junior catcher Andrew Wood has led the way with a .500 average, 3 doubles and a team high 13 RBI. Classmate Luke Enman has provided the power for SJC with a club leading 3 home runs on the young season to go with a .452 average and 11 RBI of his own. For all his teams, Sanborn stresses solid fundamental play. "We have focused on the running game this year and all our players one through nine, and the assistant coaches, can bunt."
First-year pitching coach J.P. Pyne was a senior captain during the 2001 season. "This year's staff is very deep and balanced. In '01 we only used nine pitchers, which is pretty amazing on its own. Especially when you consider that we have already used 14 different pitchers through 10 games this year." Last year's pitching staff featured 2006 All-American Charlie Furbush, who transferred over the summer to play at LSU and Jack Hughes who graduated last spring. "You don't just replace these guys," said Sanborn.
Stepping into some big shoes are freshmen Kyle Dorr and Andrew Keirstead who are both 2-0 with ERAs under two. Both Pyne and Sanborn praise the leadership qualties of Sam Tupper. "Sam Tupper does a great job leading this group. It's early, so it's tough for me to make comparisons, but I love the way we compete," said Pyne.
The bottom line is that both (this year's and the 2001) teams had the confidence needed to start the season off strong. Both also featured great balance, and the ability to find a way to win on any given day," summed up Sanborn. "2001 was a special team, everything went right, and we just kept winning. Obviously, I'd love to see that happen with this group." One quarter of the way through the season, the 2007 team appears to have the personnel to have an equally memorable campaign. Pyne concluded, "This group will make its own mark. St. Joe's baseball is full of tradition. 2001 is ancient history, it was a lot of fun, but it's the past."
Sanborn said that his unranked Monks "are the best-kept secret in Division III baseball." The secret is out and the future is looking bright for the current edition of the Royal Blue. The Monks resume their schedule on Friday when they travel to Mass-Dartmouth for a non-conference game.
"There are a lot of similarities between the 2001 team and our current squad. Both teams feature dominant offensive performers," said Sanborn. Sanborn notes a contrast in the styles of the two teams: "One difference is that the 2001 squad was known for sheer power, this team is a little more tailored for on-base percentage, running, and the ability to play the short game. However, I think both teams put together a great run at the start of the season because of strong defense and pitching."
The 2007 Monks have some punch in the lineup, featuring seven players with batting averages of .400 or higher, and three more player over .500. Junior catcher Andrew Wood has led the way with a .500 average, 3 doubles and a team high 13 RBI. Classmate Luke Enman has provided the power for SJC with a club leading 3 home runs on the young season to go with a .452 average and 11 RBI of his own. For all his teams, Sanborn stresses solid fundamental play. "We have focused on the running game this year and all our players one through nine, and the assistant coaches, can bunt."
First-year pitching coach J.P. Pyne was a senior captain during the 2001 season. "This year's staff is very deep and balanced. In '01 we only used nine pitchers, which is pretty amazing on its own. Especially when you consider that we have already used 14 different pitchers through 10 games this year." Last year's pitching staff featured 2006 All-American Charlie Furbush, who transferred over the summer to play at LSU and Jack Hughes who graduated last spring. "You don't just replace these guys," said Sanborn.
Stepping into some big shoes are freshmen Kyle Dorr and Andrew Keirstead who are both 2-0 with ERAs under two. Both Pyne and Sanborn praise the leadership qualties of Sam Tupper. "Sam Tupper does a great job leading this group. It's early, so it's tough for me to make comparisons, but I love the way we compete," said Pyne.
The bottom line is that both (this year's and the 2001) teams had the confidence needed to start the season off strong. Both also featured great balance, and the ability to find a way to win on any given day," summed up Sanborn. "2001 was a special team, everything went right, and we just kept winning. Obviously, I'd love to see that happen with this group." One quarter of the way through the season, the 2007 team appears to have the personnel to have an equally memorable campaign. Pyne concluded, "This group will make its own mark. St. Joe's baseball is full of tradition. 2001 is ancient history, it was a lot of fun, but it's the past."
