2014 NCAA Game 14
The Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets baseball team earned a trip to the NCAA Division III College World Series in Appleton, WI by defeating Wesleyan University 9-7 in the Championship Game of the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament at PNC Field in Moosic, PA on Sunday evening.
Baldwin Wallace struck first taking a 1-0 lead in the home half of the first inning. Brad Gugliotta drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second on a Mark Zimmerman bunt. Kyle Chontos then reached on an infield single, moving Gugliotta over to third. Hunter Handel did his job by grounding out to the second baseman and allowing Gugliotta to score easily from third.
Wesleyan responded with a huge top half of the second to take a 6-1 lead. Nick Miceli started the scoring with a perfectly executed bunt. Ben Hoynes and Guy Davidson then scored on a Yellow Jacket fielding error and Donnie Cimino kept the offense going with a two-run single to center. Jonathan Dennett then reached on a fielder’s choice with a bunt down the third baseline, allowing Cimino to score from third and cap the Cardinal scoring in the second.
The Yellow Jackets brought the Wesleyan lead to 6-2 with one run in the home half of the fourth. Jerry Scholle ripped a single to centerfield, which was mishandled by Wesleyan, allowing Joe Hiller to score from third on the fielding error. However, Baldwin Wallace stranded two as Gugliotta flew out to end the inning.
The Yellow Jackets came all the way back, tying the game at 6-6 with a four-run bottom half of the sixth. Gugliotta, Zimmerman and Chontos all drove in runs while Handel capped the inning with an RBI double down the right field line.
Wesleyan answered with a run of its own, retaking a 7-6 lead on Jonathan Dennett RBI single to left field.
However, the Yellow Jackets opened up the scoring with a three-run home half of the seventh. Alex Green chipped in with an RBI single while the other two runs came via a wild pitch and a throwing error, giving the Yellow Jackets a 9-7 lead after seven innings of play.
Chad Durbin picked up the win in relief for the Yellow Jackets, tossing 5.2 innings and allowing just one run on two hits. Chris Law suffered the loss for Wesleyan, allowing three runs on three hits in just 2/3 of an inning. Brandon Cichocki picked up his school-record eighth save of the season with two scoreless innings.
With the win Baldwin Wallace improves to 29-18 while Wesleyan concludes their season at 31-13. It will be the Yellow Jackets first trip to the College World Series and it is also the first time Baldwin Wallace has won more than one game in a regional tournament. The NCAA Division III World Series is set to begin Thursday.
