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Heidelberg Wins Second OAC Touranment Title
May 10, 2008
Press Release posted by Heidelberg Permalink
It would take two-straight victories over second seeded Marietta College on the championship day of the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament for the nationally-ranked and number one seeded Heidelberg College baseball team to claim the program’s second OAC Tournament Title. And that is exactly what took place. The Berg opened the day with a 5-3 win to force a deciding game of the four-team double elimination tournament hosted by Heidelberg at Peaceful Valley, the home of ’Berg Baseball. In the end, Heidelberg posted a 9-8 win in the deciding game to add a league tournament title to its 2004 championship. For the year Heidelberg stands at 37-8, while Marietta concludes is season at 23-20.
The tournament championship earns Heidelberg, ranked ninth in the nation by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and 17th by D3baseball.com, an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Regionals, which begins with Mideast Regional Play at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. May 14. The program will be making its second trip to the NCAA Regionals, both coming under the guidance of head coach Matt Palm.
Heidelberg’s tournament championship is coupled with its regular season title, marking the first time that the Berg has claimed both trophies in one season. Previously Heidelberg won the regular season in 2003 and 2007. It was the third-time overall that Heidelberg has had the honor of hosting the OAC Tournament.
“Winning both the regular season and tournament championships is a big step for the program,” stated Palm. “We knew heading into the tournament that we could not take anything for granted playing on our home field. The third time was the charm for us. It was great to win it at home and it was great to see all the support that we received from our parents and fans.”
For the tournament, Heidelberg placed six players on the all-tournament team led by Most Valuable Player freshman pitcher Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll). Lowe emerged from the Berg bullpen in four games over the tournament and picked up two victories and two saves. Joining Lowe on the all-tournament team was junior first baseman Biagio Boytim (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick), freshman second baseman Gar Keen (Fredericktown, Ohio / Highland), freshman third baseman Willie Brechun (Clinton, Ohio / Canton Central Catholic), and junior outfielders Matt Grassley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and Jeremy Wentworth (Johnstown, Ohio / St. Charles).
The Berg broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with five runs off of four hits and three Marietta miscues. The inning opened up with a Grassley ground-rule double to center field. Boytim then followed with a home run to left field to give Heidelberg its first lead of the game. Brechun reached the base paths on a Marietta error and scored on a Steve Decker (Maumee, Ohio / Springfield) double down the left field line. Heidelberg scored its final two runs in the inning on a Cody James (Belle Center, Ohio / Benjamin Logan) two RBI single. Scoring on the play was Decker along with Wentworth, who reached on an error.
Marietta plated three runs in the sixth to pull within two runs, 7-5. After a scoreless seventh inning on both sides, things began to get interesting. The Berg plated two runs in the top half of the eighth off of another two RBI single from James. In the bottom half of the inning, with two on and one out a pitching change for the Berg brought Lowe to the mound. Lowe’s first batter he faced reached on a Heidelberg miscue to load the bases. The Pioneers then plated a run after a bases loaded walk and scored another run off a ’Berg error in the inning to pull within 9-8. Following its score on the Berg error, Marietta had Justin Merryman on third, who attempted to steal home when a ball got away from Decker. Lowe took the throw from Decker at the plate and tagged out the sliding Merryman to end the inning.
Heidelberg could not tag on any insurance runs in the top of the ninth as they only had three at bats. Marietta once again threatened to overtake the scoreboard. The Pioneers had runners on the corners and one out, but Heidelberg’s Lowe forced Brennan Cribbins into a double play to end the game and give Heidelberg the title.
Earning the start and throwing 5.2 innings to earn the win on the mound was freshman Brian Koehl (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview). Koehl gave up seven hits and four earned run, while striking out one. Lowe picked up his sixth save on the year after throwing the final 1.2 innings. Lowe gave up one hit and one run.
