Game 15 - May 28, 2002
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Grand Chute, Wisconsin - When the 2002 college baseball season started, Eastern Connecticut State University head coach Bill Holowaty made a prophetic statement. Holowaty, whose program was on the verge to breaking the 1,000-win plateu, said his team shouldn't be remembered only as the team that gave ECSU it's 1,000th victory. Tuesday afternoon, his team made sure of that.
In a matchup of two of Division III's most storied programs, ECSU defeated Marietta College, 8-0 to claim it's fourth National Championship, and first since 1998. "I knew before the season started that these kids were special," Holowaty said. "I told our Sports Information Director that, and I don't know why I said it, I just knew that these kids had something in them."
Eastern got all the runs it needed in the top-half of the second inning. Senior first baseman John Kubacha (pictured to the left) led off with a single to centerfield. With one away, Jared Holowaty lined a 2-0 fastball from Maritta starter Trey Lamb up the middle for a base hit. Third baseman Inaki Ormaecha's single loaded the bases before shortstop Tom Koch swung and missed for the second out. A fielding error by Marietta second baseman Dusty Childress allowed Matt Funaro to reach, and scored Holowaty and Kubachka. With two on, Morgan Thompson singled and brought home Ormaecha to give ECSU a 3-0 lead. Winning pitcher Joey Serfass is picture on the right and Justin Waz is picture on the left.
It was a long road to a championship for the team. After a rather inauspicious start, the Warriors were eliminated from the Little East Conference Tournament in two games, and weren't even sure they would qualify for NCAA competition. So, with the memory of last season's loss in the Regional Final, and knowing that more was possible than what had been accomplished, ECSU rallied. After winning it's first two games in dramatic fashion.
In the opener, Bill Holowaty had to leave the game in the second inning after dislocating his hip. After a 29-minute delay, the Warriors eventually rallied in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Concordia University at Austin, 5-4.
Game two was another come-from-behind thriller, won in the bottom of the ninth when third baseman Inaki Ormaechea hit a two-run double to beat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 10-9. The Warriors then handed Marietta its first loss on Monday morning, a 4-2 decision which earned a spot in the championship game, despite a 6-5 loss to Christopher Newport University later that night.
With a near-miss turned into celebration, and a season's worth of setbacks, tough losses and injuries behind them, the Warriors were finally able to relax a little bit. "Being a senior this year, and remembering what it felt like to lose [at regionals a year ago], it's a great feeling," Kubachka said. "We know how hard it is to get here, and get through this system."
Marietta, which finished its season with a 41-9-1 record, beat The College of New Jersey twice, and a pair of games Christopher Newport University; the first on Sunday and again on Tuesday to earn a spot in the campionship game.
NOTES: The 8-0 score represented the fourth shutout in the 27-year history of the Tournament. The announced attendance of 927 set a Tournament record for total attendence of 19,575. The tournament featured 10 games which were decided by 10 runs or less, including six one-run contests.
Story | Box score | Play-by-Play
Eastern Connecticut 8 (39-11-1) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Morgan Thompson 2b........ 5 1 1 1 0 1 3 4 Justin Waz dh............. 5 2 4 3 0 0 0 0 Dwight Wildman cf......... 5 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 John Kubachka 1b.......... 5 1 3 1 0 0 11 0 John Hedde lf............. 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Jared Holowaty rf......... 4 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 Inaki Ormaechea 3b........ 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 Tom Koch ss............... 4 0 2 0 0 2 1 4 Jeff Funaro c............. 4 2 1 0 0 1 6 0 Joey Serfass p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Totals.................... 41 8 14 6 0 9 27 12 Marietta College 0 (41-9-1) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Chris Sidick cf........... 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 Todd Yoder dh............. 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Brent Curtin 3b........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Jay Coakley c............. 2 0 0 0 2 0 9 1 Kevin May 1b.............. 4 0 1 0 0 1 9 0 Matt McLuckey rf.......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 Derek Pauley lf........... 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 Dusty Childress 2b........ 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 5 Nate Brown ss............. 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Trey Lamb p............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Totals.................... 32 0 5 0 2 6 27 8 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Eastern Connecticut 050 010 002 - 8 14 1 Marietta College 000 000 000 - 0 5 1 ---------------------------------------------- E - Thompson, Childress. DP - Eastern Conn 1. LOB - Eastern Conn 6, Marietta 8. 2B - Waz 2, Pauley. 3B - Waz. CS - Koch. Eastern Connecticut IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Joey Serfass........ 9.0 5 0 0 2 6 32 35 Marietta College IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Trey Lamb........... 9.0 14 8 3 0 9 41 41 Win - Serfass 10-1. Loss - Lamb 9-2. Save - None. HBP - by Serfass (Curtin). Umpires - Home:George Drouches 1st:John Ramsey 2nd:Jim Jackson 3rd:Rod Murphy Start: 4:30 pm Time: 1:57 Attendance: 927
