Game 9 - May 30, 2004
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Grand Chute, Wisconsin - Dan Gnatzig's run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to a 4-3 win over SUNY-Brockport in an elimination game at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship at Fox Cities Stadium. The Warhawks (39-8) advance to play a team to be determined.
With the game tied 3-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth, Nic Teach reached on an error by the shortstop. Ryan Callahan then singled to right field but was thrown out trying to reach second base for the second out. Jason Waite then came on in relief of Brockport starter Shawn Mahoney. Gnatzig (pictured above right) stroked a single to center field, and Teach scored to put the Warhawks ahead to stay at 4-3.
"I struck out twice on off-speed and they came off-speed again," Gnatzig said. "I saw five consecutive curveballs so I was ready for it."
UW-Whitewater had led 2-0, but the Golden Eagles rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth inning. John Morgan started the inning with a single, and Matt Johnson later drew a one-out walk. That brought Andy Peterson (pictured right) to the plate and Warhawks starter Kevin Tomasiewicz started him with two consecutive strikes. Tomasiewicz fired an 0-2 fastball, and Peterson belted it over the left field fence for a three-run homer and a 3-2 Brockport lead.
"We try to go hard with a pitcher's count," UW-Whitewater catcher Aaron Guilbault (pictured below left) said. "Kevin made one mistake he hadn't made all year and it cost us." Peterson, who had only one hit in nine previous at-bats in the finals, said he was simply trying to protect the plate on 0-2. "I was just trying to put it in play, and he threw it right down the middle," Peterson said.
Submariner Andrew Bergholz (pictured above right) came on in relief of Tomasiewicz and pitched 2 1/3 solid innings of relief. He didn't allow run and gave up only two hits.
The Warhawks came back to tie the game at 3-3 in the seventh inning. With two outs, Brady Endl doubled to left field. Guilbault then popped one up down the right field line. With the wind blowing hard out to left field, the ball that normally would have dropped in foul territory, was fair by just a few inches and Endl came in to score.
"The wind played a part in that," Brockport coach Mark Rowland said of Guilbault's bloop single. "That might be out of play (without the wind factor). When I talk about breaks, that's one that goes for the opponent."
Once UW-Whitewater had the lead headed to the ninth, they turned the game over to Collin Kuecker. He retired Brockport in order to earn his sixth save of the season.
UW-Whitewater grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Steve Jilot drew a one-out walk and stole second. After a strikeout, Teach smacked a two-out single to center field to score Jilot.
The Warhawks made it 2-0 with another run in the third. Gnatzig walked and stole second to start the inning, and Guilbault's one-out single scored Gnatzig.
It was the second tough loss of the finals for Brockport (34-15), which was making its first post-season appearance in the tournament. The Golden Eagles lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Eastern Connecticut State University in their last game.
"I think we were very close (to being 3-0 in the finals)," Rowland said. "I don't think any team can win a national championship without getting some breaks. I felt like the last two games we didn't get the breaks. It's hard to beat teams of this caliber without having someone on your side."
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SUNY-Brockport 3 (34-15)
Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Mike Ranalli rf........... 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 1
John Morgan 2b............ 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 1
Joe Lux c................. 4 0 1 0 0 1 11 0
Matt Johnson lf........... 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Andy Petersen dh.......... 4 1 1 3 0 0 0 0
Rob Gladwell 1b........... 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Tom Weiner pr............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeff Schwegler 1b......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Mark Morlock pr........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Matt Bivano 1b............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan Mohr 3b.............. 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 2
Rob Astalos cf............ 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 1
Tim Wilson ss............. 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 2
Shawn Mahoney p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jason Waite p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeff Miterko p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals.................... 35 3 9 3 2 3 24 7
Wisconsin-Whitewater 4 (39-8)
Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Ryan Callahan cf.......... 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
Dan Gnatzig lf............ 4 1 1 1 1 2 0 0
Eric Stangel 3b........... 5 0 1 0 0 3 0 2
Brady Endl 1b............. 2 1 2 0 2 0 14 1
Aaron Guilbault c......... 4 0 2 2 0 1 3 1
Eric Baldwin rf........... 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0
Steve Jilot dh............ 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
Ross Klawitter ss......... 3 0 1 0 0 2 2 5
Nic Teach 2b.............. 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 4
Kevin Tomasiewicz p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Andrew Bergholz p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Collin Kuecker p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals.................... 34 4 12 4 4 11 27 16
Score by innings: R H E
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SUNY-Brockport 000 003 000 - 3 9 2
Wisconsin-Whitewater 011 000 11 - 4 12 2
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E - Lux; T. Wilson; Klawitter 2.
