Game 15 - May 29, 1996
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We all felt in the dugout that all we needed was something to ignite the flame....I'm happy for our kids. They play with a lot of heart. The comeback shows you the type of kids we have in the program. They bend but they don't break. They have fight. This win is tremendously satisfying." - Jeff Albies, head coach, William Paterson
Salem VA -- Just like in 1992, when the same two teams played in the championship game, a three-run home run by William Paterson proved to be the key hit in a Pioneer victory over Cal Lutheran.
It wasn't actually the game-winner like it was four years ago, but an eighth-inning, three-run shot to right field by Mark DeMenna ignited a William Paterson comeback and propelled the Pioneers to a 6-5 victory and their second Division III Baseball Championship title.
In 1992, first baseman Ralph Perdomo hit a dramatic three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift William Paterson to its first title in a 3-1 victory over Cal Lutheran.
Cal Lutheran scored three times in the top of the first inning. Catcher Tom McGee tripled home Rick Work, who was hit by a pitch. After Mike Young was hit by a pitch, Robert Nichols singled, scoring McGee. Young stole home to cap the first inning scoring.
In the third, the Kingsmen stretched their lead to 5-1 when Young followed an Adam Rauch single with a two-run home run to left field.
Pitching then dominated the game until Cal Lutheran hurler Erik Kiszczak opened the fateful eighth inning by hitting William Paterson catcher Dan Egbert. After Mike Scher walked, DeMenna connected for his first and only home run of the series to pull the Pioneers within one run. Cal Lutheran head coach Marty Slimak left Kiszczak in the game, but he could not hold the lead.
"We felt all year long that we could get here," Slimak said. "We believed we could win the whole thing. Today, we did the right things early. We got a few good breaks early, and sometimes that's all you need. But they got the breaks late in the game."
The comeback continued with one-out singles by Paul Bumbaco and Brian Kelly. The runners advanced to second and third following an error by Nichols in center field. First baseman Greg Cimilucca then delivered the game-winning blow with a single to left that scored both Bumbaco and Kelly.
"We all felt in the dugout that all we needed was something to ignite the flame," Albies said. "Hitting is contagious. When you have runners in scoring position to win the game, those men (on defense) get nervous and the momentum switches to the offense."
DeMenna was voted the tournament's most outstanding player. The sophomore outfielder hit .500 (11 for 22) with six runs scored, one home run and six runs batted in over five games.
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Cal Lutheran 5 Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Adam Rauch lf............. 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Rik Work dh............... 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tom McGee c............... 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 Mike Young 3b............. 3 2 2 2 0 0 3 1 Robert Nichols cf......... 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 Rich Holmes rf............ 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Eric Buben ph/rf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ruben Torres ss........... 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 5 Sean Smith 1b............. 3 0 0 0 0 1 10 2 Frank Maldonaldo 2b....... 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 Erik Kiszczak p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 Rudy Lesko p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals.................... 31 5 8 4 1 3 24 16 William Paterson 6 Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Mike Scher dh............. 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 Mark DeMenna cf........... 4 1 1 3 0 0 5 0 Brian Lindner ss.......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 Paul Bumbaco 3b........... 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 2 Brian Kelly rf............ 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 Greg Cimilucca 1b......... 4 0 1 2 0 2 8 1 Scott Wolfe lf............ 3 1 1 0 1 0 4 0 Dan Lauterhahn 2b......... 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 Dan Egbert c.............. 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 Brian Appelman p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Edwardo Gomez p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals.................... 31 6 11 5 2 3 27 13 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Cal Lutheran 302 000 000 - 5 8 1 William Paterson 010 000 05 - 6 11 2 ---------------------------------------------- E - Young; Bumbaco; B Kelly. DP - Cal Lutheran 4. LOB - Cal Lutheran 5; WPU 4. 3B - McGee. HR - Young; DeMenna. SB - Young. CS - Nichols; Torres. SH - Rauch; Work; S Smith. Cal Lutheran IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Erik Kiszczak....... 7.1 11 6 5 2 3 30 33 Rudy Lesko.......... 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 William Paterson IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Brian Appelman...... 4.1 6 5 4 0 2 15 19 Edwardo Gomez....... 4.2 2 0 0 1 1 16 18 Win - Gomez 8-1. Loss - Kiszczkak 9-3. Save - None. HBP - by Appelman (Work); by Appelman (Young); by Kiszczkak (Egbert). Umpires - Home:Cox 1st:Raider 2nd:Schocky 3rd:Donen Start: Time: 2:10 Attendance: 211
