Ripon regained its dominance on the Midwest Conference, defeating Grinnell 13-5 in the MWC Championship Game to claim their 18th MWC Championship in school history and 11th MWC Tournament crown. The Red Hawks pounded out 17 hits, while allowing nine to the Pioneers and overcame four fielding errors to win the Title.

Ripon (24-15) got off to a quick start to the game. After Grinnell stranded two runners in scoring position in the top of the first, Ripon took full advantage in the bottom half of that frame, as Bryant Bullock connected on a lead-off home run over the left field fence. Bullock continued to hurt Grinnell (23-16) in the following inning, singling home two more runners for a 3-0 lead. The Pioneers finally got on the board in the third, scoring an unearned run on a two-out error.

The Red Hawks were able to get more breathing room in the fourth, as Kyle Bosquez scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Whitty and Zach Bayreuther crossed the plate on Nate Paul's third double of the Tournament.

Grinnell wouldn't give up that easily, as they made a game of it with three runs in the top of the sixth. The inning was led off with a single by Brian Sollo, who would later score on a base knock from Matt Skelly. He would later cross the plate on a fielder's choice, before a sacrifice fly by Mike Nodzenski cut Ripon's lead to one.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ripon showed what championship teams are made of, matching the Pioneers with three runs of their own. The first scored when Nick Whitty crossed the plate on a fielder's choice. The big blow in the inning came one batter later when Nick Beaman crushed a two-run homer for his eighth longball of the season and 23rd of his career.

The two teams then traded runs over the next two innings until the bottom of the eighth when Ripon opened the floodgates with the final four runs of the game. The first two batters of the inning drew walks, followed by a Taylor Koth single that loaded the bases. Bosquez and Bayreuther would later leave no doubt about who would win the game, as both drove in a pair of runs with a double to cap the scoring. The final three Grinnell batters were retired in order, sending Ripon and its fans into pandemonium as they clinched the 2010 MWC Championship.

Bullock and John Henrickson led Ripon at the plate with three hits apiece. Koth, Whitty, Bayreuther and Beaman each finished with two hits. Beaman's two hits came via his clutch home run and eighth triple of his career, which ties the school record for a career. On the mound, Jason Wierschke (6-2) picked up the victory, allowing two earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Steven Blader recorded his first save of the season thanks to a two-hit performance in 3.2 innings of relief.

Grinnell was led by Solo, Skelly and Chad Takabuki, who combined for seven of the team's nine hits. Andrew Myers (0-4) suffered the loss as he lasted four innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits.

Aurora may have needed a tiebreaker to get into the Northern Athletics Conference Baseball Tournament, but they proved that it doesn't matter what seed you are as long as you get in. The fourth seeded Spartans swept through the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record after defeating Edgewood 13-3 to win the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

Edgewood (29-15) jumped out early in the game as Tim Barry drove in Jimy Landwehr in the top of the first inning to give the Eagles the 1-0 advantage. In the second inning, the Eagles extended their lead to 2-0 when Scott Ortega stole second and induced a throw, allowing Ryan Walker to steal home.

In the third inning, the Spartans (27-14) evened the score. Anthony Amedei started the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second and moved to third on an error before scoring on a Kirk Williamson groundout. The next batter, Josh Davidson, singled through the left side to score another run and tie the game at two.

With two outs in the fourth inning, Amedei gave Aurora their first lead when he ripped a single through the left side that scored Joe Singraber who doubled earlier in the frame. The Spartans then pushed their lead to four runs after they scored three runs in the fifth inning. The Eagles appeared to take some momentum back in the top of the sixth inning as they cut the lead to 6-3. Steve Binder singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a groundout before moving to third base on a wild pitch. Walker then drove him in with a groundout.

However, Aurora took all the momentum back when they tallied five unearned runs in the bottom half of the frame. Matt Anklam and Matt Mulvaney had big hits in the inning as the both recorded two-run singles. Singrabed sealed the victory with a bases loaded two-run single in the seventh inning as the Spartans took the contest 13-3 in seven innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Singraber paced the way for the Spartan offense as he was 3-for-3 with one run scored and two runs batted in. Tony Wellner and Amedei also recorded two hits in the game as Amedei went 2-for-5 with one run scored and one run batted in while Wellner was 2-for-4 with four runs scored. Stephen Sitterly went the distance on the mound and struck out three while only giving up three runs, two of which were earned.

