Box Score

Trinity (Conn.) College moved one step closer to an undefeated season with a dramatic 6-5 victory over Linfield College in a winner’s bracket game Saturday night at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

Trinity (43-0), owners of the longest winning streak in NCAA Division III history, faces Johns Hopkins University (40-6) at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The winner of that game advances to Tuesday’s 11 a.m. championship game.

Linfield (35-12) takes on Adrian College (35-12) in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Jeremiah Bayer pitched eight innings to pick up the win for Trinity, and Michael Regan worked out of a jam in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season. Bayer gave up seven hits over eight innings, struck out two and walked two to improve to 9-0 on the season.  

Trinity jumped on the Wildcats for four runs in the top of the first. A pair of errors, a single and a ground out gave Trinity a 1-0 lead.

Kent Graham then belted a two-run homer to give the Bantams a 3-0 edge. After a strikeout, Thomas DiBendetto drew a walk. After going to second on a passed ball, he scored on Chandler Barnard’s single for a 4-0 Trinity lead.

After leaving four runners on in the first three innings, Linfield cut the lead in half with a pair of runs in the fourth.

Drew Van Cleave got the inning started with a bunt single, and Rhett Fenton followed one out later with an infield single. After a two-out walk loaded the bases, Van Cleave and Fenton both scored on a fielding error by the first baseman.

Trinity pushed the lead back to four runs at 6-2 when it scored twice in the seventh. A walk, hit batsman and fielder’s choice put two runners aboard, and Ryan Piacentini followed with a two-run single to left.

Linfield got right back into the game in the bottom of the eighth.

After a spectacular play by DiBendetto at shortstop retired the first batter of the inning, Stew Davis drew a walk and Van Cleave was hit by a pitch. One out later, Fenton blasted a three-run homer to left to trim the lead to 6-5.

Linfield threatened in the ninth after Cory Ellis drew a one-out walk and pinch-hitter Brian Kerr reached on an error when his line drive went off the glove of the second baseman. David Bachofner then lined out to the right fielder, and Stew Davis popped up to end the game.

By Joe Vanden Acker (Lawrence University Sports Information Director)