Game 8 - May 26, 2001
Story | Box Score | Play by Play
Grand Chute, Wisconsin - Kyle Olson went 3-for-3 at the plate with six RBI, leading the University of St. Thomas into a rematch of last season's national championship game, as the Tommies cruised to a convincing 17-3 win over the State University of New York-Cortland in an NCAA Division III Baseball Championships championship-bracket game Saturday night at Fox Cities Stadium. St. Thomas, now 37-9 overall, will advance to play defending national champion Montclair State University in a championship-bracket game on Sunday at 7 p.m. Cortland State, now 34-10 overall, will face Salisbury State University in an elimination game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
The Tommies won their second game to open the Division III finals for the third year in a row. St. Thomas finished second in the country the last two seasons. "We're scared to death of them, to tell you the truth," said St. Thomas coach Dennis Denning of the matchup Sunday with Montclair State, which swept the Tommies 13-3 and 6-2 in last year's final games. "I remember what they did to us last year. They are a really good team. They've shown two great pitchers right away. We probably won't get them, so we're sort-of anxious to see what their third pitcher is like. I hope we bring our best game, that's all."
The Tommies took advantage of their speed game to notch the dominating victory, banging out 20 hits and taking advantage of eight walks and three Cortland State fielding errors. Eleven Tommies had base hits in the game, which lasted three hours and 22 minutes. St. Thomas has scored 10 or more runs in 22 games this season; they have won all 22. "We played great offense. We had a lot of good at-bats," said St. Thomas coach Dennis Denning. "Whether it was a bunt, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a key base-hit, we had a lot of good at-bats."
Olson, one of six Tommies to notch two hits, had three singles and two sacrifice flies to drive in his six runs. Tony Wolverton went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring four runs and driving in three. He had a double and triple. From the leadoff spot, Brad Bonine went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs scored. "It's been like that all year for us," said Olson. "I think we have one of the stronger lineups. I'd take any one of our guys at the plate when the job needs to be done. That reflects our work ethic."
Starter Bryan Edstrom pitched just 3.1 innings, and Rob Huckins relieved him, notching eight strikeouts to record the victory for the Tommies. Three Red Knights combined in a losing effort.
In the first inning, Bonine led off with a single and stole second, then came around to score on a single to right by Jake Mauer. After the Red Knights tied the game in the top of the second, the Tommies went ahead again in the bottom of the frame via the speed game, as Wolverton reached on a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Olson. A five-run third inning broke the game wide open, as the Tommies took advantage of three hits, four walks and a hit batter to take a big lead. A bases-loaded walk scored a run, a double by Wolverton drove in two runs, a single by Olson plated two runs. Three more runs came across for the Tommies in the fourth and fifth innings. A sacrifice fly by Olson brought in a run, and Bonine smacked a two-run homer to left field in the fourth. In the fifth, Mauer led off the frame with a double, and came around to score on a flyout and throwing error. Run-scoring singles by Sather and Olson completed the scoring for the Tommies in the fifth, giving them a commanding 13-3 lead. Another three-run inning added to the Tommie scoring ledger in the seventh. A triple by Wolverton brought in a run, and he later scored on a single and error. Christianson drove in another run to end the frame. The Tommies closed the scoring in the eighth, when two pinch hitters stroked doubles to plate a run.
The Tommies' defense also contributed in a big way, as catcher Olson made a tag on a relay play from right fielder Wolverton and first baseman Nate Sundberg, catching Cortland State's Larry Williams at the plate to end a scoring threat in the top of the third inning. Olson said the play served as a spark for the Tommies to move into the five-run bottom of the frame. "That was huge for us," he said.
The Red Knights scored their only runs in the second, fourth and ninth innings. A single by Tim Belz drove in a run in the second, and Cory Haggerty brought two runs across the plate on a single in the fourth. Two more runs came across in the ninth. Pat D'Auria singled and scored on a wild pitch, and Travis Simth singled and scored on a double by Tim Hunter.