For the Eagles it was Binder that led the way as he went 2-for-3 with one run scored. He also ended his career at Edgewood on a 17-game hitting streak. Landwehr finished his record breaking season with school records of 80 hits and batting average of .460.

For the Spartans, this will be their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 when they advanced all the way to the Division III World Series.

The eighth-ranked St. Scholastica baseball team won three games and captured its 14th straight UMAC Baseball Tournament Championship on Saturday, but this time around in one of the most thrilling endings in the tournament's 14-year existence.

The Saints (38-6) began the day with an elimination game against Presentation (18-19). The Saints scored their first run of the game when they loaded the bases with two outs and Joe Link was hit by a pitch to force in Sean Claugherty. Chad Peterson added a RBI-single in the second to make it 2-0 CSS after two innings.

The Saints added to their lead in the top of the sixth, plating four runs. Chad Peterson had a two-run triple to get the scoring started. Steve Gerten and Paul Kolodge followed with RBI-single to make it 6-0.

After being held hitless for the first five innings, Presentation got a run across in the sixth and then plated three in the eighth to make it 6-4.

Presentation then loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. After a fielder's choice cut the lead to 6-5, Presentation had runners on first and second with one out. CSS's Jake Nystrom then induced a fly out to right to make it two outs. Presentation then drew a walk to load the bases again. However, Nystrom would get the final batter to strikeout to end the game 6-5 as the Saints stayed alive.

David Barningham earned the win for the Saints. He went 7.1 innings pitched and allowed just four hits. Nystrom earns his second save of the year. Kolodge was 3-for-4 with a RBI to lead the St. Scholastica offense.

In the first championship game against Bethany Lutheran (29-11), the Vikings capitalized off of a St. Scholastica error in the first to take a 1-0 lead.

That score held up until the top of the fifth and Andy Manos drove in two on a single through the left side to make it 2-1 Saints.

In the sixth inning, Brandon Peterson drew a bases-loaded walk, Manos was then hit by a pitch to force in another run, and Chad Peterson had an infield RBI-single to make it 5-1 St. Scholastica.

Link drove in another run in the seventh to extend the margin to 6-1. The Saints tacked on one more in the eighth when Kyle Flagstad scored on a wild pitch to make the final score 7-1 as the Saints forced a winner-take-all game.

David Vogelgesang did not allow a earned run in the contest as he struck out seven and scattered six hits to earn the complete-game win. Chad Peterson and Joe Link each had three hits to lead the St. Scholastica offense.

In the winner-take-all game, the Vikings scored a run in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Saints added a run in the bottom of the second with a Manos RBI-single to make it 2-1.

The Saints took the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs in the inning. Scott Greening got the scoring started with a three-run double to left center. Brandon Peterson followed with a RBI-single.

The Vikings responded and scored a run in the sixth and would tie the game in the eighth, getting two across in the inning. Neither team would score in the ninth inning, which meant the UMAC Tournament title would be decided in extra innings.

Bethany struck right of way in the top of the 10th, plating two runs in the inning. The Vikings then went to their ace Cody Hallahan to close the game out in the bottom half. Hallahan earned the complete-game victory against the Saints last night, throwing over 140 pitches.

Hallahan did not look fatigued early, striking out the first two batters, which meant the Saints were down to their last out with nobody on base. However, Brandon Peterson took the first pitch he saw and singled to right field. Andy Manos followed and took the first pitch he saw to right field and both runners moved up to second and third after the right fielder mishandled it.

Brian Marshik then came to the plate and was down to his final strike. He would put the ball in play and it snuck through the left side to score both Peterson and Manos to tie the game as we went to the 11th inning.

After the Vikings went down in order in the top half, Kolodge and Link started the bottom half with back-to-back singles. Greening then sacrificed both runners over. After an intentional walk, the bases were loaded with one out. Griffin Bell then came to the plate in a pinch-hitter role and drilled a ball off the center field wall to drive in Kolodge to give the Saints an 8-7 walk-off victory.

Kyle Jensen pitched the final inning for the Saints to earn his first collegiate victory. Marshik, Kolodge, and Manos all had three hits to lead the Saints offensively.

Rose-Hulman advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third consecutive season with a 20-8 victory over Manchester in the championship game of the HCAC Tournament on Saturday. The Fightin' Engineers rebounded after falling 13-9 in the Saturday opener which forced a second championship game. Rose-Hulman earned the extra chance at the tournament title after defeating Manchester 10-9 in 11 innings on Friday.

