St. Thomas, now 37-9 overall, will advance to play defending national champion Montclair State University in a championship-bracket game on Sunday at 7 p.m. Cortland State, now 34-10 overall, will face Salisbury State University in an elimination game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

The Tommies won their second game to open the Division III finals for the third year in a row. St. Thomas finished second in the country the last two seasons.

"We’re scared to death of them, to tell you the truth," said St. Thomas coach Dennis Denning of the matchup Sunday with Montclair State, which swept the Tommies 13-3 and 6-2 in last year’s final games. "I remember what they did to us last year. They are a really good team. They’ve shown two great pitchers right away. We probably won’t get them, so we’re sort-of anxious to see what their third pitcher is like. I hope we bring our best game, that’s all."

The Tommies took advantage of their speed game to notch the dominating victory, banging out 20 hits and taking advantage of eight walks and three Cortland State fielding errors. Eleven Tommies had base hits in the game, which lasted three hours and 22 minutes. St. Thomas has scored 10 or more runs in 22 games this season; they have won all 22.

"We played great offense. We had a lot of good at-bats," said St. Thomas coach Dennis Denning. "Whether it was a bunt, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a key base-hit, we had a lot of good at-bats."

Olson, one of six Tommies to notch two hits, had three singles and two sacrifice flies to drive in his six runs. Tony Wolverton went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring four runs and driving in three. He had a double and triple. From the leadoff spot, Brad Bonine went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs scored.

"It’s been like that all year for us," said Olson. "I think we have one of the stronger lineups. I’d take any one of our guys at the plate when the job needs to be done. That reflects our work ethic."

Starter Bryan Edstrom pitched just 3.1 innings, and Rob Huckins relieved him, notching eight strikeouts to record the victory for the Tommies. Three Red Knights combined in a losing effort.

In the first inning, Bonine led off with a single and stole second, then came around to score on a single to right by Jake Mauer. After the Red Knights tied the game in the top of the second, the Tommies went ahead again in the bottom of the frame via the speed game, as Wolverton reached on a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Olson.

A five-run third inning broke the game wide open, as the Tommies took advantage of three hits, four walks and a hit batter to take a big lead. A bases-loaded walk scored a run, a double by Wolverton drove in two runs, a single by Olson plated two runs.

Three more runs came across for the Tommies in the fourth and fifth innings. A sacrifice fly by Olson brought in a run, and Bonine smacked a two-run homer to left field in the fourth. In the fifth, Mauer led off the frame with a double, and came around to score on a flyout and throwing error. Run-scoring singles by Sather and Olson completed the scoring for the Tommies in the fifth, giving them a commanding 13-3 lead.

Another three-run inning added to the Tommie scoring ledger in the seventh. A triple by Wolverton brought in a run, and he later scored on a single and error. Christianson drove in another run to end the frame. The Tommies closed the scoring in the eighth, when two pinch hitters stroked doubles to plate a run.

The Tommies’ defense also contributed in a big way, as catcher Olson made a tag on a relay play from right fielder Wolverton and first baseman Nate Sundberg, catching Cortland State’s Larry Williams at the plate to end a scoring threat in the top of the third inning. Olson said the play served as a spark for the Tommies to move into the five-run bottom of the frame.

"That was huge for us," he said.

The Red Knights scored their only runs in the second, fourth and ninth innings. A single by Tim Belz drove in a run in the second, and Cory Haggerty brought two runs across the plate on a single in the fourth. Two more runs came across in the ninth. Pat D’Auria singled and scored on a wild pitch, and Travis Simth singled and scored on a double by Tim Hunter.