Box Score

Grand Chute, Wis. - Sean Karpen said he was looking for a fastball when Carthage College brought in a new pitcher during the sixth inning. The first pitch he saw was a changeup, but Karpen adjusted and ripped it down the third-base line for a two-run double.

Karpen’s hit highlighted a four-run frame as The College of Wooster (Ohio) earned an 8-1 victory over Carthage College (Wis.) in a first round game of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship on Friday (May 22) at Time Warner Cable Field.

The Fighting Scots (40-9) also got a pair of solo home runs from Karpen, who launched deep shots to left field in the fourth and eighth innings. He finished the game with three extra-base hits, three runs scored and four runs batted in.

“Sean’s hit really jump-started things,” head coach Tim Pettorini said. “He really got us rolling.”

Carthage College (36-8) got on the scoreboard first, marking in the third inning. After Tyler Eickmeyer extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a single, John Lequia blasted a double off the wall in left-center to bring home the game’s first run.

Wooster responded with a pair in the bottom of the third frame. With two outs, Matthew Pierce flared a run-scoring single up the middle. Zack Vesco followed with an infield hit to put the Fighting Scots ahead, 2-1.

Justin McDowell (13-2) started for Wooster and picked up his NCAA Division III-leading 13th victory of the season. He tossed eight innings and struck out five while yielding eight hits and walking one batter.

“I was very impressed,” opposing starter Mario Perez said. “He showed why he was an All-American today.”

McDowell got out of numerous jams, including the fourth frame, when he had runners on second and third with nobody out. He induced a pop up, a strikeout and a groundout to leave the inning without allowing a score.

“It’s easy out there when you have guys making great defensive plays behind you,” McDowell said.

A runner was picked off first base during the seventh inning to prevent the Red Men from tallying once again. Trevor Whately came up next and delivered a triple, but he was stranded at third as McDowell recorded a strikeout to close the frame.

The Fighting Scots’ big sixth inning concluded with a run-scoring, squeeze bunt single by John Warren. Another run came home on the play to make it 7-1 when the throw to first base was high for a fielding error.

Perez (6-1) took his first loss of the season, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits over 5.1 innings. Bryan Kieffer surrendered an unearned run in his 1.2 frames before Tim Keyes gave up one run in one inning to finish the game.

Wooster totaled 15 base hits, including three apiece from Vesco and Stu Beath. Carthage College recorded eight hits, with two coming from Will Hodges.

Hodges stole three bases as the Red Men totaled five in the contest. They now have 89 stolen bases on the year to set a new school record.

Wooster also equaled a team mark, as the senior class racked up its 156th win in the past four years. The Fighting Scots previously had 156 wins during four-year spans ending in 2000 and 2007.

By: Jon Feyen (Sports Information Student Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh)