2006 NCAA Division III Baseball Mid-Atlantic Regional
2006 Tournament Statistics
Red Hawks Headed To 14th World Series
Boyertown, PA (May 21, 2006) – Sophomore starter Tim Stringer (Annandale, N.J.), pitching on one day’s rest, threw his second straight complete game and struck out nine to lead second-seeded Montclair St. to a 5-1 win over The top-seeded College of New Jersey Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Regional at Bear Stadium. Stringer, who fanned a total of 23 batters in 18.0 innings, was named the Mid-Atlantic Regional Most Outstanding Player.
Junior designated hitter Rob Bowness (Sparta, N.J.) launched his 10th homer of the season, a 3-run shot to rightfield in the top of the first inning, spotting Stringer all the offense he needed. The 5-11 righty came right after the Lions (38-8) in the first striking out the first two batters and running his regional tournament streak to 13 strikeouts in his last 18 batters going back to Friday night’s start.
The only base runner Stringer allowed in the first four innings was TCNJ leadoff hitter Charles Iacono (Hamilton, N.J.), who walked to open the fourth. Iacono, the fourth leading base stealer in Division III entering the regional, was caught for just the second time this season, and Stringer followed with back-to-back K’s to end the fourth. Stringer’s third straight strikeout opened the fifth and with two outs, senior Rich Kropp (Pottstown, Pa.) hit a two-hopper to third that Rob Clark (Livingston, N.J.) couldn’t field cleanly. TCNJ junior Jeff Botti (Avenel, N.J.) followed with a drive to right center that barely fell beyond the diving effort of rightfielder Scott Evangelist (Northfield, N.J.) for the first hit off Stringer, a run-scoring double.
The Lions went in order in the sixth and started to make some noise in the seventh when Blake Bullis (Delran, N.J.) reached on a one-out single and Chris Wilson (Pt. Pleasant Beach, N.J.) was hit by a pitch. TCNJ put runners on the corners with two outs when MSU (33-17-2) couldn’t quite turn the inning-ending double play, and with the potential tying run on base, Stringer came through in the clutch with his final punch-out of the day.
After stranding another runner at third in the home eighth, the Red Hawks offense gave Stringer two more runs in the ninth on a Lou Politan (Livingston, N.J.) home run down the rightfield line. Stringer set down the Lions in the bottom of the ninth getting the final out himself on a comebacker that sent the Red Hawk reserves flooding out of the dugout and the team to its 14th Division III World Series. Montclair St. will face Aurora University on Friday at 5:30 p.m. EDT.
In a pivotal spot midway through the game, TCNJ appeared to turn the tide in the top of the fourth when sophomore lefty Bob Buskett (Trenton, N.J.), who joined Stringer on the All-Tournament Team, entered the game in relief with the bases loaded and no one out. Buskett got Politan swinging for the first out and with Evangelist, the hero of Saturday night’s win, at the plate the Red Hawks tried to squeeze, but Bowness was hung out to dry when Buskett’s pitch was well wide of Evangelist’s reach. TCNJ catcher Gerard Haran (Old Bridge, N.J.) easily tug out Bowness, and the Lions had their choice of rundows, settling for Clark between second and third.
Due up third in the fourth, a pumped up Haran pleaded for base runners and had one when Iacono walked, but when Stringer got the caught stealing and strikeout on successive pitches, the wind had once again left the Lions’ sails.
2006 Mid-Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team
MVP - Tim Stringer, Montclair State
Catcher - Andrew Vicaro, Montclair State; First Base - Allen Peake, Frostburg State; Second Base - Andrew Cosgrove, New Jersey: Third Base - Rich Kropp, New Jersey; Shortstop - Kevin Cuozzi, Montlair State; Outfield - Scott Evangelist, Montclair State; Andrew Speights, Frostburg State; Keith Edgar, Kean; Designated Hitter - Rob Bowness, Montclair State; Pitcher - Tim Stringer, Montclair State; Bob Buskett, New Jersey.
2006 Results
Franklin and Marshall 14, Gwynedd-Mercy 1
Frostburg State 6, Montclair State 3
New Jersey 3, Franklin and Marshall 0
Montclair State 19, Franklin and Marshall 10
Frostburg State 3, Gwynedd-Mercy 2
Montclair State 7, Frostburg State 2