Rose-Hulman broke open the championship game with 10 runs in the eighth inning to turn a 10-1 lead into a 20-1 advantage. Manchester scored once in the eighth and six times in the ninth to close within the final margin.

Seniors Keenan Long and Tim Tepe shared HCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors for Rose-Hulman. Long finished 10-19 with two doubles, two triples, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored over the four-game tournament. Tepe compiled a 10-20 weekend with eight runs scored, four doubles, one triple and one home run.

Derek Dauenbaugh, Andrew Oakley and Chris Stemple joined the duo on the all-tournament squad. Dauenbaugh had a team-high 11 hits and scored three runs. Oakley finished 2-0 with one save to play a hand in all three victories, allowing one run in 9.1 innings of work. Stemple batted .474 with nine hits, nine runs scored and two doubles on the weekend.

The championship game featured Rose-Hulman scoring five runs in the third inning and five more runs in the fourth to build an early 10-1 lead. The Engineers then smashed 10 consecutive hits to start the eighth inning and score 10 runs to put the game out of reach.

Kirk Thompson provided the big blast in the third inning to start the offensive effort. Thompson launched a three-run home run and smashed four hits with a career-high five runs batted in to lead the attack.

The eighth inning rally featured 10 straight hits by 10 different players to secure the tournament title. The effort featured six singles, three doubles and one triple in succession as the Engineers took advantage of a Spartans bullpen that had to battle through five total games during the three days of tournament play.

Rose-Hulman players with three hits on the day included Chandler Kent with three singles and three runs scored; Stemple with two singles, one double, four RBIs and three runs scored; and Long with a single, double and triple along with four RBIs.

Other Engineers with multiple hits included Dauenbaugh with a double, single, one run and one RBI; Tepe with two singles, two runs scored and two RBIs; Donald Stopka with two singles; and Kreigh Williams with two singles and two runs scored.

The total offensive included 24 hits, and for the weekend Rose-Hulman smashed a total of 79 hits at a .422 clip for four games.

The effort made a winner of Oakley, who tossed a strong 6.2 innings to earn his second win of the weekend. The right-hander allowed four hits and pitched around six walks but allowed just one run to improve to 6-1 on the season. He tossed 2.1 scoreless innings to claim a win over Manchester on Friday.

In the opener on Saturday, Manchester overcame a fast start by Rose-Hulman to claim a 13-9 victory. Rose-Hulman scored four runs in the first and three in the second, but Manchester answered with five runs in the second and five in the third to gain control of the contest.

Brett Smalley tossed 3 2/3 innings to pick up the victory, and Curtis Mallery tossed four scoreless innings for his second save to secure a Manchester spot on the all-tournament team for his efforts.

Offensively, Kaz Kalita led Manchester with four hits and scored two runs. Ty Foster blasted a grand slam and had five RBIs for the Spartans.

For Rose-Hulman, Tepe smashed two doubles and a triple with four RBIs and two runs scored to lead the offense in game one. Dauenbaugh contributed three hits and one run to the performance.

With the victory, Rose-Hulman advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third consecutive year and has won its second straight HCAC Tournament championship. The Engineers received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2008.

Thomas More captured its first-ever Presidents' Athletic Conference Baseball Championship

Thomas More defeated top-seeded and 21st-ranked Washington and Jefferson in back-to-back games Saturday at Ross Memorial Park. The Saints (31-14) won game one in dramatic fashion, posting a 6-5 come-from-behind victory in 13 innings, before tallying a 2-1 triumph in the nightcap.

Thomas More earned the PAC's automatic bid into the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament, while the Presidents (32-10) will now wait to see if they are granted one of the 15 possible at-large Pool C bids into the field of 55.

The Presidents entered the ninth inning of game one with a 5-0 lead, but the Saints mounted a comeback and scored five runs on seven hits to force extra innings. After the two squads played three scoreless extra innings, Thomas More scored an unearned run in the top of the 13th inning.

W&J opened game one with three runs in the top of the first after Jim Pasquine, Frank Quirin and Neil Pascarella connected on consecutive run-scoring hits.

The Presidents tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI double from senior third baseman Mike Kennedy and went ahead 5-0 after senior catcher Mark Thomchick drove in a run in the seventh.

