KING’S FALLS TO
OTTERBEIN ON FIVE NINTH-INNING RUNS
(Monarchs NCAA
tourney bid comes to an end)
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/sports/baseball/06regional/
TERRE HAUTE, IN –
Second-seeded Otterbein College broken open a tie game with a
five-run ninth inning as the Cardinals posted a 7-2 victory over
sixth-seeded King’s College in the NCAA Division III National
Tournament Mid-East Regional Championships Thursday at Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Ind.
With the win,
Otterbein improved to 30-15 on the year while advancing to the
semi-finals of the loser’s bracket. King’s, which was making its
first-ever appearance in the Division III tournament, ended its
season at 25-16.
With the game tied
at 2-2 entering the top of the ninth inning, the Cardinals’ decisive
surge began with a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Rob Rosner. With the
Monarch infield moved in anticipation of a sacrifice bunt, Chris
Martin hit a chopper over the head of Jon Venarchick at third base
for a single to advance Rosner to third. Brandon Mauck then came
through with an RBI single to left field to give the Cardinals a 3-2
lead.
With King’s infield still in at double-play depth, Tyler Rudman
followed with a bloop RBI single to center to plate Martin for a 4-2
lead. After Ben Titus walked to load the bases, Chris Kovanda was
hit by a pitch to drive in another run. Jerry Tulga then drew
another walk to force in the run as the Cardinal lead grew to 6-2.
Bobby Wright then lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home
Otterbein’s final run of the game.
In King’s final
at-bats, Vince Budzyn would reach base with a one-out single, but
Otterbein starting pitcher Doug Stevens would retire the final two
batters on fly balls to end the game.
Otterbein would
take a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Wright delivered an
opposite field solo home run over the right centerfield fence.
The Monarchs would miss out on a scoring chance in the third inning
when Matt Colgan drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a
sacrifice bunt by Jon Venarchick. Caleb Calarco would then reach
base on an error, allowing Colgan to move to third. After Jeremy
Faust grounded out to second, Mike Venarchick struck out to end the
inning.
King’s would take
the lead in the fourth when Matt Livoy smacked a one-out double to
centerfield and moved to third on a single by Josh Faust. After an
infield pop out, Colgan would deliver an RBI single to knot the
score at 1-1. Jon Venarchick then followed with a base hit to
centerfield to bring home Faust and give the Monarchs a 2-1 lead.
Otterbein would
counter in the fifth inning when Mauck reached base on an error and
moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a wild pitch allowed
Mauck to move to third, Titus lofted a sacrifice fly to tie the
score at 2-2.
King’s would threaten in the bottom half of the fifth when Jeremy
Faust drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a one-out single by
Nick Sorino. The Monarchs, however, were unable to capitalize as
Livoy would ground into an inning-ending double play to keep the
score at 2-2.
The Monarchs would
get another chance in the eighth when Sorino struck out swinging but
reached first base on a passed ball. King’s was thwarted, however,
when Otterbein turned its second critical inning-ending double-play
of the game.
Both teams managed eight hits on the day. King’s was led by Sorino
with a 2-for-4 showing while Livoy added a double. Jon Venarchick
and Colgan also chipped in with RBI singles. Calarco took the
pitching loss for the Monarchs, allowing five runs, four that were
earned, on seven hits in eight innings of work.
Otterbein was led offensively by Wright who was 2-for-3 with two
RBI, including a solo home run. Mauck also added two hits and scored
a pair of runs. Stevens picked up the complete-game pitching
victory for Otterbein, improving to 10-0 on the year. The 6-foot-3
sophomore right-hander allowed eight hits and one earned run while
striking out six batters.
Despite the loss, King's concluded its season with a school-record
25 victories and the program's first conference/division title since
1993. The Monarchs return all but two starters next season.