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Cal Lutheran inning 1 Rauch flied out to rf. Work hit by pitch. McGee tripled to right field, RBI; Work scored. Young hit by pitch. Nichols singled to right field, RBI; Young advanced to second, advanced to third on an error by rf; McGee scored. Nichols out at first p to 1b, caught stealing; Young scored, unearned. Holmes struck out looking. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. William Paterson inning 1 Scher singled to right field. DeMenna flied out to cf. Lindner singled to right field; Scher advanced to third. Bumbaco lined into double play 3b unassisted; Scher out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 2 Torres grounded out to p. S Smith struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. Maldonaldo flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. William Paterson inning 2 B Kelly grounded out to p. Cimilucca grounded out to p. Wolfe walked. Lauterhahn singled to left field; Wolfe advanced to third. Egbert reached on an error by 3b; Lauterhahn advanced to second, out at third 1b to 3b; Wolfe scored, unearned. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 3 Rauch singled to center field. Work grounded out to 3b, bunt, SAC; Rauch advanced to second. McGee flied out to cf. Young homered to left field, 2 RBI; Rauch scored. Nichols lined out to cf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. William Paterson inning 3 Scher grounded out to p. DeMenna grounded out to p. Lindner struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 4 Holmes popped up to ss. Torres singled to center field. S Smith popped up to 3b. Torres out at second p to 1b to 2b, caught stealing. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. William Paterson inning 4 Bumbaco grounded out to 3b. B Kelly flied out to cf. Cimilucca struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 5 Maldonaldo singled to left field. Rauch grounded out to p, bunt, SAC; Maldonaldo advanced to second. Gomez to p for Appelman. Work flied out to cf; Maldonaldo advanced to third. McGee grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. William Paterson inning 5 Wolfe popped up to 1b. Lauterhahn singled to shortstop. Egbert grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Lauterhahn out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 6 Young flied out to lf. Nichols grounded out to 2b. Buben pinch hit for Holmes. Buben flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. William Paterson inning 6 Buben to rf. Scher singled to left field. DeMenna grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Scher out on the play. Lindner grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 7 Torres singled to center field. S Smith grounded out to p, SAC; Torres advanced to second. Maldonaldo reached on a fielder's choice; Torres out at third ss to 3b. Rauch walked; Maldonaldo advanced to second. Work reached on a fielder's choice; Rauch out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. William Paterson inning 7 Bumbaco grounded out to p unassisted. B Kelly singled to left field. Cimilucca struck out swinging. Wolfe singled to third base; B Kelly advanced to second. Lauterhahn reached on a fielder's choice; Wolfe out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 8 McGee flied out to cf. Young singled to center field. Young stole second. Nichols struck out swinging. Buben fouled out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. William Paterson inning 8 Egbert hit by pitch. Scher walked; Egbert advanced to second. DeMenna homered to right field, 3 RBI; Scher scored; Egbert scored. Lindner out at first p to 1b to p. Bumbaco singled to center field. B Kelly singled to center field, advanced to second on the throw; Bumbaco advanced to third. Cimilucca singled to left field, 2 RBI; B Kelly scored; Bumbaco scored. Lesko to p for Kiszczkak. Wolfe grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Cimilucca out on the play. 5 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Cal Lutheran inning 9 Torres reached on an error by 3b. S Smith reached on a fielder's choice; Torres out at second p to ss. Maldonaldo flied out to lf; S Smith advanced to second. Rauch lined out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Updated Sept 2003