2003 NCAA Division III Baseball New England Regional
Tournament Statistics
Summary Stats
Team Stats
Individual Stats
Albertus Magnus
Brandeis
Bridgewater State (Mass)
Eastern Conn State
Endicott
Wheaton
Eastern Conn State returns to Championship
Willimantic, CN -- Tournament Most Outstanding Player Tom Koch sparked a six-run ninth-inning rally with a two-out, two-run double as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team rallied to defeat Bridgewater State College 8-3 Sunday to win the 2003 NCAA Division III New England Regional Baseball Tournament.
The defending national champion and No.1 ranked team in Division III, Eastern (41-7) qualifies for its ninth NCAA Division III national tournament and will open play at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, WI against Mid-Atlantic Regional champion DeSales University, which will be making its first tournament appearance, defeated Otterbein College Sunday in that regional's championship game.
Fourth-seeded Bridgewater (27-12) needed two wins over top-seeded Eastern to win its second New England Regional championship. The Warriors, who set program records for wins and home wins (22) with the victory, captured their second straight regional title for the first time since 1982-83. Eastern has won the regional title the last four times it has served as host, twice going on to win national titles.
Bridgewater had advanced to the championship round with two wins Saturday after losing 6-2 to Wheaton College Friday in a second-round game. Eastern has won its first three tournament games, defeating Wheaton 6-2 Saturday in the winners' bracket.
Eastern had managed only six hits and two runs off senior righty Tim Hart before scoring six times on six hits in the ninth. Senior rightfielder Dan Silva tied the game 3-3 with a one-out single and Koch put Eastern ahead for good with a two-run, two-out double down the left field line. Junior leftfielder Eugene Julien made it 6-3 with a single and junior centerfielder Dwight Wildman drove in the seventh run of the game with a single to right. He later stole home - his third stolen base of the game -- to make it 8-3.
Bridgewater, which had lost 19-3 to Eastern April 23, wiped out a 2-0 Eastern lead with single runs in the the, sixth and seventh against junior lefty Jeremy Hall. Junior centerfielder Michael Richard tied the game 2-2 with his seventh home run - a solo shot to left-center with one out in the sixth - and junior leftfielder Jim Sullivan's RBI single to left plated junior second baseman Jason Arraiol from second with one out in the seventh with the only unearned run allowed by Eastern in the tournament.
Hall (4-0), who has won all seven of his career decisions, got a fly ball to left and stabbed a sharp ground ball and threw to first to record the final out of the inning with two runners aboard.
Sophomore Jason Pekrul opened the Eastern ninth with a pinch single - his second at-bat of the tournament. Pekrul then stole second and moved to third on senior catcher Jeff Funaro's ground ball to second base. Silva then drove in his first tournament run with a single to center, advanced to second on senior second baseman Morgan Thompson's (single to right-center and scored ahead of Thompson on Koch's double down the left field line.
Hart (6-3), who made 283 pitches in two games over four days, cruised through the middle innings after sophomore DH Leon Galemba had given Eastern a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run single in the first. Hart pitched three straight hitless innings before Silva managed a one-out single to right in the seventh which senior Jeremy Winters was unable to hold after a diving attempt.
Junior righty Joey Serfass who had pitched the first six innings of Friday's 14-0 win over Brandeis, struck out the side in the ninth to end the game.
2003 New England Regional All-Tournament Team
MVP - Tom Koch, Eastern Conn State
Shortstop - Tom Koch, Eastern Conn State; Chad Cambra, Bridgewater State (Mass); Outfield - Joe Tomasi, Albertus Magnus; Michael Richard, Bridgewater State (Mass); Dan Silva, Eastern Conn State; Dwight Wildman, Eastern Conn State; Eugene Julien, Eastern Conn State; Designated Hitter - Leon Galemba, Eastern Conn State; Pitcher - Adam Czerwinski, Eastern Conn State; Jon Jackson, Wheaton (Mass); Tim Hart, Bridgewater State (Mass).Results
Eastern Conn State 8, Endicott 3
Bridgewater State (Mass) 3, Brandeis 2 (13)
Eastern Conn State 14, Brandeis 0
Wheaton 6, Bridgewater State (Mass) 2
Eastern Conn State 6, Wheaton 2
Bridgewater State (Mass) 6, Albertus Magnus 3