Pat Kennedy was sharp on the mound for the Red & Black as he carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He earned the no-decision after allowing three earned runs on six hits in 8 1/3 innings of work. Sophomore right-hander Dave Trushel suffered the loss on the mound after allowing three runs on six hits in the final 4 2/3 innings.

Thomas More sent seven different pitchers to the mound with senior right-hander Kyle Wewe picking up his first victory of the season after throwing seven scoreless innings to close out the game.

Pascarella, Mike Kennedy and junior centerfielder Andy Trettel each collected three hits in game one, while Sam Schmeltzer paced the Saints with three hits and two runs scored.

The Saints jumped ahead early in game two as they scored a run in the bottom of the first inning. The Presidents, who tied the score in the third following an unearned run, had a number of early scoring chances in game two, but saw four of their first six innings end via a double play.

Thomas More scored the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Max Robbins.

David Etscheid improved to 3-2 on the season after throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings, while Wewe again took the ball in game two and earned the save after recording the final four outs. Junior right-hander Jordan Zivoder suffered the loss after allowing two earned runs on six hits in three innings.

Mike Kennedy and Pasquine both tallied two hits in game two, while David Kennett and Nick Ryan also added two hits apiece for the Saints.

It may have taken two games on Saturday, but that was fine with head coach John Vodenlich and the rest of Warhawks as they defeated UW-Stevens Point 5-3 in the first game and 6-2 in the second game to capture the WIAC tournament title for the first time since 2004. With the tournament title, the Warhawks earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III baseball tournament beginning next week. The Warhawks lost a game in the double-elimination tournament that began on Friday while the Pointers did not, thus the teams had to play two games on Saturday since Whitewater won the first.

The Warhawks had to come from behind in the first game to force a final, winner-take-all championship game. The Pointers leadoff batter, Brad Archambeau, homered in the bottom of the first for the first run of the game. Stevens Point proceeded to load the bases with just one out, but starting pitcher Jason Hooper retired the final two batters to escape with minimal damage. UW-SP added one more in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Eric Fritz.

The Warhawks cut into the Pointer lead with a run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice bunt by Jordan Stine that scored Matt Beyer.

The pitching duel between Hooper and Tyler Lorenz continued until the top of the eighth when UW-Whitewater took a 5-2 lead. Daniel Putnam hit a two-RBI single and Ben Kuhlmann hit a two-run homer to account for the four runs.

The Pointers looked to mount a rally in the top of the eighth and win their sixth straight WIAC tournament title, but Warhawk relief pitcher Ben Versnik had something to say about it. UW-Stevens Point started the inning with an out but followed with a single and walk and soon after both runners advanced to second and third on a Jason Hooper wild pitch. The next batter, Sam Spurney, singled through the left side to score a run. That's when Versnik stepped in. With runners at the corners he walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but got the next batter to ground into a double play to end the inning.

After the Warhawks couldn't pad their lead in the top of the ninth, Versnik stayed on to finish the game getting the Pointers to go 1-2-3 to earn his seventh save of the season.

The second game started in favor of the host school with UW-Whitewater taking a 1-0 lead after one scoring an unearned run on a Putnam single. The Warhawks added two more in the bottom of the second to stretch their lead to 3-0. The first run was scored on a balk and the second was scored on another Putnam single.

The Pointers slashed the Warhawk lead to one after the top of the fifth inning scoring one run on a balk and another on a single.

Stine doubled in Nick Rechlitz after his leadoff bunt in the bottom of the seventh to give UW-Whitewater a 4-2 lead. Putnam followed with another bunt that was intended to move Stine to third, but he executed it so well he got a hit out of it. Jeff Donovan followed with a single through the right side to drive in Stine and give UW-Whitewater a three-run lead. The inning continued with another bunt, this time a sacrifice by Kuhlmann, to advance the runners to second and third. Rob Coe, who was hit by a pitch twice earlier in the game, was intentionally walked to load the bases and set-up the double play. Mike Kenseth played into the Pointer's hands by hitting to the shortstop to start what should have been a 6-4-3 double play, but the second baseman couldn't make the turn quick enough and another run scored. The inning ended with the Warhawks holding a 6-2 advantage.

The Pointers threatened in the top of the eighth with runners on second and third and one out, but Donovan retired the final two batters with a strikeout and a foul out to preserve the four run lead.

Riley Tincher, who pitched UW-Whitewater's first game against UW-Stevens Point on Friday, came on in relief to snuff out any sign of a Pointer comeback and earned the save.

