Game 3 - May 26, 2001
Story | Box Score | Play by Play
Grand Chute, Wisconsin - Montclair State coach Norm Schoenig calls Craig Conway and Dave Wurst the "essence of the baseball program." So it should come as no surprise that they teamed up Saturday to help the defending champion Red Hawks advance within one game of the national final. Wurst led off the 10th with a single and, two batters later, scored on Conway's single to right field as Montclair State edged Marietta College 2-1 in a second-round winners' bracket game at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
The Red Hawks improved to 37-9, having won 23 of their last 24 games. Marietta, which was riding a 27-game winning streak, fell to 45-8-1. Montclair State starter Corey Hamman went 10 innings, scattering five hits, walking three and tying his season high for strikeouts with 11.
Marietta starter Kris Buirley went 9 1/3 innings, striking out four, walking three and giving up nine hits. "It was probably one of the best games I've ever been in," Hamman said. Said Buirley: "That's the kind of game you always want to pitch in." In the end, Schoenig was just happy to see his one-two punch of Conway and Wurst finish the job. "Without them, not a lot of things happen," Schoenig said. "We've got some other players who certainly joined in, but those two guys - for Dave to be at second and Craig to get the hit and win the game - it's just tremendous. "They turned the whole thing around and got it going in the right direction when we really needed it. I'm really pleased it happened to work out that way." Conway's game-winning hit also set a school record for hits in a season (87). The old record was set by Pepe Herrero in 1987. "(The record) isn't the biggest thing," Conway said. "It's an honor, but the biggest thing is winning the game. I went up there (in the final at-bat) just thinking, 'If it's there, hit it,' and he left one over the plate for me." Conway, Wurst and Scott Clark each had two hits to lead the Red Hawks.
Marietta took a 1-0 lead in the second when Mike Menke's sacrifice fly scored Mike Deegan, who led off the inning with a single. Clark tied it in the fifth, blasting a lead-off homer. "That really gave us some momentum and put us back in the game," Clark said. What kept them in the game was Hamman's pitching. Although he walked three and gave up two hits over the first three innings, Hamman settled down after that. In the final seven innings, he didn't walk any and gave up just two hits. His ERA (3.61) fell below 4.00 for the first time since the season opener. "With the adrenaline, I probably could have thrown 10 more innings," said Hamman (11-5), who retired 17 of the last 19 batters. "Once you get to that point, I didn't even feel anything, I was just throwing. I felt that if I kept throwing strikes, my infield was going to make plays."
The Red Hawks defense came through on several occasions, two in particular. On one play, Conway, who had moved to third base, made a barehanded grab on a slow roller and fired to first to nail the runner. "Nothing (Conway) does surprises me," Schoenig said. "In fact, I remarked to some scouts that he's like a young Brooks Robinson." The other big play came in the 10th, when first baseman George Becker ran into a cement wall in the right-field bullpen while catching a pop fly. He promptly turned and doubled the runner off first base to end the inning, setting the stage for Montclair State to win it in the bottom half.
"I felt like I was hitting my spots pretty well," said Buirley (9-2). "But I made some pitches I shouldn't have thrown at the end of the game." Marietta coach Don Schaly was disappointed in his team's inability to drive in runs. "Our lack of offensive production is not easy to explain," he said. "There is no explanantion."