Sanborn said that his unranked Monks "are the best-kept secret in Division III baseball." The secret is out and the future is looking bright for the current edition of the Royal Blue. The Monks resume their schedule on Friday when they travel to Mass-Dartmouth for a non-conference game.
Permalink | Mar 28, 2007
Adam Samson (2-0, 1.35 ERA) has pitched Wooster into the top spot
Wooster Athletics
There was a change of fortunes in the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III Baseball Poll released on Monday. Preseason Number 1 ranked Otterbein (9-4) drops to 27th and formerly 15th-ranked Wooster (15-0) is the new No. 1 team in NCAA division III baseball.
Wooster and third-ranked Cortland State (13-0) are the only undefeated teams in the top 30. Sandwiched in between is second-ranked Chapman (19-3) who moves up from the third spot in the preseason poll. These top three teams split the first place votes with the Wooster, Cortland state receiving three and Chapman with two.
The last of the top ten resembles the bottom of the preseason poll as only one team was ranked in the top 15 in the preseason poll. 2007 University Athletic Association champions Emory (19-3), and previously unranked George Fox (18-1) complete the top five. Augustana (12-1), Kean (6-2), Salisbury (19-3), St Olaf 97-1) and Wheaton (6-5) round out the top ten.
Previous top ten-ranked teams, NC Wesleyan and Montclair State fell out of the newly released poll. Texas-Tyler (23-0) is ineligible for ranking as they are provisional member of Division III.
The complete poll and regional rankings can be found to the left by clicking on "ABCA Baseball Poll" under "News".
Wooster and third-ranked Cortland State (13-0) are the only undefeated teams in the top 30. Sandwiched in between is second-ranked Chapman (19-3) who moves up from the third spot in the preseason poll. These top three teams split the first place votes with the Wooster, Cortland state receiving three and Chapman with two.
The last of the top ten resembles the bottom of the preseason poll as only one team was ranked in the top 15 in the preseason poll. 2007 University Athletic Association champions Emory (19-3), and previously unranked George Fox (18-1) complete the top five. Augustana (12-1), Kean (6-2), Salisbury (19-3), St Olaf 97-1) and Wheaton (6-5) round out the top ten.
Previous top ten-ranked teams, NC Wesleyan and Montclair State fell out of the newly released poll. Texas-Tyler (23-0) is ineligible for ranking as they are provisional member of Division III.
The complete poll and regional rankings can be found to the left by clicking on "ABCA Baseball Poll" under "News".
Permalink | Mar 27, 2007
Northwest Conference Player of the Week Bo Thunell batted .417 this week for George Fox.
George Fox Athletics
With a three game sweep of University of Puget Sound Loggers (9-10-1, 8-4), the George Fox Bruins opened a three game advantage over the rest of the conference this weekend. George Fox is now 18-1 overall, the Bruins' best record after 19 games, and 11-1 in the league.
On Saturday, Bo Thunell drove in six runs in the first game, including the game-winner in the 10th inning, and Chris Albrecht struck out 12 in eight innings of work in the second game, leading the George Fox University Bruins to 8-7 and 6-5 wins over the University of Puget Sound Loggers in a Northwest Conference baseball showdown between the league co-leaders at Morse Field.
Right-hander Preston Langeliers threw a complete-game shutout and designated hitter Matt Wyckoff broke out of a hitting slump with three hits and four runs batted in, propelling the George Fox University Bruins to a 7-0 win and a three-game series sweep of the University of Puget Sound Loggers in Northwest Conference baseball Sunday afternoon here at Morse Field.
The Bruins are led by Head Coach, Pat Bailey, who has compiled a 341-148 record in 12 seasons at George Fox. He was named NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year and West Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association for leading the Bruins to the 2004 NCAA West Region and World Series championships. He is a 7-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year.
