Aurora vs Mount St. Joseph

Central Regional - Game 9 - May 19, 2006


Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play

Aurora Hangs On for 11-10 Win Against Mount St. Joseph; Spartans Reach Central Region Final

St. Louis, Mo., May 19, 2006 -Fourth-seeded Aurora University held on against sixth-seeded College of Mount St. Joseph, 11-10, Friday to advance to the NCAA Central Region championship game. The Spartans improved to 32-12 with the win, while Mount St. Joseph finished its season with a 30-17 overall record.

With one out in the top of the ninth and the Lions down four runs, junior Joe Imhoff smacked a three-run home run to left field to cut AU's lead--which was 10-3 at one point--to one run (11-10). After the homer, AU junior Ryan Fair came on in relief for his second save of the day and 10 th on the season to preserve the win.

Senior John Hopkins led off the game for Aurora with a base hit. Then, freshman Zach Starkey sacrifice bunted to move Hopkins to second base, but Hopkins kept running and advanced all the way to third base. Senior Aaron Thor followed with a single to center field to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Junior Ryan DeGrush gave AU a 3-0 edge when he lifted a two-run home run to left field. Aurora added four runs in the third, highlighted by a two-run homer by senior Nick Weber.

Mount St. Joseph got a two-out rally rolling in the bottom of the third when junior Neil Gamble posted an RBI bunt single down the third base line. After junior Michael Mayer was hit by a pitch, senior Josh Reinhart and sophomore Seth DeBra notched back-to-back RBI singles to make it a 7-3 ballgame. The Spartans, though, added three much-needed insurances runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The Lions made things interesting again in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Mayer hit a grand slam home run over the right field fence to draw MSJ within three (10-7).

Junior Ryan Losacco led Aurora with a 2-for-5 effort, four RBI and two runs. Mayer went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs to lead Mount St. Joseph.

Aurora will take on second-seeded Millsaps College at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Region final.


Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play

Boxscore - Aurora vs Mount St. Joseph

Aurora University 11 (32-12)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
John Hopkins cf..........  5  2  3  0   0  0  3  0   0
Zach Starkey 2b..........  4  0  1  0   0  0  3  2   0
Aaron Thor ss............  4  1  2  2   0  0  2  6   0
Jay Zimmerman lf.........  4  1  1  0   0  0  2  0   1
Paul Dean dh.............  4  2  1  0   1  0  0  0   3
Ryan Losacco 3b..........  5  2  2  4   0  0  0  2   0
Nick Weber 1b............  3  2  1  2   1  1  8  1   0
Zach DeGrush c...........  4  1  2  2   1  2  5  0   0
Josh Damore rf...........  5  0  0  0   0  0  4  0   3
Kyle Mueller p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Dennis Vietoris p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Ryan Fair p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38 11 13 10   3  3 27 12   7

Mount St. Joseph 10 (30-17)

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Meyer, R. 2b.............  3  1  2  0   1  0  0  4   1
Gamble cf................  5  1  1  1   0  0  5  0   0
Mayer rf.................  4  2  2  4   0  1  1  0   2
Reinhart 3b/p............  5  1  3  1   0  0  1  1   0
DeBra 1b.................  5  0  1  1   0  0 10  1   0
Katsetos c...............  5  1  1  0   0  1  3  0   4
Bien dh..................  2  1  0  0   1  1  0  0   1
 Imhoff 3b...............  2  1  1  3   0  0  1  1   0
Hoffmann ss..............  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
 Berndt ph...............  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Weimer lf................  5  2  3  0   0  0  4  0   0
Bonner p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Frazier p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 41 10 15 10   2  5 27  7   8

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Aurora University... 124 021 100 - 11 13  2
Mount St. Joseph.... 003 004 003 - 10 15  4
-------------------------------------------

E - Z.Starkey; N.Weber; Mayer; DeBra; Katsetos; Hoffmann. DP - AURORA 2. LOB
- AURORA 7; MSJ 8. 2B - A.Thor; R.Losacco 2; Weimer. HR - N.Weber;
Z.DeGrush; Mayer; Imhoff. HBP - J. Zimmerman; Mayer. SH - Z.Starkey;
N.Weber; Meyer, R.. SF - A.Thor. SB - J. Hopkins; A.Thor; Bien.

Aurora University      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Kyle Mueller........  6.0 11  7  7  2  4 27 31
Dennis Vietoris.....  2.1  4  3  3  0  0 12 12
Ryan Fair...........  0.2  0  0  0  0  1  2  2

Mount St. Joseph       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Bonner..............  3.0  6  7  6  2  0 14 18
Frazier.............  3.0  4  4  3  1  1 12 14
Reinhart............  3.0  3  0  0  0  2 12 13

Win - K.Mueller (4-2).  Loss - Bonner (3-4).  Save - R.Fair (10).
WP - K.Mueller. HBP - by Bonner (J. Zimmerman); by K.Mueller (Mayer). PB -
Katsetos.
Umpires - HP: Jaime Still  1B: Bob Jenkins  2B: John Garlits  3B: Jim Ellison
Start: 4:02 pm   Time: 2:30   Attendance: 161
Frazier faced 1 batter in the 7th.