DP - UWW 1. LOB - SUNY-B 8; UWW 11.
2B - Endl(13); Klawitter(13).
HR - Petersen(2).
SB - Gnatzig(12); Stangel(8); Jilot(3); Teach(11). CS - Ranalli.
SH - Astalos; Klawitter.
SUNY-Brockport IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Shawn Mahoney....... 7.2 11 4 3 4 10 32 37
Jason Waite......... 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Jeff Miterko........ 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
Wisconsin-Whitewater IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Kevin Tomasiewicz... 5.2 7 3 3 2 2 23 26
Andrew Bergholz..... 2.1 2 0 0 0 0 9 9
Collin Kuecker...... 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3
Win - Bergholz 3-0. Loss - Mahoney 7-2. Save - Kuecker (6).
Umpires - Home:Mike Rosen 1st:Ralph Minard 2nd:Dan Eversole 3rd:Gary Kalkopf
Start: 2:49 pm Time: 2:30 Attendance: 1523
Waite faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play
Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- SUNY-Brockport 000 003 000 - 3 9 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater 011 000 11 - 4 12 2 ---------------------------------------------- SUNY-Brockport inning 1 Ranalli struck out swinging. Morgan grounded out to 3b. Lux struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 1 Callahan grounded out to 2b. Gnatzig lined out to ss. Stangel singled to center field. Stangel stole second. Endl walked. Guilbault struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 2 Johnson grounded out to 2b. Petersen flied out to cf. Gladwell grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 2 Dropped foul ball, E2. Baldwin struck out swinging. Jilot walked. Jilot stole second. Klawitter struck out swinging. Teach singled to center field, RBI; Jilot scored. Teach stole second. Callahan flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 3 Mohr singled down the rf line. Astalos out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; Mohr advanced to second. T. Wilson singled to left center; Mohr advanced to third. Ranalli grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; T. Wilson out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 3 Gnatzig walked. Gnatzig stole second. Stangel struck out swinging. Endl walked. Guilbault singled to left field, RBI; Endl advanced to second; Gnatzig scored. Baldwin struck out looking. Jilot struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 4 Morgan grounded out to ss. Lux singled to left field. Johnson flied out to cf. Petersen popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 4 Klawitter doubled, out at third cf to ss to 3b. Teach singled to right field. Callahan fouled out to 3b. Gnatzig struck out swinging. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 5 Gladwell walked. Weiner pinch ran for Gladwell. Mohr grounded out to 2b; Weiner advanced to second. Astalos singled to third base. T. Wilson grounded out to 3b, bunt; Astalos advanced to second; Weiner advanced to third. Ranalli grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 5 Schwegler to 1b for Weiner. Stangel struck out looking. Endl singled to shortstop. Guilbault flied out to rf. Baldwin reached on a fielder's choice; Endl out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 6 Morgan singled to center field. Lux flied out to cf. Johnson walked; Morgan advanced to second. Petersen homered to left field, 3 RBI; Johnson scored; Morgan scored. Schwegler flied out to cf. Mohr reached on a throwing error by ss. Astalos singled to center field; Mohr advanced to second. Bergholz to p for Tomasiewicz. T. Wilson grounded out to 2b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 6 Jilot singled to left field. Klawitter grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt; Jilot advanced to second. Teach fouled out to 3b. Callahan lined out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 7 Ranalli singled to pitcher. Ranalli out at second c to ss, caught stealing. Morgan grounded out to ss. Lux grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 7 Gnatzig struck out swinging. Stangel flied out to cf. Endl doubled to left field. Guilbault singled down the rf line, RBI; Endl scored. Baldwin singled to left center; Guilbault advanced to third. Jilot reached on a fielder's choice; Baldwin out at second 2b unassisted. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 8 Johnson grounded out to ss. Petersen grounded out to p. Schwegler reached on a fielding error by ss. Mohr singled to right field; Schwegler advanced to second. Morlock pinch ran for Schwegler. Astalos flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Whitewater inning 8 Bivano to 1b for Morlock. Klawitter struck out looking. Teach reached on a throwing error by ss. Callahan singled to right field, out at second rf to 3b to ss; Teach advanced to third. Waite to p for Mahoney. Gnatzig singled to center field, RBI; Teach scored, unearned. Miterko to p for Waite. Stangel struck out looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. SUNY-Brockport inning 9 Kuecker to p for Bergholz. T. Wilson flied out to cf. Ranalli flied out to rf. Morgan struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Updated June 2004