The Bruins are dominating the conference statistics as well. They lead the Northwest conference in batting (.372 BA), pitching (2.52 ERA) and fielding (.981 FA). In adding to the overall play, several Bruins are having career years. Bryan Donohue (.518, 20 runs scored), Dan Wentzell (.464, 27 runs, 34 RBI, .826 SLG), and Daniel Downs (.405, 9 2b) are the top three batters midway through the conference schedule. Preston Langeliers (1.60, 5-0) and Nick Bratney (1.70, 5-0) are at the top of the individual pitching leaders.
Drew Johnson with has 14 stolen bases this season, became the all-time stolen base leader at George Fox with 75, surpassing Ryan Munoz (70, 1995-99) Johnson is moving up the list in several offensive categories as he is 1st in steal attempts (88), 2nd in sacrifices (26), 3rd in sacrifice flies (9), 6th in at bats (525), hits (185), and 7th in runs (143). Also moving up the lists with Johnson is Dan Wentzell. Wentzell ranks 3rd in hit by pitches (19), 4th in RBI (144), 5th in home runs (24), total bases (305), 6th in doubles (40), triples (6), and 7th in hits (183).
The Bruins visit Concordia University-Portland Wednesday for a non-conference game at 2 p.m. before going to Tacoma, Wash., Saturday and Sunday for a critical conference series against Pacific Lutheran University.
On Saturday, Bo Thunell drove in six runs in the first game, including the game-winner in the 10th inning, and Chris Albrecht struck out 12 in eight innings of work in the second game, leading the George Fox University Bruins to 8-7 and 6-5 wins over the University of Puget Sound Loggers in a Northwest Conference baseball showdown between the league co-leaders at Morse Field.
Right-hander Preston Langeliers threw a complete-game shutout and designated hitter Matt Wyckoff broke out of a hitting slump with three hits and four runs batted in, propelling the George Fox University Bruins to a 7-0 win and a three-game series sweep of the University of Puget Sound Loggers in Northwest Conference baseball Sunday afternoon here at Morse Field.
The Bruins are led by Head Coach, Pat Bailey, who has compiled a 341-148 record in 12 seasons at George Fox. He was named NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year and West Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association for leading the Bruins to the 2004 NCAA West Region and World Series championships. He is a 7-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year.
The Bruins are dominating the conference statistics as well. They lead the Northwest conference in batting (.372 BA), pitching (2.52 ERA) and fielding (.981 FA). In adding to the overall play, several Bruins are having career years. Bryan Donohue (.518, 20 runs scored), Dan Wentzell (.464, 27 runs, 34 RBI, .826 SLG), and Daniel Downs (.405, 9 2b) are the top three batters midway through the conference schedule. Preston Langeliers (1.60, 5-0) and Nick Bratney (1.70, 5-0) are at the top of the individual pitching leaders.
Drew Johnson with has 14 stolen bases this season, became the all-time stolen base leader at George Fox with 75, surpassing Ryan Munoz (70, 1995-99) Johnson is moving up the list in several offensive categories as he is 1st in steal attempts (88), 2nd in sacrifices (26), 3rd in sacrifice flies (9), 6th in at bats (525), hits (185), and 7th in runs (143). Also moving up the lists with Johnson is Dan Wentzell. Wentzell ranks 3rd in hit by pitches (19), 4th in RBI (144), 5th in home runs (24), total bases (305), 6th in doubles (40), triples (6), and 7th in hits (183).
The Bruins visit Concordia University-Portland Wednesday for a non-conference game at 2 p.m. before going to Tacoma, Wash., Saturday and Sunday for a critical conference series against Pacific Lutheran University.
Permalink | Mar 26, 2007
Augustana hit 3 home runs in 10-8 win against Aurora.
Augustana Athletics
ROCK ISLAND, Illinois – The offense continues to click for the 16th ranked Augustana Vikings baseball team and the result was a 10-8 non-conference victory over Aurora on Sunday, March 25, 2007. For the fourth game in a row and the sixth time this season the 16th ranked Vikings scored in double digits, this time over an Aurora team that advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series a year ago.