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Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Eastern Connecticut 050 010 002 - 8 14 1 Marietta College 000 000 000 - 0 5 1 ---------------------------------------------- Eastern Connecticut inning 1 Thompson grounded out to 2b (1-1). Waz grounded out to 2b (0-1). Wildman struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Marietta College inning 1 Sidick reached on an error by 2b (0-1). Yoder reached on a fielder's choice (2-1); Sidick out at second ss to 2b. Curtin fouled out to lf (1-2). Coakley lined out to p (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 2 Kubachka singled to left center (2-2). Hedde flied out to cf (0-0). Holowaty singled up the middle (2-0); Kubachka advanced to second. Ormaechea singled through the right side (0-0); Holowaty advanced to second; Kubachka advanced to third. Koch struck out swinging (0-2). Funaro reached on an error by 2b (3-2); Ormaechea advanced to third; Holowaty scored, unearned; Kubachka scored, unearned. Thompson singled through the right side, RBI (0-1); Funaro advanced to second; Ormaechea scored, unearned. Waz tripled to right center, 2 RBI (1-0); Thompson scored, unearned; Funaro scored, unearned. Wildman flied out to rf (3-1). 5 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 2 K.May grounded out to 3b (1-0). McLuckey singled to shortstop (1-0). Pauley out at first p to ss to 1b (2-1); McLuckey advanced to second. Childress struck out looking (0-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 3 Kubachka fouled out to 1b (1-1). Hedde flied out to 2b (0-1). Holowaty struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Marietta College inning 3 Brown grounded out to 2b (2-1). Sidick grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-0). Yoder singled to first base (2-2). Curtin grounded out to 3b (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 4 Ormaechea grounded out to 2b (2-2). Koch singled through the right side (2-1). Koch out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. Funaro struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Marietta College inning 4 Coakley walked (3-2). K.May struck out swinging (0-2). McLuckey popped up to ss (0-1). Pauley doubled down the rf line (0-2); Coakley advanced to third. Childress grounded out to 3b (1-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 5 Thompson struck out swinging (3-2). Waz doubled to left center (2-1). Wildman grounded out to 2b (0-2); Waz advanced to third. Kubachka singled to right field, RBI (2-2); Waz scored. Hedde grounded out to 2b (2-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 5 Brown grounded out to ss (1-0). Sidick struck out swinging (2-2). Yoder grounded out to 2b (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 6 Holowaty struck out looking (1-2). Ormaechea struck out looking (0-2). Koch singled up the middle (3-1). Funaro flied out to cf (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 6 Curtin struck out swinging (0-2). Coakley walked (3-1). K.May flied out to lf (0-2). McLuckey struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 7 Thompson grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-1). Waz singled through the left side (1-1). Wildman flied out to rf (1-2). Kubachka singled to left field (0-0); Waz advanced to second. Hedde grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Marietta College inning 7 Pauley flied out to cf (1-2). Childress grounded out to 2b (2-2). Brown fouled out to 3b (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 8 Holowaty flied out to lf (1-0). Ormaechea struck out swinging (3-2). Koch struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Marietta College inning 8 Sidick grounded out to 1b unassisted (3-1). Yoder struck out swinging (3-2). Curtin hit by pitch (0-1). Coakley flied out to cf (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Connecticut inning 9 Funaro singled to center field (0-2). Thompson flied out to cf (0-2). Waz doubled to center field, RBI (2-2); Funaro scored. Wildman singled through the right side, RBI (0-0); Waz scored. Kubachka flied out to lf (2-1). Hedde grounded out to p (0-0). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Marietta College inning 9 K.May singled to second base (3-2). McLuckey lined into double play 2b to 1b (1-2); K.May out on the play. Pauley singled to right field (0-2). Childress reached on a fielder's choice (1-2); Pauley out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Updated Sept 2003