Box Score

Grand Chute, Wis. - The College of Wooster took care of business on Monday (May 25) and is in the driver’s seat to win its first NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

The Scots beat Chapman University (Calif.), 11-7, at Fox Cities Stadium and will play for the championship on Tuesday (May 26) at 11:00 a.m. against the University of St. Thomas (Minn.). Wooster is unbeaten in the tournament, and St. Thomas (39-13) has to beat the Scots (43-9) twice if it wants to take home the title.

“We are really excited to be in the position we’re in,” Wooster coach Tim Pettorini said.

“It’s going to be hard to beat us twice.”

Monday’s loss eliminated Chapman, which was making its fifth consecutive appearance in the finals. The Panthers finished with a 32-17 record.

Wooster jumped on Chapman in the top of the first, scoring three times.

Sean Karpen led off the game with a single, and Matt Groezinger had a two-out single to score Karpen. After a hit batsman and an error, Michael DeBord delivered a two-run single to give Wooster a 3-0 lead.

Karpen continued his hot hitting in the finals, going 2-for-3 and scoring three runs.

“Right now, I’m probably in the one of the best hitting zones I’ve been in my whole life,” Karpen said.

“The last four days now I’ve been able to see the ball and pick it up earlier than I have been.”

Chapman battled back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Ryan Prechtl was hit by a pitch to start the inning and later scored on John Semel’s single. Semel then came home on Tristan Phillips’ single.

The Scots added four more runs in the top of the second and knocked out Chapman starter Jordan Sigman. Karpen led off with a double, and Luke Sutton followed with a bunt single. Stu Beath then belted a two-run double to put Wooster up, 5-2. After a walk to Groezinger and a hit batsman, Zack Vesco singled to drive in Beath. Groezinger then scored on a fielder’s choice for a 7-2 edge.

“I thought our kids had a great approach at the plate,” Pettorini said. “We saw (Sigman) throw the first ballgame and we thought he was really good. It was good to get on him and get some runs early.”

Wooster kept it going in the third with three more runs. Karpen led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on Sutton’s single. After a pair of strikeouts, Matthew Pierce blasted a two-run homer to left to give Wooster a 10-2 edge.

“They were putting some good swings on the ball,” Chapman pitcher Matt Irsfeld said. He worked six innings of relief. “I have to give them credit. They hit the ball really well. They are a good hitting team. They did a great job at the plate.”

Chapman came back with a run of its own in the bottom of the third when Patrick Ohail singled with one out and scored on Halston Barcelo’s double to trim the lead to 10-3. Wooster, which finished with 12 hits, tacked on another run in the fourth when DeBord reached on an error to start the frame and later scored on Sutton’s sacrifice fly. Chapman got that run back in the bottom half of the inning when Ryan Hall was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He moved to second on a balk and scored on Prechtl’s single up the middle to trim the lead to 11-4.

Chapman left runners at second and third in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings and stranded 12 for the game.

“They got us in a hole, and we weren’t able to get out of it,” Chapman coach Tom Tereschuck said.

“We definitely had some opportunities where if we would have gotten a base hit with two outs it could have been a different story.”

Pettorini was asked if the Scots dodged some bullets in the early innings.

“Those were more like missiles we were dodging,” Pettorini said. “We made some big pitches when we had to.”

Chapman narrowed the margin by scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Hadzinsky and Joe Lehman both picked up run-scoring singles in the inning.

Tanner Hall pitched five innings of relief to pick up the victory for Wooster. He allowed three hits, struck out one and didn’t walk a batter.

“For the team, I don’t think we could have scripted this World Series any better, pitching and hitting,” Karpen said. “Through the course of the year, we’ve been consistent hitting-wise, but we’re all clicking together.”

By: Joe Vanden Acker (Sports Information Director, Lawrence University)