Story | Boxscore | Play-by-Play

Play-by-Play - Aurora vs Mount St. Joseph

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Aurora University... 124 021 100 - 11 13  2
Mount St. Joseph.... 003 004 003 - 10 15  4
-------------------------------------------

Aurora University starters: 1/cf J. Hopkins; 28/2b Z.Starkey; 43/ss A.Thor;
6/lf J. Zimmerman; 8/dh P. Dean; 20/3b R.Losacco; 24/1b N.Weber; 19/c
Z.DeGrush; 23/rf J.Damore; 21/p K.Mueller;
Mount St. Joseph starters: 9/2b Meyer, R.; 4/cf Gamble; 23/rf Mayer; 16/3b
Reinhart; 31/1b DeBra; 7/c Katsetos; 30/dh Bien; 8/ss Hoffmann; 11/lf Weimer;
20/p Bonner;

Aurora University 1st - J. Hopkins singled. Z.Starkey grounded out to
3b, SAC; J. Hopkins advanced to third. Dropped foul ball, E3. A.Thor singled to
center field, RBI; J. Hopkins scored, unearned. A.Thor stole second. J.
Zimmerman flied out to lf. P. Dean grounded out to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 2
hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 1st - Meyer, R. singled to center field. Gamble hit
into double play p to ss to 1b; Meyer, R. out on the play. Mayer struck out
looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Aurora University 2nd - R.Losacco flied out to cf. N.Weber walked.
Z.DeGrush homered, 2 RBI; N.Weber scored. J.Damore flied out to ss. J. Hopkins
out at first 1b to p. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 2nd - Reinhart flied out to lf. DeBra flied out to rf.
Katsetos singled to center field. Bien struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.

Aurora University 3rd - Z.Starkey grounded out to 2b. A.Thor doubled to
left center. J. Zimmerman hit by pitch. P. Dean flied out to lf. R.Losacco
doubled, 2 RBI; J. Zimmerman scored; A.Thor scored. N.Weber homered, 2 RBI;
R.Losacco scored. Z.DeGrush walked. J.Damore flied out to lf. 4 runs, 3
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 3rd - Hoffmann flied out to cf. Weimer singled to
center field. Meyer, R. grounded out to 3b, SAC; Weimer advanced to second.
Weimer advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gamble singled, RBI; Weimer scored.
Mayer hit by pitch; Gamble advanced to second. Reinhart singled, RBI; Mayer
advanced to third; Gamble scored. DeBra singled, RBI; Reinhart advanced to
second; Mayer scored. Katsetos reached on a fielder's choice; DeBra out at
second 3b to 2b. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Aurora University 4th - Frazier to p for Bonner. J. Hopkins flied out to
rf. Dropped foul ball, E2. Z.Starkey singled to right field. A.Thor flied out
to lf. J. Zimmerman lined out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 4th - Bien reached on an error by 1b. Hoffmann hit into
double play ss to 2b to 1b; Bien out on the play. Weimer doubled to left field.
Meyer, R. grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Aurora University 5th - P. Dean walked. R.Losacco doubled, advanced to
third, RBI; P. Dean scored. R.Losacco scored on a passed ball. N.Weber flied
out to cf. Z.DeGrush struck out looking. J.Damore grounded out to 2b. 2
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 5th - Gamble lined out to lf. Mayer singled to second
base. Reinhart singled to left field; Mayer advanced to second. DeBra flied out
to cf; Mayer advanced to third. Katsetos struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits,
0 errors, 2 LOB.

Aurora University 6th - J. Hopkins singled to center field. J. Hopkins
stole second. Z.Starkey grounded out to 2b; J. Hopkins advanced to third.
A.Thor flied out to cf, SAC, RBI; J. Hopkins scored. J. Zimmerman grounded out
to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 6th - Bien walked. Hoffmann struck out; Bien stole
second. Weimer singled to center field; Bien advanced to third. Meyer, R.
walked; Weimer advanced to second. Gamble lined out to cf. Mayer homered, 4
RBI; Meyer, R. scored; Weimer scored; Bien scored. Reinhart flied out to rf.
4 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Aurora University 7th - P. Dean singled, advanced to second on an error
by rf, advanced to third. Reinhart to p. Imhoff to 3b for Bien. /  for Frazier.
R.Losacco grounded out to 2b, RBI; P. Dean scored, unearned. N.Weber struck
out. Z.DeGrush singled to third base. J.Damore flied out to cf. 1 run, 2
hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 7th - D.Vietoris to p for K.Mueller. DeBra grounded out
to ss. Katsetos grounded out to ss. Imhoff grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Aurora University 8th - J. Hopkins singled to left center. Z.Starkey
flied out to 3b. A.Thor flied out to 1b. J. Zimmerman singled; J. Hopkins
advanced to third. P. Dean grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 8th - Hoffmann singled to right field. Weimer flied out
to rf. Meyer, R. singled; Hoffmann advanced to second. Gamble reached on a
fielder's choice; Meyer, R. out at second 1b to ss; Hoffmann advanced to third.
Mayer grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Aurora University 9th - R.Losacco reached on an error by ss. N.Weber
grounded out to 3b, SAC; R.Losacco advanced to second. Z.DeGrush struck out.
J.Damore flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Mount St. Joseph 9th - Reinhart singled to center field. DeBra flied out
to 2b. Katsetos reached on a fielder's choice; Reinhart advanced to second on
an error by 2b. Imhoff homered, 3 RBI; Katsetos scored; Reinhart scored. R.Fair
to p for D.Vietoris. Berndt pinch hit for Hoffmann. Berndt struck out. Weimer
flied out to rf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.

Updated May 2006