Once again it was junior leadoff man Marc Blakeley who led the way. The speedy centerfielder was three for four with two runs scored and two runs-batted-in. After Aurora took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three run home run from first baseman Martin Diaz off Augustana starter Brandon Engle, Blakeley went to work. He homered off the Spartans' Jonathan Turek to lead off the bottom of the first. That is the third time in the last five games that Blakeley has led off the game with a round-tripper. It was his sixth home run of the season.
The Vikings got single runs in the second and third innings to tie the game 3-3 before Aurora touched Engle for two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. Augustana broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a four run outburst. Myles Kurnick led off with a single and went to second on a balk. Tyler Anderson walked and Kurnick went to third and Anderson to second on a sacrifice bunt by Eric Izzo. Blakeley, who had doubled in a run in the second, was walked intentionally to load the bases. Mark Ramos singled home Kurnick and Don Hansen walked to bring in Anderson and tie the game at 5-5. Jake Meisenbach lined a double to left field to score Blakeley and Ramos to make it 7-5.
In the bottom of the sixth Blakeley singled for his third hit of the game and scored on Meisenbach's first home run of the season to make the score 9-5. Hansen hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to bump the advantage to 10-5 heading into the ninth.
Eric Knott had relieved Engle to start the sixth and he got into a little trouble in the ninth and allowed three runs. With one out and runners on first and second with the score 10-8, however, Knott picked Josh Damore off second base for the second out of the inning and got Martin Diaz, who had three hits and three RBI, to fly out to Blakeley to end the game.
Augustana, now 12-1 on the season, had nine hits in the game, including the home runs from Blakeley, Meisenbach and Hansen. In addition, Blakeley and Meisenbach had doubles. Blakeley had three this while Hansen and Meisenbach had two each while Meisenbach collected four RBI.
Engle worked the first five innings and picked up the victory to move his record to 3-0 on the season.
Once again it was junior leadoff man Marc Blakeley who led the way. The speedy centerfielder was three for four with two runs scored and two runs-batted-in. After Aurora took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three run home run from first baseman Martin Diaz off Augustana starter Brandon Engle, Blakeley went to work. He homered off the Spartans' Jonathan Turek to lead off the bottom of the first. That is the third time in the last five games that Blakeley has led off the game with a round-tripper. It was his sixth home run of the season.
The Vikings got single runs in the second and third innings to tie the game 3-3 before Aurora touched Engle for two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. Augustana broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a four run outburst. Myles Kurnick led off with a single and went to second on a balk. Tyler Anderson walked and Kurnick went to third and Anderson to second on a sacrifice bunt by Eric Izzo. Blakeley, who had doubled in a run in the second, was walked intentionally to load the bases. Mark Ramos singled home Kurnick and Don Hansen walked to bring in Anderson and tie the game at 5-5. Jake Meisenbach lined a double to left field to score Blakeley and Ramos to make it 7-5.
In the bottom of the sixth Blakeley singled for his third hit of the game and scored on Meisenbach's first home run of the season to make the score 9-5. Hansen hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to bump the advantage to 10-5 heading into the ninth.
Eric Knott had relieved Engle to start the sixth and he got into a little trouble in the ninth and allowed three runs. With one out and runners on first and second with the score 10-8, however, Knott picked Josh Damore off second base for the second out of the inning and got Martin Diaz, who had three hits and three RBI, to fly out to Blakeley to end the game.
Augustana, now 12-1 on the season, had nine hits in the game, including the home runs from Blakeley, Meisenbach and Hansen. In addition, Blakeley and Meisenbach had doubles. Blakeley had three this while Hansen and Meisenbach had two each while Meisenbach collected four RBI.
Engle worked the first five innings and picked up the victory to move his record to 3-0 on the season.
Permalink | Mar 26, 2007
Brockport derails the Etta Express
Three different players had three hits each as Brockport (8-4) pounded out 17 hits to upend Marietta College (10-4), 8-3 Saturday at Marietta, Ohio.
