Game 6 - May 27, 2006
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Jordan Zimmerman pitched a complete game four-hitter last night, but the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point still suffered one-run loss in part because the Pointers were not able to execute on offense. Facing elimination at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship at Fox Cities Stadium, he took matters into his own hands. Zimmerman's three-run homerun to left field in the top of the fourth inning Saturday highlighted an explosive five-run frame and ignited the Pointers, who remain in contention for their first national title with a 12-3 victory over Aurora University.
Even a 35-minute rain delay during the middle of the fourth couldn't cool off the Pointers' bats as they batted around in the order again in the top of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 11-1. The halted game also seemed to have no effect on UW-Stevens Point starting pitcher Josh Perkins (pictured right). "I think for us in any game it's important to get an early lead," said UW-Stevens Point head coach Pat Bloom. "We tend to get into a little comfort zone when we get up early, and with a guy like Josh [Perkins] on the mound, we are able to play the game at more of a relaxed pace."
Aurora had an opportunity to keep the game close after its first two batters reached base to lead off the bottom half of the fourth inning. However, Perkins was able to get three Spartan hitters to foul out in order to retire the side and get out of the inning with the bases loaded and only one run allowed. "If we closed it to 5-2 or 5-3, then that changes the tone and pace of the game a little bit," said Aurora head coach Shaun Neitzel, "All season long we've been getting the big hit, but this weekend we just weren't able to. Obviously, we would have liked a better outcome. We were just looking for that spark, which we never got."
Bloom agreed saying he believed it would have been a completely different ballgame if the Spartans would have been able to put together a rally at that point in time, but he credited his pitcher with mirroring the resiliency which has seemed to define the 2006 version of the Pointers. UW-Stevens Point is now 10-0 when facing elimination this season. "[Perkins] did a great job coming back after the rain delay," said Bloom. "I know for any pitcher that's a tough thing to do to have to sit that long, and he already had to sit through a long inning for us offensively. But he is the type of pitcher that when a team tries to gain momentum he's able to settle down, find his rhythm, and get tough outs in those situations."
Perkins confirmed that the delay was a non-factor in his ability to keep focused on the mound despite a somewhat shaky bottom of the fourth. In fact, Perkins admitted that the wait allowed him more time to find his groove and get comfortable. "I almost felt better than when I first got out there," said Perkins. "At the beginning of the game I was just trying to get used to the mound and wasn't feeling all that good, but I just kept loose." Of course, having the support from guys like Zimmerman, who contributed four RBIs, including three runs and a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, can help.
Overall, the Pointers pounded out 14 hits off of five Aurora pitchers. Chuck Brehm is pictured right and Adam Evanoff is pictured left.
One bright spot for the Spartans was Ryan Losacco, who tallied three of the Spartans' seven hits and extend his consecutive game hitting streak to 21 games. Losacco went 3-for-4 while teammate Jay Zimmerman was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
With the loss, the Spartans are eliminated from the postseason. Aurora was an at-large berth that rattled off four straight wins in the regional tournament to earn its sixth Championship appearance. UW-Stevens Point will play at noon on Sunday, May 28 and will take on the loser of the Chapman University vs. Wheaton College game.
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Wisconsin-Stevens Pt 12 Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Jake Fromback ss.......... 5 1 2 2 1 0 3 4 Nat Richter 2b............ 6 0 1 2 0 0 1 2 Ryan Byrnes lf............ 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Kyle Cummings ph/rf....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Doug Coe c................ 4 1 1 0 0 1 4 0 Ben Warwick c............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Adam Evanoff 1b........... 5 1 2 1 0 0 11 0 Brian Stoneberg 1b........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Chuck Brehm cf............ 5 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 Jordon Zimmerman dh....... 4 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 Tim Schlosser 3b.......... 3 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 Stewart Larsen ph/3b...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brandon Scheidler rf...... 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 Joel Hojnacki ph/lf....... 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Josh Perkins p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tyler Lorenz p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals.................... 40 12 14 10 6 4 27 7 Aurora 3 Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A John Hopkins cf........... 4 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 Peter Oliver pr........... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Zach Starkey 2b........... 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 Martin Diaz ph............ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Aaron Thor ss............. 2 1 1 0 2 0 1 2 David Warner pr........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jay Zimmerman dh.......... 4 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 Paul Dean lf.............. 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 Ryan Lasacco 3b........... 4 0 3 1 0 0 2 4 Nick Weber 1b............. 3 0 0 0 1 1 11 0 Chris Forbes c............ 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 Josh Damore rf............ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Zach DeGrush ph........... 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Brady Salter p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Matt Miller p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dennis Vietoris p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Casey Friend p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Ryan Fair p............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals.................... 34 3 7 3 6 5 27 11 Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Wisconsin-Stevens Pt 000 561 000 - 12 14 2 Aurora 000 100 002 - 3 7 2 ---------------------------------------------- E - Frombach; Schlosser; Starkey; N Weber. DP - Wisc-SP 2; Aurora 2. LOB - Wisc-SP 9; Aurora 11. 2B - Richter; Brehm; Hopkins; Losacco. HR - Jo Zimmerman. SB - Richter; Brehm; Jo Zimmerman; Schlosser. SH - Coe. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Josh Perkins........ 6.0 4 1 1 5 3 22 27 Tyler Lorenz........ 3.0 3 2 2 1 2 12 14 Aurora IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Brady Salter........ 3.1 6 5 5 1 2 15 17 Matt Miller......... 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Dennis Vietoris..... 1.0 3 5 5 2 0 6 8 Casey Friend........ 3.2 5 2 1 0 1 16 17 Ryan Fair........... 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 3 4 Win - Perkins 7-2. Loss - Salter 7-3. Save - Lorenz (1). WP - Perkins; M Miller 2; Friend 2. HBP - by Friend (Jo Zimmerman); by Lorenz (Thor). Umpires - Home:Steve Reinhardt 1st:Brandon Jackson 2nd:Carmine Perotti 3rd:Eric Thorton Start: 1:55pm Time: 2:51 Attendance: 1162 M Miller faced 2 batters in the 4th.
