Trinity College head coach Bill Decker knew that
he would have to make sure his pitchers were careful
with Chris Phaup.
The talented third
baseman for Christopher Newport University
provided the fireworks as the Captains defeated
Trinity 7-3 in an opening-round game at the 2003
NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Series
Friday night at Fox Cities Stadium.
Phaup highlighted a
3-for-3 day with a two-out, two-run home run
that cleared the fence in left-center field.
Tidmarsh offered a hanging curveball with which
Phaup connected, traveling an estimated 375
feet. He sandwiched his 13th homer of
the season around a pair of doubles and finished
with five RBI on the day.
“I got lucky on the
double to right field,” Phaup said. “Normally I
pull that ball to the shortstop.”
After Trinity took a
1-0 lead in the top of the third, Christopher
Newport quickly took control of the situation.
Jason Moody led off
the inning with a home run to left field off
Bantams’ starter Mike Tidmarsh. Batting in the
eighth slot, the leftfielder entered the game
just above the “Mendoza line,” holding a .212
average and owner of just one home run in 2003.
With one out,
leadoff man Jeremy Elliot reached on a fielding
error by Trinity shortstop Jayme Dorr. Second
baseman Ricky Medina singled to right to send
Elliot to second, and Matt Turner fouled out to
first, setting the stage for Phaup’s blast.
Phaup added two more
runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Again
with two outs and a pair of runners on base,
Phaup smacked an outside fastball from Tidmarsh
into right field to put the Captains ahead 6-1.
That was his 21st double of the
season, tying a personal record.
“When we got
opportunities to score, we made the most of
them,” said Captains coach John Harvell, whose
team is making its second appearance at the
championship series. Last year’s squad finished
just two wins shy of the championship game.
Christopher Newport
starter Mike Cosby did his part, keeping the
Bantams at bay through seven innings of solid
work. He allowed seven hits mixed in with five
strikeouts and four walks, earning his seventh
victory of the season. Eben Brower came on in
the eighth and picked up his first save this
year.
“I gave up one run,
but after that they hit those home runs, I
settled down and went to work,” Cosby said.”
Trinity College was
led by first baseman Kurt Piantek. The Division
III Player of the Year finalist continued a
stellar season (.531, 18 HR) with two hits, an
RBI, a run scored and a walk. Tidmarsh took the
loss to drop to 9-3 on the year.
“We got that first
run, and their (No.) 8 hitter comes up and hits
his second home run of the year,” Decker said.
“Then we let (Phaup) get his arms extended. We
just need to come out strong tomorrow,
regardless of who we face.”
The 27-11 Bantams
will now move to the losers’ bracket and will
play the loser of the UW-Oshkosh/Chapman
University contest at 1:15 p.m. Saturday.
Christopher Newport improved to
32-7 and will face the winner of Oshkosh/Chapman
at 7:45 p.m. Saturday.
Written By Andrew
Wagner
Photos By Lehigh Photo
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