Game 7 - May 29, 2004
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
Grand Chute, Wisconsin - All season long, Jeff Wilson has pitched well enough to give even the most meager offensive output the chance to get the win.
The senior right-hander entered the contest with Eastern Connecticut State University with a nifty 1.32 earned run average and 55 strikeouts in 68 innings of work. But as has also been the case this season, Wilson was the victim of poor run support, as his Golden Eagles dropped a 2-1 decision to the Warriors in a second round match up in the finals of the 2004 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
The problem was Brockport ran into an equally dominant pitcher in Eastern's Joey Serfass (pictured right). The senior right hander was 9-0 entering the finals with a tidy 1.48 ERA. Serfass's collection of off-speed pitches held the Golden Eagles to just two hits with seven strikeouts. The second team All-America selection needed just 91 pitches to pick up the complete game and his 22nd consecutive victory, which includes seven straight in the NCAA Tournament.
The game, which finally started after a rain delay that lasted just a shade over two hours, was pitched so efficiently, that, at an hour and 55 minutes, was shorter than the delay itself. It also had the looks of a knock-em-out, drag-em-out duel from the get-go, and one that would rely heavily on pitching, as Wilson matched Serfass on the scoreboard for much of the early innings as they combined for just three hits.
"Our defense tonight was . . . holy mackerel," Eastern Connecticut coach Bill Halowaty said. "In crunch time, the double play balls . . . I was nervous about that, and we just turned some great double plays."
While Wilson allowed eight hits, his defense helped strand 10 Eastern Connecticut base runners, keeping his team in the game. The Warriors loaded the bases in the bottom of the third when Dwight Wildman was hit by a pitch with two outs, but Wilson got designated hitter Leon Galemba to look at strike three to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Warriors broke the deadlock in the fourth, putting runners at second and third with nobody out when first baseman Chris DeSantis hit a sacrifice fly to left, which scored Re (pictured left). Re reached base somewhat oddly, swinging at strike three but advancing to first on a passed ball.
Shortstop Tim Wilson (pictured left) tied the game at one with a lead off home run in the top of the sixth. The shot to left field snapped Serfass's streak of 31 consecutive scoreless innings of work. "I'm a spot pitcher, I don't strike a lot of guys out, so I had to hit my spots tonight," Serfass said. "I made one mistake tonight, and I paid for it."
The teams traded goose eggs for two more frames until the eighth. Eastern Connecticut third baseman Jason Garofalo singled to left to lead off the inning, stole second, and got to third on a controversial interference call on Brockport second baseman John Morgan. That was followed by Jeff Wilson's intentional walk of Chris DeSantis, putting runners at first and third with one out. Catcher Adam Hevenor (pictured right) bunted the first pitch right back to Wilson, which allowed Garofalo to score, and gave the Warriors a lead they never relinquished.
"My hitting hasn't been there so I knew I had to do something," Hevenor said. "So I knew I had to put the squeeze down."
Wilson's record dropped to 4-6 in 2004. In those six losses, the Golden Eagles managed to score just 11 total runs, but his 1.30 ERA is still fourth-best in the nation. "He's pitched great every time out, but that's just the way it goes," Brockport head coach Mark Rowland said. "It seems like every time [Wilson] pitches, we go up against somebody else's ace."
The Golden Eagles will face the GeorgeRowen in a loser's bracket game . Eastern Connecticut will move into the third round, where the top-ranked Warriors will face George Fox.
