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Zahn, Yurkovich claim titles
Gassaway wins D-III title
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Bruins national champions |
The baseball team defeats East Conneticut State in
the second game of the finals Tuesday |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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APPLETON, Wis. - George Fox University is the top Division III
baseball squad in the nation.
The Bruins needed to win one of two games against Eastern
Connecticut State to capture the title and got it when it defeated
the Warriors 6-3 Tuesday afternoon. The Bruins third game against
Connecticut was precipitated by a 12-7 loss to the Warriors earlier
in the day.
The Bruins reached the World Series tournament by way of a
Northwest Conference at-large berth and by winning the west regional
title in California the week prior.
The title game saw a match-up of first team All-American pitchers
Scott Hyde of George Fox and Ryan DiPietro of Eastern Connecticut.
Each had a complete-game victory on the first day of the tournament,
then worked two innings and got wins in relief Monday.
In the finale, it was simply a question of which ace could hang on
the longest. In the end, it was Hyde who survived, going the
distance to notch the win and end the season with a 14-1 record. He
scattered five hits, struck out 13 and walked two in what will
likely be his last college game as he is expected to be taken in the
Major League draft.
Hyde ended the year with 191 strikeouts, the second-best total in a
single season in D-III history, and raised his career total to 395,
the third-most ever at the D-III level.
“God touched his arm tonight,” said coach Pat Bailey.
George Fox struck first in the final game in the top of the second
inning. Greg Dombek dropped a one-out single into right
and scored on Derrick Jones’ double off the fence in right. Jones
then scored when shortstop Tom Koch threw away Tye Tinner’s slow
roller to short.
The Warriors tied it in the bottom half as Marc Garofalo singled to
center with one out and scored on a triple by Randy Re which center
fielder Drew Johnson just missed on a diving catch; Re scored on
Zach Mehrbach’s sacrifice fly to center.
The Bruins regained the lead in the third as Stephen Donohue
singled up the middle, moved up on a sacrifice and a passed ball,
and scored on Greg Dombek’s two-out single through the left side.
The Warriors’ Dwight Wildman slugged his fourth home run of the
tournament in the bottom half to knot the score again. DiPietro
finally ran out of gas as the Bruins scored twice in the fourth,
pinning him with his first loss after 11 wins.
Hyde was 3-0 in the tournament, with 30 strikeouts in 20 innings
and was named the most outstanding player of the series. Joining him
on the All-Tournament Team were second baseman Braniff, shortstop
Peterson, third baseman Tinner, and catcher Dombek.
George Fox ended the season with a 40-10 record, while
Eastern Connecticut was 43-11, losing out in the championship game
for the first time in five appearances. The Bruins won 17 of their
last 19 games, beat nationally-ranked teams in their final nine
wins, and posted four wins in the World Series against pitchers who
were first or second team All-Americans.
Bruins reach NCAA title game
Appleton, Wisc. — Derrick Jones’ RBI single with two outs in
the bottom of the eighth capped a two-run game-winning rally to lift
George Fox 9-8 over No. 1-ranked Eastern Connecticut State Monday in
a battle of unbeatens in the NCAA Division III World Series.
Bruin ace Scott Hyde fanned the side in the ninth to preserve the
win.
The Bruins moved to 3-0 in the double elimination tournament after
scoring a 12-6 win over Aurora to move into the title game. The
Bruins will face Eastern Connecticut again Tuesday after the
Warriors beat the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 2-1 to stave
off elimination.
In order to claim the NCAA title, the Bruins had to win a single
game in the two-game championship series Tuesday (results were
unavailable as of press time).
“We’re in the driver’s seat, I guess, but we haven’t won anything
yet,” coach Pat Bailey said Monday. “We were up a game on Chapman
last year in the regionals before they came back to beat us twice,
and I told our guys to remember that, because I don’t want it
happening again.”
On Monday against Eastern Connecticut, David Peterson gave the
Bruins a quick 2-0 lead with a shot over the center field wall, his
fourth home run of the year, following a single through the left
side by C.R. Braniff. The Warriors tied it in the second on a
two-out triple to left-center by Adam Hevenor after Beck hit Marc
Garofalo and Randy Re with pitches.
The Bruins went back in front in their next at-bat as Jones singled
to right, moved to third on Tye Tinner’s one-out hit to
right-center, and scored on Drew Johnson’s safety squeeze. Peterson
singled leading off the third, but was caught stealing and the
Bruins did not score that inning.
The Warriors struck back to take the lead in the fourth. Garofalo
reached on a grounder that skipped under the glove of Braniff at
second for an error, went to third on Randy Re’s single to
left-center, and scored as Chris DeSantis hit into a
6-4-3 double play. Beck then walked Hevenor and hit Tom
Koch with a pitch, his fifth hit batsman of the game, before
surrendered a single to left-center by Jason Pekrul to drive in the
go-ahead run.
After a wild pitch moved the runners up, Braniff lined a two-run
single up the middle, took second on the throw home, and scored on
Joshua Sargent’s two-out single to left.
The Warriors rebounded with three of their own in the fifth to
regain the lead against reliever Peder Rauen.
George Fox tied it again in the fifth as Jones grounded a single to
right, moved up when Hunter reached on an error by shortstop Koch,
and scored on a double steal when catcher Hevenor’s throw to
second bounced and rolled into short center field.
Jordan Purdy worked two scoreless innings for the Bruins in the
sixth and seventh innings, before Bailey brought in Hyde to try to
keep the Warriors at bay.
After striking out Koch to lead off, Hyde walked Pekrul and wild
pitched him to second. Julien lined out to center on a diving catch
by Johnson that prevented a run from scoring, but after Wildman was
walked intentionally, Zach Mehrbach bounced a single up the middle
for an 8-7 Warrior lead.
“I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be when I came in to start the
eighth,” Hyde said. “I felt like I was on cruise control and was
aiming more than pitching. I told the guys I was sorry I let them
down, but that if they got me two runs, I’d make sure of things in
the ninth.”
Hyde’s teammates responded. Stephen Donohue singled to right to
start the eighth and Braniff was safe when reliever Joey Serfass
(10-1), previously unbeaten as a starter, fumbled his bunt. The two
then worked a double steal, and after Peterson bounced back to the
mound, Sargent was intentionally passed. Greg Dombek
delivered Donohue with a sacrifice fly to deep right, with Braniff
taking third; he scored on Jones’ line single to right.
Hyde was as good as his word in the ninth, setting the Warriors
down in order on strikes to up his record to 13-1.
With four strikeouts in the game, Hyde raised his season total to
178, second-highest in D-III history, and his career total to 382,
fourth-best ever in D-III.
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From
June 2,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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