2001 NCAA Division III Baseball Midwest Regional
Tournament Statistics
Summary Stats
Team Stats
Individual Stats
Edgewood
Ripon
St. Thomas (Minn)
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Toms win region championship
Ryan Benson's two-run homer capped a four-run eighth inning and helped St. Thomas claim a 10-3 victory over Ripon
Oshkosh, Wisconsin - The Tommies (35-9) advance to the May 25-29 College World Series in Appleton, Wis., for the third year in a row. The Toms had their hands full vs Ripon (33-9), though. The Red Hawks, trying to reach their first College World Series, won Saturday's 11 a.m. game, 6-4 in 10 innings, to force the rematch.
The Toms trailed 2-1 through four innings and led just 4-3 after seven before putting the game away in their last two at-bats. Benson and Tony Wolverton each went 3-for-4 to lead an 11-hit attack.
Tommie freshman Sean Lindstrom was named tournament MVP. He pitched 7 2-3 innings and allowed three runs, seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts. He also pitched the final 1 2-3 innings of Saturday's first game, giving him 9 1-3 innings on the day and 12 2-3 innings on the tournament
UST took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Kyle Olson in the top of the third. Ripon went ahead in the fourth 2-1 on Zach Morris' two-run homer.
The Toms regained the lead with two runs in the fifth. Wolverton singled and stole second. Benson's RBI double tied the score 2-2. Matt Buzzell's RBI single made it 3-2. The Toms made it 4-2 in the top of the sixth as Casey Garven singled, stole second and scored on an error. Ripon pulled within 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh on Pat Garland's solo homer.
But UST broke through in the top of the eighth. Mauer reached on an error and Tom Carroll walked. Nate Sundberg's sacrifice bunt put runners and second and third with one out. Garven's sacrifice fly and Wolverton's RBI single made it 6-3, and Benson's two-run homer made it 8-3. The Toms added two runs in the ninth as Brad Bonine singled and took third on Buzzell's double; Mauer's sac fly and Sundberg's RBI ground out scored the last two runs. Brian Whinnery walked one and fanned two in 1 1-3 innings of hitless relief.
2001 Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team
MVP - Sean Lindstrom, St. Thomas (Minn)
Results
Wisconsin-Stevens Point 3, Ripon 1
St. Thomas (Minn) 9, Edgewood 8 (11)
St. Thomas (Minn) 5, Wisconsin-Stevens Point 1