Donovan pitched eight and a third innings to earn the victory and improves to 4-0 this season. He also went 1-for-3 at the plate with one RBI.

Brian Koehl threw his first collegiate shut out to help lead nationally ranked Heidelberg to a sweep of the OAC Baseball titles in 2010. Koehl threw a five-hit shutout and struck out five in a 9-0 victory over no. 2 seeded, and 17th ranked, Marietta in the championship game of the 2010 OAC Baseball Tournament. It was the third straight year that Heidelberg and Marietta met in the finals, and Heidelberg has came out on top in all three meetings.

With the tournament title, Heidelberg earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Regionals that will begin on Wednesday, May 19. Heidelberg will learn its opponent on Monday when the NCAA announces the official field. Heidelberg will be making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Regionals (2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010).

The tournament championship marked the third consecutive sweep of OAC hardware for the Heidelberg. Over the course of the last three seasons, both the OAC Regular Season and tournament trophies have found a home on the Heidelberg campus. In the history of the program, Heidelberg has won five league regular season titles (2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010).

"Throughout the tournament we played well," said Matt Palm, 11th-year Heidelberg head coach. "Our pitching staff stepped up, as well as our defense to lead us to the championship on our home field. Our line up is coming together from top to bottom and now is the time for us to continue to play our best baseball."

Heidelberg came out of the gates with a run in each of the first two innings off a ground out from Brechun and an RBI triple by Elvin Williams.

Its 2-0 lead would hold over three scoreless innings on both sides. Heidelberg came alive in the sixth to plate five runs off, of four hits, and a Marietta miscue. With one out and one on, Derek Andrzejczak got the scoring going with an RBI single up the middle to plate Alex Monroe. Williams followed suit with an RBI single before Richardo Lizcano drew a walk to load the bases for a two RBI single to center field by Steve Decker. Lizcano would eventually round the bases to score the fifth run of the inning off a fielding error by first base.

Heidelberg added a run each in the seventh and eighth innings for the eventual 9-0 win. In the seventh, Andrzejczak had an RBI double to center field, while Lizcano closed out the scoring with a lead off, first pitch, solo home run to right field in the eighth.

For the game, Heidelberg finished with 15 hits. Monroe went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a walk. Gar Keen also tallied three hits, while Lizcano, Decker, Williams and Andrzejczak had two apiece. Decker, Andrzejczak and Williams each had two RBI.

For his efforts on the mound in the title game, Koehl was tabbed the Most Valuable Player. It is the second time in three years that a member of the Heidelberg pitching staff has picked up the MVP award. Joining Koehl on the All-Tournament Team was pitcher Ethan Holt, second baseman Keen, third baseman Willie Brechun, shortstop Jason Lash, and outfielders Monroe and Lizcano.

Keystone is back in familiar territory, as for the third consecutive year the Giants are heading back to the NCAA Division III baseball championships and for the second consecutive year the CSAC baseball title is back in La Plume as the Giants downed Gwynedd-Mercy 4-1 in the conference title game at Bear Stadium to take the crown and the automatic NCAA berth.

Senior Sean Murphy turned in a stellar performance on the mound, tossing eight innings of five hit ball and striking out six. Fellow senior Eric Groff picked up the Most Outstanding Player honors for the championships.

Groff capped off his tournament with a three-for-five day at the plate, scoring once, while Esteban Meletiche picked up a pair of hits.

As has been the standard during the CSAC Championships, the Giants struck early by pushing across two in the bottom of the first. Keystone loaded the bases on singles by Meletiche and Groff and a catcher's interference call. Two runners came around to score when the Griffins couldn't handle an Angel Fargas ground ball on the left side of the infield. The Giants failed to post a big inning as the Griffins worked out of the inning with no further damage.

Keystone added to their lead with a single run in the second when Angel Fargas drew a two-out bases loaded walk.

After the Griffins got on the board with a run in the third, both teams put up three scoreless innings as the pitching took over in the middle innings. Both teams had two out chances to score but could not capitalize until Keystone extended the lead in the sixth to 4-1 on a one out single by Yazy Arbello.

Gwynedd-Mercy tried to put a dent in Murphy's armor in the eighth as the first two batters reached safely. However, the senior hurler set down the next three hitters in order to squash the Griffins rally. Victor Lara picked up the save by throwing a perfect ninth, ending the game via the strikeout.

The Giants will now await what regional they will be assigned to for the upcoming national tournament.