Montclair State got the
job done both offensively and defensively Friday.
The Red Hawks pounded out 14 hits
and left-hander Ryan Costello struck out six in his third complete game of the
season as Montclair State beat Chapman 5-1 in a first-round game at the NCAA Division
III Baseball Championship. Aided by a slider that he developed just two weeks
ago, Costello scattered eight hits and walked two, keeping the Panthers off-balance
for much of the game.
"Outstanding," Red Hawks
coach Norm Schoenig said of Costello's performance. "He gave us an opportunity
to get a lead against a very good baseball team."
Added Chapman coach Rex Peters: "We
kind of ran into a buzzsaw. We couldn't get anything going against him."
For the first half of the game, Costello
stifled the Panthers with his fastball. But once they caught up to it, he kept
them guessing with his newfound slider.
In the eighth inning, when the Panthers
pulled to within 3-1 on Andy Karp's one-out groundout, Costello used his nasty
slider to strike out the next two batters looking, stranding a runner at third.
Not only did that snuff out a Chapman
rally, it fueled the Red Hawks, who went on to score twice in the top of the ninth
to seal Montclair State's second victory in six all-time games against Chapman.
"I felt good out there,"
said Costello, who improved to 6-0. "I tried to keep them off-balance so
they weren't sitting on anything."
Mike Carey took the loss for Chapman,
allowing nine hits, three earned runs and four walks in seven innings. Coming
into the game, he had given up only eight walks all year - on Friday, he surrendered
four.
Craig Conway had the most success
against Carey, going four-for-five for his sixth four-hit game of the season.
Also for the Red Hawks, George Becker went three-for-five, while Jeff Schriber
and Adam Cerminaro each went two-for five.Conway's single in the third inning
drove in Adam Cerminaro with the
game's first run.
"I was seeing the ball real well,"
Conway said. "That's how it is when you get in a groove."
Montclair State went ahead 2-0 in
the sixth on Dave Wurst's hard grounder that scored Becker. Its lead stretched
to 3-0 in the seventh when Schriber lined a double over the right fielder's head,
driving in Chris Baran. Schriber and Becker each drove in runs in the Red Hawks'
four-hit ninth inning.
Kyle Schoonover went three-for-four
to lead Chapman. |
