2002 NCAA Division III Baseball New York Regional
Tournament Statistics
Summary Stats
Team Stats
Individual Stats
Pittsburgh-Bradford
Cortland State
Ithaca
Rensselaer
Stevens Institute of Technology
Western Conn State
Red Hawks score once in ninth for record-setting victory
A one-out single by sophomore Ben Meacham in the ninth inning gave the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team a 3-2 win over Ithaca College and the Championship of the NCAA Regional Tournament held at Heritage Park in Colonie, NY. The Red Hawks advance to the eight-team, double elimination Division III College World Series this weekend in Appleton, WI.
Rensselaer’s game-winning rally began when leadoff hitter Matt Faraone reached on a walk. Brendan Witherell sacrificed him to second base and, after Steven Palmer was hit by a pitch, Meacham drove a pitch to the right centerfield gap and Faraone scored easily. For RPI, the win clinched its second-ever trip to the World Series and set a school mark for victories in a single season (32-9).
The second-seeded Red Hawks were forced to bat in the ninth when Ithaca (27-18), the fourth seed, pushed home the tying run in their half of the inning. The Bombers scored when Zach Townsend-Ness singled and eventually got to third base on another single and a double play. He then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, 3-3.
Rensselaer jumped out in front, 2-0, with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Senior David Hubbs singled and advanced to third on an error. He was knocked in on a single by Palmer. Witherell, who reached on the error, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Travis Teeter.
Ithaca came right back, however, scoring two runs of their own the next inning. Tim Bush led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a walk to Mike Pritts. Bush scored on an error and Pritts eventually scored on a groundout.
The Red Hawks regained the lead, 3-2, in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Faraone but Ithaca fought back to tie the score in the ninth, setting up the dramatic bottom of the inning. For Meacham, a native of Monroe, NY, the hit came in his first at bat of the Regionals.
Teeter (8-2) earned the win while Dan Welch (4-2) suffered the loss. Rensselaer advances to play Lakeland College (WI) on Friday evening at 7:45pm in the first round of the Division III College World Series. In its four games of the tournament, the Red Hawks outscored its opponents, 40-9. Two of its victories came against Ithaca, who RPI beat three times in the regular season.
Named to the All-Tournament Team were Rensselaer’s Faraone, Teeter, Hubbs, Flynn Cochran and Dan Quinn; Ithaca’s Bush, Kyle Sottung and Ian Locke; Cortland’s Pat D’Auria and Cory Haggarty; and Western Connecticut State’s Ian Reilly.
2002 New York Regional All-Tournament Team
Pitcher - Travis Teeter, Rensselaer; Kyle Sottung, Ithaca; Ian Locke, Ithaca; First Base - Dan Quinn, Rensselaer; Second Base - Flynn Cochran, Rensselaer; Third Base - David Hubbs, Rensselaer; Shortstop - Cory Haggerty, Cortland State; Tim Bush, Ithaca; Outfield - Pat D'Auria, Cortland State; Matt Faraone, Rensselaer; Ian Reilly, Western Conn State.Results
Cortland State 13, Stevens Institute of Technology 6
Rensselaer 10, Western Conn State 2
Ithaca 10, Pittsburgh-Bradford 1
Western Conn State 9, Stevens Institute of Technology 3
Cortland State 19, Pittsburgh-Bradford 8
Rensselaer 12, Cortland State 2