Eastern
Connecticut State University wasted little time
in staking a claim to its second consecutive NCAA
Division III baseball championship.
The Warriors pounded out 14 hits and rode the
solid right arm of starter Joey Serfass en route
to a 6-3 victory over DeSales University in the
opening game of the 2003 NCAA Division III
Baseball Championship Series at Fox Cities
Stadium Friday morning.
Eastern got on the board quickly, putting two
runs on the board in the first inning off
DeSales starter Matt Reppert.
Eugene Julian followed a Tom Koch bunt with an
opposite field single, sending Koch to third.
Dwight Wildman came up next and ripped a double
down the left field line, sending Koch home.
The Warriors added another run in the second,
and then seemed to take total control of the
game in the top of the fifth inning.
Koch opened the frame with a double down the
left field line. He advanced to third when
Julien laid down a bunt single. Wildman again
drove in a run with a single to left.
With Julien on third, Wildman stole second,
putting a pair of Warriors in scoring position
with nobody out. Julien scored when DeSales
catcher Chris Peters allowed a passed ball,
which put Wildman on third.
Reppert finally retired his first batter when he
got designated hitter Leon Galemba to ground out
to second, but Wildman scored on the play. The
righty retired the next two batters on flies to
retire the side and escape any further damage.
DeSales managed to stage a rally in the bottom
half of the sixth.
Peters reached on an error by Eastern second
baseman Morgan Thompson. Bulldogs second baseman
Nolan Nieman doubled to left, putting two men in
scoring position with nobody out for Lew
Campanaro.
The center fielder skied a long fly to center to
score Peters. Serfass then plunked Brett Vargo
to put men on first and second with one away.
Ian Hauze singled to right center to score
Nieman and advance Vargo to third.
Serfass loaded the bases before finally getting
out of the jam when Hauze was tagged out at home
trying to score on a Hoffman single.
“Joey is usually a ground ball pitcher, and it
was just a bad inning,” Eastern coach Bill
Holowaty said. “He recovered though. That’s just
his usual, competitive self.”
Serfass pitched a complete game, allowing just
three runs -- all unearned -- on just four hits,
while striking out four. With the win, the
junior improved to a perfect 9-0 on the season.
“I had a lot of confidence in my defense today,”
Serfass said. “I’m a ground ball pitcher, so
they’re the ones that make the plays for me.”
Reppert threw eight innings, allowing six runs
(five earned) on 11 hits. His record dropped to
9-3. Reppert had entered the game with an NCAA
Division III record 42 1/3 innings of scoreless
ball.
“I don’t think our team is about individual
accomplishments,” Holowaty said. “That’s a
phenomenal streak [Reppert] had. But our concern
was to win the ballgame.”
Eastern, which improved its mark to 42-6, will
play Sunday at 4:30 p.m. DeSales, 30-13 this
season, will drop into the losers’ bracket and
play at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Written By Andrew
Wagner
Photos By Lehigh
Photo
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