1990 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship
Tournament Statistics
Team Statistics
Records
Eastern Conn State University defeats Aurora 8-1 to win the 1990 Division III Baseball Championship
Kebalka throws four hitter in Championship
Battle Creek MI -- The title clinching game of the 1990 NCAA
Division III Baseball Championship turned out to be a mere formality for
Eastern Conn State. The Warriors made the first three rounds of the four-day
tournament look almost too easy, winning each game by no less than three runs.
The game that wrapped up the double-elimination for the Warriors was no
different. Eastern Conn State rode the strength of Chris Kebalka's arm and the
bat of tournament MVP Brian Mercado to an 8-1 victory over Aurora at C.O. Brown
Stadium on Monday.
"Its going to take a while to sink in," Mercado said. "But I'm going to be walking on cloud nine all summer." Mercado hit his Championship record fourth home run, a two-run shot in the third inning, to give Kebalka all the runs he would need. Kebalka pitched a complete game, allowing four hits and one run while striking out six and walking four.
Eastern Conn State was the favorite heading into this weekend and that bothered Coach Bill Holowaty. "I thought we could do it this year," Holowaty said. "But (being the favorite) makes it a tough situation. I've been here before, and you can't assume. I just had to make the right decisions and let the horses run."
One of the right decisions was starting Kebalka, who has been hampered all year by a sore shoulder and elbow. "I took some pain killers in the shoulder," Kubalka said. But when you get the chance, you've got to do it." Kebalka had little trouble, allowing one hit in the first four innings. "He (Mercado) said "just pitch and I'll get you a homer," Kebalka said. "I figured if I could get one run, I would be happy."
As the game went on, the Aurora players grew weary. Each of the past two nights, the Spartans played into the early morning hours. "It wears on you." Aurora all-tournament outfielder Bob Guarardo said. "When you have to come back the way we did, it drains on you." Aurora rallied to beat NC Wesleyan 8-7 in a game that did not finish until after 2am Sunday morning. The Spartans then held off NC Wesleyan 12-9 in a game that ended at 1:30 am this morning to reach the championship round.
Eastern Conn State also drained the Aurora pitching staff Monday. The Warriors chased loser Scott LeVault after 2.2 innings. With Aurora's Russ Voelz pitching in the fifth, Eastern added a run on Jeff Handler's sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Eastern scored three times off Bob Stacey and Jason Whitmyer to take a 6-0 lead and put the game out of reach.
Aurora managed a run in the seventh off Dave Cave's pinch hit single to make the score 7-1. Eastern finished the scoring with a solo home run by Denis Kelly in the ninth.
Despite being the tournament MVP, Mercado was quick to spread the credit around. "I'm playing with the best," he said. "We are stacked. This is as good as it gets." Mercado added that it may even get better for Eastern. Only a sophomore, he plans even better things for next year. "I think I can get better. I know I can improve."
1990 All Tournament Team
MVP - Brian Mercado, Eastern Conn StateCatcher - Dean Haase, Wisconsin-Oshkosh; First Base - Doug Flowers, NC Wesleyan; Second Base - Ryan Love, Cal State San Bernardino; Third Base - Pete Daniels, Eastern Conn State; Shortstop - Jeff Handler, Eastern Conn. State; Outfield - Eric Jarman, NC Wesleyan; Bob Guajardo, Aurora; Basilio Ortiz, Eastern Conn State; Designated Hitter - Brian Mercado, Eastern Conn State; Pitcher - Rusty Greene, Eastern Conn State; John Bachio, Aurora.
1990Tournament Results
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Eastern Conn State 8, Cal State San Bernardino
4
NC Wesleyan 4, Wisconsin-Oshkosh 3 (10)
Cal State San Bernardino 17, Montclair State 3
Eastern Conn State 7, Wisconsin-Oshkosh 4
Eastern Conn State 4, Aurora 0
Regional Playoff Results
Mid-Atlantic Regional: Game 1: Rutgers-Newark 10, Ferrum 8; Game 2: Montclair State 8, Rensselaer 4; Game 3: Ferrum 3, Rensselaer 2; Game 4: Montclair State 13, Rutgers-Newark 7; Game 5: Rutgers-Newark 3, Ferrum 2; Game 6: Montclair State 17, Rutgers-Newark 2. Montclair State advances
Northeast Regional: Game 1: Eastern Conn State 5, Ithaca 3; Game 2: Southern Maine 17, Bridgewater State (Mass) 8; Game 3: Ithaca 8, Bridgewater State (Mass) 6; Game 4: Eastern Conn State 7, Southern Maine 4; Game 5: Ithaca 7, Southern Maine 6; Game 6: Eastern Conn State 4, Ithaca 3 (11). Eastern Conn State advance
Mideast Regional: Game 1:North Park 10, Ohio Wesleyan 9; Game 2: Wooster 8, Otterbein 3; Game 3: Aurora 6, Marietta 5; Game 4: Marietta 26, North Park 16; Game 5: Aurora 4, Wooster 3; Game 6: Ohio Wesleyan 11, Otterbein 10; Game 7: North Park 11, Wooster 7; Game 8: Marietta 8, Ohio Wesleyan 1; Game 9: Aurora 9, North Park 7; Game 10: Aurora 15, Marietta 5. Aurora advances
Midwest Regional: Game 1: Wisconsin-Whitewater 21, Simpson 3; Game 2: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 9, William Penn 4; Game 3: Simpson 13, William Penn 10; Game 4: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 16, Wisconsin-Whitewater 9; Game 5: Wisconsin-Whitewater 6, Simpson 4; Game 6: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 10, Wisconsin-Whitewater 3. Wisconsin-Oshkosh advances
South Regional: Game 1: NC Wesleyan 9, Juniata 0; Game 2: Methodist 10, Trenton State 5 ; Game 3: Trenton State 12, Juniata 0; Game 4: Methodist 14, NC Wesleyan 8; Game 5: NC Wesleyan 12, Trenton State 7; Game 6: NC Wesleyan 5, Methodist 4; Game 7: NC Wesleyan 9, Methodist 7 (10). NC Wesleyan advances
West Regional: Game 1: Cal State San Bernardino 9, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 6; Game 2: Cal State San Bernardino 11, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 8; Game 3: Cal State San Bernardino 6, Claremont-Mudd-Scripts 4. Cal State San Bernardino advances