Jake Dennstedt improved his record to 3-0, as continued his impressive start to the 2007 season with a strong outing against the defending national champions. He scattered 8 hits, while striking out 6 and allowing only 1 run in his 7 innings of work. Nate Eschbaugh (1-1) took the loss for Marietta.
Brockport opened the game with three consecutive hits scoring a single run on an RBI single from SS Tim Wilson, to temporarily quiet a very enthusiastic Marietta crowd. They kept the crowd quiet when they extended that lead to 2-0 in the second inning on a two out RBI double by 1B Rob Maxwell.
The emotional turning point of the game started in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Brockport up 2-0, Marietta opened the fifth by sandwiching two singles around a Dennstedt strikeout. With one out, Marietta's Chase Merryman moved the runners up into scoring position with a ground out to the right side. Finally having runners in scoring position brought the Marrietta crowd back to life! However, the Brockport infield came to Dennstedt's aide when they knocked down a bullet hit down the first baseline, by Marietta's Cameron Cimino, gathered in the ball and flipped it to Dennstadt covering first to end the scoring threat.
The Marietta faithful remained loud and into the game, but Brockport's Jamie Rose once again quieted the crowd when he led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run to put Brockport up 3-0. In the seventh inning Seamus Moran drove in a run to extend the lead to 4-0.
In the Brockport 8th, the Eagles parlayed 4 singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly from Moran, into the four runs giving Brockport a 8-0 lead. The big hit in the inning was a two run single from 2B Mike Meola.
Marietta finally broke the shut out when they pushed a run across in the bottom of the 8th inning. Tony Piconte led off the inning with a double, and eventually scored the only run allowed by Dennstedt on a Brian Wolfe ground out. The Pioneers added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and an unearned run in the ninth to complete the scoring.
Brockport had 17 hits on the day, led by 3 hit outings by Tim Wilson, Mike Meola (each with 2 RBI) and Rob Maxwell (2 doubles, RBI). Marietta's 11 hit attack was led by Tony Piconte with 2 doubles.
Jake Dennstedt improved his record to 3-0, as continued his impressive start to the 2007 season with a strong outing against the defending national champions. He scattered 8 hits, while striking out 6 and allowing only 1 run in his 7 innings of work. Nate Eschbaugh (1-1) took the loss for Marietta.
Brockport opened the game with three consecutive hits scoring a single run on an RBI single from SS Tim Wilson, to temporarily quiet a very enthusiastic Marietta crowd. They kept the crowd quiet when they extended that lead to 2-0 in the second inning on a two out RBI double by 1B Rob Maxwell.
The emotional turning point of the game started in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Brockport up 2-0, Marietta opened the fifth by sandwiching two singles around a Dennstedt strikeout. With one out, Marietta's Chase Merryman moved the runners up into scoring position with a ground out to the right side. Finally having runners in scoring position brought the Marrietta crowd back to life! However, the Brockport infield came to Dennstedt's aide when they knocked down a bullet hit down the first baseline, by Marietta's Cameron Cimino, gathered in the ball and flipped it to Dennstadt covering first to end the scoring threat.
The Marietta faithful remained loud and into the game, but Brockport's Jamie Rose once again quieted the crowd when he led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run to put Brockport up 3-0. In the seventh inning Seamus Moran drove in a run to extend the lead to 4-0.
In the Brockport 8th, the Eagles parlayed 4 singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly from Moran, into the four runs giving Brockport a 8-0 lead. The big hit in the inning was a two run single from 2B Mike Meola.
Marietta finally broke the shut out when they pushed a run across in the bottom of the 8th inning. Tony Piconte led off the inning with a double, and eventually scored the only run allowed by Dennstedt on a Brian Wolfe ground out. The Pioneers added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and an unearned run in the ninth to complete the scoring.
Brockport had 17 hits on the day, led by 3 hit outings by Tim Wilson, Mike Meola (each with 2 RBI) and Rob Maxwell (2 doubles, RBI). Marietta's 11 hit attack was led by Tony Piconte with 2 doubles.
Permalink | Mar 25, 2007