Offensively Heidelberg pounded 15 hits. Leading the way was Wentworth with a 3-for-5 outing with three runs scored and Andrew Buelow (Marysville, Mich. / Marysville) with a 3-for-4 game with a run scored and a RBI. Wentworth’s three hits increased his season hit total to 77, which ties the single-season record. Wentworth tied Frank Balogh’s record from the 2000 season. Earlier this year Wentworth overtook the single-season record book for triples in a season at seven, topping the previous mark of four held by seven different players. Also picking up multiple hits in the game was James, Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville) and Decker. Decker also scored twice in the win. James knocked in a team-high four runs.
The tournament championship earns Heidelberg, ranked ninth in the nation by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and 17th by D3baseball.com, an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Regionals, which begins with Mideast Regional Play at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. May 14. The program will be making its second trip to the NCAA Regionals, both coming under the guidance of head coach Matt Palm.
Heidelberg’s tournament championship is coupled with its regular season title, marking the first time that the Berg has claimed both trophies in one season. Previously Heidelberg won the regular season in 2003 and 2007. It was the third-time overall that Heidelberg has had the honor of hosting the OAC Tournament.
“Winning both the regular season and tournament championships is a big step for the program,” stated Palm. “We knew heading into the tournament that we could not take anything for granted playing on our home field. The third time was the charm for us. It was great to win it at home and it was great to see all the support that we received from our parents and fans.”
For the tournament, Heidelberg placed six players on the all-tournament team led by Most Valuable Player freshman pitcher Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll). Lowe emerged from the Berg bullpen in four games over the tournament and picked up two victories and two saves. Joining Lowe on the all-tournament team was junior first baseman Biagio Boytim (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick), freshman second baseman Gar Keen (Fredericktown, Ohio / Highland), freshman third baseman Willie Brechun (Clinton, Ohio / Canton Central Catholic), and junior outfielders Matt Grassley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and Jeremy Wentworth (Johnstown, Ohio / St. Charles).
The Berg broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with five runs off of four hits and three Marietta miscues. The inning opened up with a Grassley ground-rule double to center field. Boytim then followed with a home run to left field to give Heidelberg its first lead of the game. Brechun reached the base paths on a Marietta error and scored on a Steve Decker (Maumee, Ohio / Springfield) double down the left field line. Heidelberg scored its final two runs in the inning on a Cody James (Belle Center, Ohio / Benjamin Logan) two RBI single. Scoring on the play was Decker along with Wentworth, who reached on an error.
Marietta plated three runs in the sixth to pull within two runs, 7-5. After a scoreless seventh inning on both sides, things began to get interesting. The Berg plated two runs in the top half of the eighth off of another two RBI single from James. In the bottom half of the inning, with two on and one out a pitching change for the Berg brought Lowe to the mound. Lowe’s first batter he faced reached on a Heidelberg miscue to load the bases. The Pioneers then plated a run after a bases loaded walk and scored another run off a ’Berg error in the inning to pull within 9-8. Following its score on the Berg error, Marietta had Justin Merryman on third, who attempted to steal home when a ball got away from Decker. Lowe took the throw from Decker at the plate and tagged out the sliding Merryman to end the inning.
Heidelberg could not tag on any insurance runs in the top of the ninth as they only had three at bats. Marietta once again threatened to overtake the scoreboard. The Pioneers had runners on the corners and one out, but Heidelberg’s Lowe forced Brennan Cribbins into a double play to end the game and give Heidelberg the title.
Earning the start and throwing 5.2 innings to earn the win on the mound was freshman Brian Koehl (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview). Koehl gave up seven hits and four earned run, while striking out one. Lowe picked up his sixth save on the year after throwing the final 1.2 innings. Lowe gave up one hit and one run.
Offensively Heidelberg pounded 15 hits. Leading the way was Wentworth with a 3-for-5 outing with three runs scored and Andrew Buelow (Marysville, Mich. / Marysville) with a 3-for-4 game with a run scored and a RBI. Wentworth’s three hits increased his season hit total to 77, which ties the single-season record. Wentworth tied Frank Balogh’s record from the 2000 season. Earlier this year Wentworth overtook the single-season record book for triples in a season at seven, topping the previous mark of four held by seven different players. Also picking up multiple hits in the game was James, Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville) and Decker. Decker also scored twice in the win. James knocked in a team-high four runs.