Etta Express, Allegheny facing off
in Sunday's Regional championship
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Allegheny |
It won't be easy, but Allegheny (Pa.) will try to return to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships Sunday. The Gators must win two Sunday.
The Gators (31-10) take on Marietta (43-7-1) at 1 p.m. in the Mideast Regional championship at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Park. If Allegeny, the teams will play again at approximately 4 p.m.
Allegheny reached the championship by defeating North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan 12-5 Saturday.
"We played good fundamental baseball," said Allegheny coach Mike Ferris.
The Gators used a five-run ninth inning to put the game out of reach. Allegeny banged out 14 hits and had 11 RBIs as a team.
Designated hitter Jarrod Essey went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a double, while outfielder Ben Couch was 2-for-4 with three runs and a two-run home run.
Catcher Tug Ollock had another strong outing as he went 3-for-4 with three runs and a double, while first baseman Bob Spithaler had two hits and one RBI. Second baseman Brian Moore also chipped in with three hits and an RBI.
Josh Sharpless came up big on the mound for the Gators. Sharpless (7-2) scattered eight hits and struckout five and walked just one for the complete-game victory. The only inning the Battling Bishops really got to Sharpless was the sixth when they managed three runs.
Shaun Rice continued to swing a hot bat for Ohio Wesleyan (41-12) as he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Rice went 8-for-12 for a .667 average.
Jason Bogenrife broke out of his regional slump by going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run. Drew Caravella added two hits and two RBIs for OWU.
Matt Farmwald (12-2) took the loss for the Bishops as he allowed eight hits and six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Also pitching for Ohio Wesleyan was Peter Balyeat, Curt Moenter and Shaun Burchett.
Allegheny is 2-1 in the tournament. The Gators' lone loss was 5-4 to Marietta in the opener. Allegheny finished third in the nation last season in its first trip to the championship.
Marietta is expected to start sophomore Trey Lamb, while Allegheny may come back with game 1 starter Scott Swinchock.
Gators advance in Regional, face rival
Ohio Wesleyan
Allegheny (Pa.) gets another shot at at long-time rival Ohio Wesleyan after defeating DePauw (Ind.) 8-5 in the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Saturday afternoon at Marietta College's Pioneer Park.
The Gators, ranked No. 2 in the nation, lost two straight to the Bishops in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament. Both teams are 1-1 in the regional.
Allegheny (30-10) advanced through the strong hitting of sophomore outfielder Kevin Hiles and senior catcher Tug Ollock. Hiles went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs. Hiles and Ollock both had home runs.
Ollock's homer was a three-run blast in the second inning on Friday. The game was halted after the top of the inning because of rain and didn't restart until noon Saturday. There was another 41-minute rain delay in Saturday's action. Junior Mark Minadeo also had two hits and two runs for the tired Gators.
However, the Gators' pitching responded by shutting out the Tigers (26-19) over the final five innings. Sophomore Jesse McPherson, who got the save, had the best showing as he scattered two hits and didn't allow a run over the final three innings. Senior Adam Oshnock (3-2) tallied the victory by allowing seven hits, three unearned runs over five innings.
The Tigers hit the ball better in their second game of the regional as they had 14 hits. However, four errors in the field proved to be too costly for Coach Matt Walker's squad.
Senior Dan Jones led the Tigers' offensive showing with three hits and a stolen base. Steve Spasojevich, Jarrett Hunt, Javair Gillett and Scott Hamer each had two hits for DePauw. Spasojevich had the lone extra-base hit with a double.
The Tigers took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and battled for a 5-4 lead when they scored three unearned runs in the fourth inning. But the Gators rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth inning and never relinquished the lead again.
Daniel Mack (4-6) took the loss for DePauw.