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
SUNY-Brockport 1 (34-14) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Mike Ranalli rf........... 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 John Morgan 2b............ 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Joe Lux c................. 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 2 Matt Johnson lf........... 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Andy Petersen dh.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jeff Schwegler 1b......... 3 0 0 0 0 2 11 0 Ryan Mohr 3b.............. 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 3 Rob Astalos cf............ 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 Tim Wilson ss............. 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 3 Jeff Wilson p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals.................... 28 1 2 1 2 7 24 10 E. Connecticut State 2 (41-9) Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Jason Pekrul lf........... 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 Eugene Julien 2b.......... 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 4 Dwight Wildman rf......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Leon Galemba dh........... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Marc Garofalo 3b.......... 4 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 Randy Re cf............... 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 Chris DeSantis 1b......... 2 0 1 1 1 0 14 0 Adam Hevenor c............ 2 0 0 1 1 0 5 2 Tom Koch ss............... 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 Joey Serfass p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals.................... 29 2 8 2 3 5 27 17 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- SUNY-Brockport 000 001 000 - 1 2 2 E. Connecticut State 000 100 01 - 2 8 2 ---------------------------------------------- E - Morgan; Mohr; Julien; Koch. DP - ECSU 2. LOB - SUNY-B 3; ECSU 10. 2B - Re 2(5). HR - T. Wilson(2). SB - Astalos(18); Garofalo(9). CS - Julien. SH - Lux; Hevenor; Koch. SF - DeSantis. SUNY-Brockport IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Jeff Wilson......... 8.0 8 2 1 3 5 29 36 E. Connecticut State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Joey Serfass........ 9.0 2 1 1 2 7 28 31 Win - Serfass 10-0. Loss - J. Wilson 4-6. Save - None. WP - Serfass. HBP - by J. Wilson (Wildman). Umpires - Home:Ralph Minard 1st:Dan Eversole 2nd:Bill Ryan 3rd:Rick Lindquist Start: 6:43 pm Time: 1:55 Attendance: 1750
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- SUNY-Brockport 000 001 000 - 1 2 2 E. Connecticut State 000 100 01 - 2 8 2 ---------------------------------------------- SUNY-Brockport inning 1 Ranalli grounded out to ss. Morgan flied out to rf. Lux struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 1 Pekrul grounded out to ss. Julien walked. Wildman popped up to 1b. Julien out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 2 Johnson flied out to lf. Petersen grounded out to ss. Schwegler grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 2 Galemba grounded out to ss. Garofalo struck out swinging. Re doubled down the lf line. DeSantis flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 3 Mohr reached on an error by 2b. Mohr out at second c to 2b, picked off. Astalos walked. Astalos stole second. T. Wilson struck out swinging. Ranalli grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 3 Hevenor walked. Koch grounded out to c, SAC, bunt; Hevenor advanced to second. Pekrul flied out to rf. Julien reached on an error by 3b; Hevenor advanced to third. Wildman hit by pitch; Julien advanced to second. Galemba struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 4 Morgan reached on a throwing error by ss. Lux grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; Morgan advanced to second. Johnson struck out swinging, reached on a fielder's choice; Morgan advanced to third on a wild pitch. Petersen grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; Johnson out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 4 Garofalo singled to left field. Re doubled down the lf line; Garofalo advanced to third. DeSantis flied out to lf, SAC, RBI; Garofalo scored. Hevenor reached on a fielder's choice; Re out at third ss to 3b. Koch struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 5 Schwegler struck out swinging. Mohr singled to right field. Astalos grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Mohr out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 5 Pekrul grounded out to 3b, bunt. Julien singled to left field. Wildman struck out swinging. Galemba singled to left field; Julien advanced to second. Garofalo struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 6 T. Wilson homered to left field, RBI. Ranalli grounded out to p, bunt. Morgan flied out to cf. Lux walked. Johnson grounded out to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 6 Re grounded out to 3b. DeSantis singled to shortstop. Hevenor grounded out to p; DeSantis advanced to second. Koch flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 7 Petersen grounded out to ss. Schwegler struck out swinging. Mohr struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 7 Pekrul singled to left field. Julien popped up to 3b, bunt. Wildman fouled out to 1b. Galemba grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 8 Astalos grounded out to ss. T. Wilson flied out to lf. Ranalli grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. E. Connecticut State inning 8 Garofalo singled to left field. Garofalo stole second, advanced to third on an error by 2b. Re popped up to 1b. DeSantis intentionally walked. Hevenor grounded out to p, SAC, bunt, RBI; DeSantis advanced to second; Garofalo scored, unearned. Koch lined out to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 9 Morgan flied out to cf. Lux struck out swinging. Johnson grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Updated June 2004