Game #11 • Kean University 7, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 4

 

Kean Tops Pointers To Earn Berth In National Title Game

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – It wasn’t one thing Kean University did right Sunday night to beat the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, it was everything they did right.

The Cougars executed in all facets of the game in a winner’s bracket contest at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship finals and converted that into a 7-4 victory over the Pointers at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The win leaves Kean (42-8) as the lone unbeaten team left in the field, and the Cougars have to win only once on Tuesday to secure their first national championship.

“Somedays teams leave and wonder, ‘How the hell did those guys beat us?’ ” Kean head coach Mike Ioviero said.

“We stay on these kids and try to make every little thing better because you never know when that thing is going to come up.”

Kean, playing in the finals for the first time, did all the little and big things right to beat the Pointers (34-16), who will play an elimination game on Monday against Cortland State University or Emory University at 3:30 p.m.

“You have to play your best in a winner’s bracket game, and I felt we didn’t do that tonight,” said Stevens Point head coach Pat Bloom, adding that Kean’s team speed and a lack of execution by the Pointers were keys to the contest.

“All the things that don’t seem like much at the time are huge factors when the game is on the line.”

The Cougars started to separate themselves from Stevens Point with a pair of runs in the sixth. Four hits in the inning helped Kean extend its lead to 5-2.

Aaron Richard, who finished 2-for-5, started the inning with a single, but Pointers starter Mike Thrun retired the next two batters. Ryan Clark, who drove in a game-high three runs, then singled to center to score Richard, who had stolen second. Kevin O’Neill followed with another single, and Maikel De La Rosa then singled to score Clark to make it 5-2. O’Neill had a game-high three hits and De La Rosa went 2-for-4.

Stevens Point trimmed the lead to 5-4 in the top of the seventh. A fielding error allowed lead-off batter Brandon Scheidler to reach and Stewart Larson followed with a single to put runners at first and second.

A balk moved both runners up, and Ryan Byrnes, who led the Pointers’ attack by going 2-for-4, followed with a single to left to score Scheidler. After a sacrifice bunt pushed Byrnes to second, Joel Hojnacki’s sacrifice fly scored Larson to cut the advantage to a single run.

Kean came right back in its half of the seventh to pump that lead back to three runs off reliever Travis Kempf.

Derek Gianakas and Aaron Richard led off with singles, and the runners moved up to second and third on a ground out. After a walk loaded the bases, Clark grounded to shortstop Justin Bushong, but all the Pointers got was the force out at second base. Clark beat the throw to first to stay out of the double play and Gianakas scored.

The Cougars then came up with another clutch hit, as O’Neill singled to right to score Richard and push the lead back to 7-4.

Ioviero then handed the ball to closer Brandon Aich, who worked two innings of hitless relief to pick up his fourth save of the season.

“He wants the ball in the biggest, tightest situations,” Ioviero said of Aich.

Colin Feneis worked seven innings, allowed six hits and only one earned run to move to 6-1 on the season. He struck out seven and walked one.

Stevens Point started the scoring in the top of the first when Tim Schlosser reached on a fielding error by the third baseman with one out. Zimmermann then stroked a double to center field to score Schlosser.

The Cougars countered in the bottom of the first with an unearned run of their own. With one out, Joseph D’Andrea reached on an infield single. The Pointers then misplayed Dan Mattonelli’s ground ball to put runners at the corners. Gianakas’ sacrifice fly scored D’Andrea to tie the game at 1-1.

Kean took a 2-1 lead in the third when De La Rosa started the inning with a single. After a balk and ground out moved De La Rosa to third, he scored on Mattonelli’s ground out.

The Pointers tied the game at 2-2 with a run in the fourth. Jordan Zimmermann walked to start the inning, and Adam Evanoff followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Zimmermann then scored, as Brandon Scheidler grounded into a double play.

The Cougars grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth, with Perry Schatzow’s one-out single starting the rally. Mike Shymanski followed with a double to put runners at second and third, and Clark’s ground out scored Schatzow to give Kean a 3-2 advantage.

By Joe Vanden Acker
Lawrence University Sports Information Director