Story | Box Score | Play by Play
Marietta College 1 (45-8-1) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Dusty Childress 3b........ 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 4 Andy Coble cf............. 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 Matt McLuckey rf.......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 Jay Coakley c............. 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 1 Mike Deegan 1b............ 4 1 1 0 0 0 14 1 Todd Timmer 2b............ 3 0 0 0 0 2 5 4 Mike Menke ss............. 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 Kevin May dh.............. 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Derek Pauley lf........... 4 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 Kris Buirley p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 Totals.................... 31 1 5 1 3 11 28 18 Montclair State 2 (37-9) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Dave Wurst ss/2b.......... 4 1 2 0 1 0 2 3 Sean Morrison lf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 P.J. Baccarella ss........ 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Craig Conway 2b/3b........ 5 0 2 1 0 1 1 3 Scott Allan dh............ 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Chris Baran rf............ 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Jeff Schriber c........... 3 0 0 0 1 1 11 0 Scott Clark cf............ 4 1 2 1 0 0 3 0 George Becker 1b.......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 8 2 Adam Cerminaro 3b......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Frank Longo lf............ 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Corey Hamman p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Totals.................... 36 2 9 2 3 4 30 10 Score by innings: R H E ----------------------------------------------- Marietta College 010 000 000 0 - 1 5 0 Montclair State 000 010 000 1 - 2 9 1 ----------------------------------------------- Note: 1 out, 1 runner(s) LOB when the game ended. E - Cerminaro. DP - Marietta 1, Montclair 1. LOB - Marietta 6, Montclair 9. 2B - Conway(16), Allan(16). HR - Clark(3). SB - Wurst 2(23), Conway(4). CS - Timmer. SH - Childress, Timmer. SF - Menke. Marietta College IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Kris Buirley........ 9.1 9 2 2 3 4 36 39 Montclair State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Corey Hamman........ 10.0 5 1 0 3 11 31 37 Win - Hamman 11-5. Loss - Buirley 9-2. Save - None. Umpires - Home:Bill Prange 1st:Gary Kalkopf 2nd:Mike Parquette 3rd:Bill Pensyl Start: 4:43 pm Time: 2:27 Attendance: 996
Story | Box Score | Play by Play
Score by innings: R H E ----------------------------------------------- Marietta College 010 000 000 0 - 1 5 0 Montclair State 000 010 000 1 - 2 9 1 ----------------------------------------------- Marietta College inning 1 Childress walked. Coble struck out looking. McLuckey flied out to rf. Coakley struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 1 Wurst grounded out to 3b. Morrison singled through the right side. Conway reached on a fielder's choice; Morrison out at second p to 2b. Conway stole second. Allan grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 2 Deegan singled to left field. Timmer reached on a throwing error by 3b, SAC, bunt; Deegan advanced to third. Menke flied out to cf, SF, RBI; Deegan scored, unearned. Timmer out at second p to 1b to ss, caught stealing, picked off. K. May walked. Pauley struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 2 Baran grounded out to p. Schriber struck out swinging. Clark grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Marietta College inning 3 Childress struck out swinging. Coble struck out looking. McLuckey walked. Coakley singled to right field; McLuckey advanced to second. Deegan reached on a fielder's choice; Coakley out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Montclair State inning 3 Becker singled to second base. Cerminaro struck out looking. Wurst walked; Becker advanced to second. Morrison grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; Wurst out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 4 Timmer struck out swinging. Menke grounded out to ss. K. May struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 4 Conway doubled to right center. Allan flied out to lf. Baran grounded out to p. Schriber grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 5 Pauley singled up the middle. Childress grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; Pauley advanced to second. Coble flied out to lf. McLuckey flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 5 Clark homered to left field, RBI. Becker flied out to rf. Cerminaro struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. Wurst singled to center field. Wurst stole second. Morrison out at first 1b to p. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 6 Wurst to 2b. Baccarella to ss for Morrison. Conway to 3b. Longo to lf for Cerminaro. Coakley struck out swinging. Deegan grounded out to 2b. Timmer flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 6 Conway struck out swinging. Allan doubled to left center. Baran grounded out to 2b; Allan advanced to third. Schriber walked. Clark flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Marietta College inning 7 Menke grounded out to 3b. K. May grounded out to 3b. Pauley struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 7 Becker grounded out to 2b. Longo popped up to 2b. Wurst flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Marietta College inning 8 Childress singled to center field. Coble struck out, bunt. McLuckey flied out to cf. Coakley flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 8 Baccarella grounded out to 3b. Conway grounded out to ss. Allan walked. Baran grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 9 Deegan grounded out to 3b, bunt. Timmer struck out looking. Menke fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 9 Schriber lined out to 2b. Clark singled to left field. Becker reached on a fielder's choice; Clark out at second 3b to 2b. Longo grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 10 K. May lined out to 2b. Pauley singled to right field. Childress fouled into double play 1b to p; Pauley out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 10 Wurst singled to right center. Wurst stole second. Baccarella popped up to p, bunt. Conway singled to right field, RBI; Wurst scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Updated Sept 2003