Box Score

Grand Chute, Wis. - All Greg Van Sickler didn’t do Friday (May 22) night was sell popcorn in the stand.

The Shenandoah University (Va.) pitcher went the distance on the mound and went 3-for-4 at the plate while driving in three runs as the Hornets beat Farmingdale State College (N.Y.), 12-2, in a first round game at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in Fox Cities Stadium.

Shenandoah (38-8) faces either Chapman University (Calif.) or the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday (May 23). Farmingdale (30-16) takes on the loser between Chapman and St. Thomas nat 1:15 p.m. on Saturday in an elimination game.

“I thought Greg Van Sickler pitched an outstanding game. He was the key factor tonight,” Shenandoah coach Kevin Anderson said. “He was getting outs with all three pitches. When you can do that as a pitcher, that will keep opponents off-balance.”

Van Sickler allowed seven hits over nine innings. He struck out five and walked one.

“The biggest pitch, the most important pitch, is strike one. It allows me to use my other pitches,” Van Sickler said.

“I had three pitches (fastball, curveball, change-up) tonight.”

Farmingdale coach Keith Osik said Van Sickler was clearly the difference in the game.

“He single-handedly beat us today the way he attacked hitters,” Osik said.

Scott Lambert went 3-for-5, and Kevin Brashears, Jesse Henry, Scot Van Dusseldorp and Jon Holcomb had two hits apiece for the Hornets. Shenandoah pounded out 16 hits against five Farmingdale pitchers, but it was walks that hurt the Rams early.

Rams starter Steve King lasted only two-thirds of an inning and walked four. He walked in a run before giving way to Chris Phelan.

Farmingdale escaped the first inning down only 1-0, but the Hornets added two more in the second on run-scoring singles by Henry and Van Sickler.

Shenandoah added a run in the third without a hit thanks to two errors and a walk.

“Ouch,” Osik said with a laugh. “Being our first time here, it definitely showed the first three innings. It’s kind of unlike us to throw the ball around the way we did.

“You can’t play scared. That was the first time I’ve seen them play scared. They were a little overwhelmed playing here at the World Series.”

Shenandoah was up 5-0 before the Rams battled back in the bottom of the fourth. Farmingdale got a run in when Frank Yera singled to right field to score Frank Ennis, but Jon Holcomb cut down Rich Gill at the plate to end the rally.

“That was huge,” Anderson said of the play at the plate.

Van Sickler then took command, retiring 14 of the final 15 Farmingdale hitters.

Shendandoah broke the game wide open in the eighth with six runs. Van Sickler picked up another run-scoring single and the big blow in the inning was Cory Nelson’s two-run homer.

“I had trouble seeing pitches all night,” Nelson said. “I was looking fastball. (Patrick Gilbride) threw it, and I hit it.”

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