Story | Box Score | Play by Play
Cortland State Univ. 5 (34-10) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Ben Albright 1b........... 5 1 1 0 0 3 7 1 Brendan Chiavaro lf....... 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 Pat D'Auria lf............ 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Travis Smith 3b/ss........ 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 Cory Haggerty 2b.......... 5 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 Matt Christiana rf........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Josh Horner ph/rf......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 Larry Williams ss......... 2 1 2 0 1 0 2 1 Tim Hunter ph/3b.......... 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Steve Wanamaker dh........ 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 Brian Huber cf............ 3 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 Ed Firpo cf............... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tim Belz c................ 3 0 1 1 0 1 3 0 Kalik Blanks c............ 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Phil Benante p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Travis Byrnes p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mike Arias p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals.................... 40 5 14 4 3 10 24 6 Univ. of St. Thomas 17 (37-9) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Brad Bonine cf............ 3 2 3 2 2 0 3 0 Scott Christiansen ph/lf.. 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Matt Buzzell ss........... 6 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 Jake Mauer 2b............. 5 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 Tom Carroll 3b............ 4 2 2 0 0 1 1 2 Nate Sundberg 1b.......... 4 1 0 0 1 1 6 1 Mark Fenstad ph/1b........ 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Luke Sather dh............ 4 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 John Bean ph/dh........... 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Ryan Benson lf/cf......... 2 2 1 1 1 0 3 0 Casey Garven ph/lf........ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Tony Wolverton rf/cf...... 5 4 3 3 1 0 1 1 Kyle Olson c.............. 3 1 3 6 0 0 9 1 Jim Nelson ph/c........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bryan Edstrom p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rob Huckins p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals.................... 41 17 20 16 8 3 27 9 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Cortland State Univ. 010 200 002 - 5 14 3 Univ. of St. Thomas 115 330 31 - 17 20 1 ---------------------------------------------- E - Horner, Huber, Belz, Olson. DP - Cortland St. 1. LOB - Cortland St. 11, St. Thomas 14. 2B - Hunter(5), Bonine(11), Mauer(12), Fenstad(4), Bean(2), Wolverton(5). 3B - Wolverton(8). HR - Bonine(11). SB - Williams(13), Bonine(20), Wolverton(27). SH - Benson. SF - Olson 2. Cortland State Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Phil Benante........ 2.0 4 7 6 5 2 9 17 Travis Byrnes....... 3.0 9 6 2 2 1 17 21 Mike Arias.......... 3.0 7 4 4 1 0 15 17 Univ. of St. Thomas IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Bryan Edstrom....... 3.1 9 3 3 2 2 18 20 Rob Huckins......... 5.2 5 2 2 1 8 22 23 Win - Huckins 3-0. Loss - Benante 7-1. Save - None. PB - Belz 2, Nelson. HBP - by Benante (Carroll), by Benante (Carroll), by Arias (Benson). Umpires - Home:Bill Lopina 1st:John Ramsey 2nd:George Drouches 3rd:Jeff Sill Start: 8:04 pm Time: 3:22 Attendance: 1176 Game Notes: Game 8...UST runs record to 22-0 when scoring 10 runs or more this season ...four CS walks and a hit batter led to five runs in the third inning... first three innings took 1 hour and 38 minutes. Benante faced 5 batters in the 3rd.
Story | Box Score | Play by Play
Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Cortland State Univ. 010 200 002 - 5 14 3 Univ. of St. Thomas 115 330 31 - 17 20 1 ---------------------------------------------- Cortland State Univ. inning 1 Albright struck out looking. Chiavaro singled to right center. Smith flied out to cf. Haggerty singled to center field; Chiavaro advanced to third. Christiana popped up to 3b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 1 Bonine singled through the left side. Bonine stole second. Buzzell struck out swinging. Mauer singled to right field, RBI; Bonine scored. Carroll hit by pitch; Mauer advanced to second. Sundberg struck out swinging. Sather fouled out to 1b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 2 Williams singled to right field. Wanamaker walked; Williams advanced to second. Huber flied out to lf. Belz singled to right center, RBI; Wanamaker advanced to second; Williams scored. Albright flied out to rf. Chiavaro singled to second base; Belz advanced to second; Wanamaker advanced to third. Smith grounded out to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 2 Benson lined out to 2b. Wolverton walked. Wolverton stole second. Wolverton advanced to third on a passed ball. Olson flied out to rf, SF, RBI; Wolverton scored, unearned. Bonine walked. Buzzell singled to left center; Bonine advanced to third. Mauer flied out to cf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 3 Haggerty flied out to lf. Christiana flied out to cf. Williams singled to first base, bunt. Williams stole second. Wanamaker walked. Huber singled to right field; Wanamaker advanced to third; Williams advanced to third, out at home rf to 1b to c. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 3 Carroll hit by pitch. Carroll advanced to second on a passed ball. Sundberg walked. Sather walked; Sundberg advanced to second; Carroll advanced to third. Benson walked, RBI; Sather advanced to second; Sundberg advanced to third; Carroll scored. Wolverton doubled to left field, 2 RBI; Benson advanced to third; Sather scored; Sundberg scored. Byrnes to p for Benante. Olson singled to right field, 2 RBI; Wolverton scored; Benson scored. Bonine doubled to right field; Olson advanced to third. Buzzell grounded out to ss. Mauer intentionally walked. Carroll struck out looking. Sundberg lined out to cf. 5 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 4 Belz struck out swinging. Albright singled to left field. Chiavaro singled to center field; Albright advanced to second. Huckins to p for Edstrom. Smith grounded out to p; Chiavaro advanced to second; Albright advanced to third. Haggerty singled down the lf line, 2 RBI; Chiavaro scored; Albright scored. Christiana flied out to lf. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 4 Sather reached on an error by c. Benson out at first 1b to 2b, SAC; Sather advanced to second. Wolverton singled to third base, bunt; Sather advanced to third. Olson lined out to cf, SF, RBI; Sather scored, unearned. Bonine homered to left field, 2 RBI, unearned; Wolverton scored, unearned. Buzzell flied out to cf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 5 Williams walked. Wanamaker fouled out to c; Williams advanced to second on an error by c. Huber struck out swinging. Belz grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 5 Mauer doubled down the rf line. Carroll singled to second base; Mauer advanced to third. Sundberg flied out to cf; Carroll advanced to third on the throw; Mauer scored on an error by cf, scored on the throw. Sather singled to right center, RBI; Carroll scored. Benson singled, bunt; Sather advanced to second. Wolverton lined out to ss. Olson singled to right field, RBI; Benson advanced to second; Sather scored, unearned. Bonine walked; Olson advanced to second; Benson advanced to third. Buzzell popped up to ss. 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 6 Albright struck out looking. Chiavaro singled to left field. Smith reached on a fielder's choice; Chiavaro out at second ss to 2b. Haggerty flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 6 Arias to p for Benante. Mauer grounded out to 2b. Carroll singled to shortstop. Sundberg flied out to cf. Sather grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 7 Horner pinch hit for Christiana. Horner struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. Hunter pinch hit for Williams. Hunter grounded out to 3b. Wanamaker struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 7 Horner to rf. D'Auria to lf for Chiavaro. Smith to ss. Hunter to 3b. Firpo to cf for Huber. Blanks to c for Belz. Benson hit by pitch. Wolverton tripled to right center, RBI; Benson scored. Olson singled to right field, advanced to second on a throwing error by rf, RBI; Wolverton scored. Christiansen pinch hit for Bonine. Christiansen singled to right field, RBI; Olson scored. Buzzell singled to first base; Christiansen advanced to second. Mauer grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; Buzzell out on the play; Christiansen advanced to third. Carroll popped up to ss. 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 8 Christiansen to lf. Benson to cf. Firpo grounded out to 3b. Blanks struck out looking. Albright struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Univ. of St. Thomas inning 8 Fenstad pinch hit for Sundberg. Fenstad doubled to right center. Bean pinch hit for Sather. Bean doubled to center field, RBI; Fenstad scored. Garven pinch hit for Benson. Garven walked. Wolverton grounded out to 1b unassisted; Garven advanced to second; Bean advanced to third. Nelson pinch hit for Olson. Nelson flied out to rf. Christiansen grounded out to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Cortland State Univ. inning 9 Christiansen to rf. Fenstad to 1b. Bean to dh. Garven to lf. Wolverton to cf. Nelson to c. D'Auria singled to left field. Smith singled to right field; D'Auria advanced to second. Haggerty grounded out to 1b unassisted; Smith advanced to second; D'Auria advanced to third. Horner struck out swinging. Smith advanced to third on a passed ball; D'Auria scored on a passed ball. Hunter doubled to right center, RBI; Smith scored. Wanamaker struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Updated Sept 2003