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Score by innings: R H E ---------------------------------------------- Wisconsin-Stevens Pt 000 561 000 - 12 14 2 Aurora 000 100 002 - 3 7 2 ---------------------------------------------- Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 1 Frombach grounded out to 2b. Richter doubled to center field. Byrnes grounded out to 1b unassisted. Coe struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Aurora inning 1 Hopkins struck out swinging. Starkey grounded out to 1b unassisted. Thor walked. Ja Zimmerman singled to left field; Thor advanced to third. P Dean grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 2 Evanoff singled to left field. Brehm struck out swinging. Jo Zimmerman popped up to 2b. Schlosser grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Aurora inning 2 Losacco grounded out to ss. N Weber grounded out to 1b unassisted. C Forbes fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 3 Scheidler flied out to cf. Frombach popped up to 3b. Richter grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Aurora inning 3 Damore lined out to ss. Hopkins walked. Starkey grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Hopkins out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 4 Byrnes walked. Coe grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; Byrnes advanced to second. Evanoff singled to left field, RBI; Byrnes scored. Brehm singled down the lf line; Evanoff advanced to second. Jo Zimmerman homered to left field, 3 RBI; Brehm scored; Evanoff scored. Schlosser singled to right field. M Miller to p for Salter. Schlosser advanced to second on a wild pitch. Schlosser advanced to third on a wild pitch. Scheidler walked. Frombach walked; Scheidler advanced to second. Vietoris to p for M Miller. Richter reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Frombach advanced to second on a throwing error by 1b; Scheidler advanced to third; Schlosser scored. Byrnes grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; Richter out on the play. 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB. Aurora inning 4 Thor singled up the middle. Ja Zimmerman walked; Thor advanced to second. P Dean fouled out to 3b. Losacco singled to right field, RBI; Ja Zimmerman advanced to second; Thor scored. N Weber walked; Losacco advanced to second; Ja Zimmerman advanced to third. C Forbes fouled out to 1b. Damore fouled out to c. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 5 Coe singled up the middle. Evanoff flied out to lf. Brehm doubled down the lf line; Coe advanced to third. Jo Zimmerman singled through the left side, RBI; Brehm advanced to third; Coe scored. Jo Zimmerman stole second; Brehm stole home. Schlosser walked. Scheidler walked; Schlosser advanced to second; Jo Zimmerman advanced to third. Friend to p for Vietoris. Frombach singled to left field, 2 RBI; Scheidler advanced to second; Schlosser scored; Jo Zimmerman scored. Frombach advanced to second; Scheidler advanced to third on a wild pitch. Richter reached on an error by 2b, RBI; Frombach scored, unearned; Scheidler scored. Richter stole second. Byrnes grounded out to 3b. Coe popped up to 2b. 6 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. Aurora inning 5 Hopkins flied out to cf. Starkey reached on a throwing error by ss. Thor walked; Starkey advanced to second. Ja Zimmerman flied out to rf. P Dean struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 6 Evanoff grounded out to 3b. Brehm struck out swinging. Jo Zimmerman singled to right field. Jo Zimmerman advanced to second on a wild pitch. Schlosser singled to center field, RBI; Jo Zimmerman scored. Schlosser stole second. Scheidler grounded out to p. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Aurora inning 6 Losacco singled to right field. N Weber struck out looking. Losacco advanced to second on a wild pitch. C Forbes flied out to cf. Damore grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 7 Frombach singled to shortstop. Richter reached on a fielder's choice; Frombach out at second ss unassisted. Byrnes singled to left field; Richter advanced to second. Coe flied out to lf. Evanoff flied out to rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Aurora inning 7 Warwick to c for Coe. Lorenz to p for Perkins. Hopkins reached on a fielding error by 3b. Starkey reached on a fielder's choice; Hopkins out at second 2b unassisted. Thor grounded into double play ss to 1b; Starkey out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 8 Brehm flied out to cf. Jo Zimmerman hit by pitch. Larsen pinch hit for Schlosser. Larsen grounded into double play 3b to 2b to 1b; Jo Zimmerman out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Aurora inning 8 Larsen to 3b. Ja Zimmerman grounded out to ss. P Dean struck out looking. Losacco doubled down the lf line. N Weber grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Wisconsin-Stevens Pt inning 9 Fair to p for Friend. Hojnacki pinch hit for Scheidler. Hojnacki walked. Frombach fouled out to 1b. Richter popped up to 3b. Cummings pinch hit for Byrnes. Cummings struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Aurora inning 9 Cummings to rf. Stoneberg to 1b for Evanoff. Hojnacki to lf. C Forbes fouled out to 1b. DeGrush pinch hit for Damore. DeGrush walked. Hopkins doubled down the rf line; DeGrush advanced to third. M Diaz pinch hit for Starkey. P Oliver pinch ran for Hopkins. M Diaz flied out to lf. Thor hit by pitch. D Warner pinch ran for Thor. Ja Zimmerman singled to center field, 2 RBI; D Warner advanced to second; P Oliver scored; DeGrush scored. P Dean struck out swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. M Miller faced 2 batters in the 4th.
Updated May 2006