Box Score

Grand Chute, Wis. - John Lequia took the first pitch he saw and knocked it out for a grand slam as Carthage College (Wis.) eliminated defending national champion Trinity University (Conn.) with a 10-1 victory on Saturday (May 23) in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship at Time Warner Cable Field.

Lequia’s blast broke open a 1-0 game in the seventh inning, when the Red Men (37-8) tallied eight runs to take a 9-0 advantage.

Trinity (33-7) was eliminated from its fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III finals. Carthage moves on to face either Shenandoah University (Va.) or the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) on Sunday (May 24) at 3:30 p.m.

A single, error and hit batsman loaded the bases with one out before Trinity brought in a new pitcher. Lequia didn’t hesitate and crushed a rocket over the wall in right field for the deciding swing.

“On the first pitch with the bases loaded, he’s got to come right at you,” Lequia said. “I was just trying to put the barrel on it.”

Neither team was able to score until the fifth frame, when Lequia drove in one run with a groundout. Both squads had numerous opportunities to mark, but it took until the seventh inning for someone to deliver in the clutch.

“You have to have confidence to do it,” head coach Augie Schmidt said. “We finally got the right guy up at the right time.”

Carthage continued its big seventh inning with a two-run double by Tim Hansen. After Tyler Eickmeyer extended his hitting streak to 23 games with an infield single, Joe Ferro drove in two more on a single to cap the outburst.

The Bantams tallied their lone run in the eighth inning on a throwing error. They loaded the bases in both the third and seventh frames, but Red Men starter Jordan Jaehne-Llanas refused to give an inch.

“Jordan is as good a pitcher as there is around.” Schmidt said. “We’re happy to have him.”

Jaehne-Llanas (9-2) struck out the first two batters of the contest, and he fanned the final out in each of the third, sixth and eighth frames to quiet scoring threats. He finished with nine strikeouts over eight innings while giving up one unearned run.

Trinity starter Derek Anderson (5-2) took the loss, allowing three earned runs in six innings. James Ramsey yielded five runs while getting one out as the Bantams utilized two other pitchers.

Lequia drove in the game’s first five runs while being one of four Red Men to amass two hits. Eickmeyer, Ferro and Chris Shannon each recorded a pair of base hits, along with Trinity’s Alex Rokicki.

Trinity made spectacular defensive plays to prevent one run during the fourth inning and two more in the fifth frame. The Bantams missed a scoring chance during the second, when they got out after having two runners on third base following a single.

Carthage won the battle of hits, 11-7. The Red Men committed four errors in the contest, but they moved to 26-1 this season when scoring first.

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