Cal State Stanislaus went 3-0 in earning the first Division III baseball national championship, in 1976. Cal State Stanislaus Sports Information

Cal State Stanislaus captured the first Division III World Series with a 13-6 win over the Ithaca Bombers in Marietta, Ohio. Led by first baseman Dan Boer, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Cal State Stanislaus unleashed a 13-run, 15-hit attack on Ithaca to salt away the victory and the title. Boer hit at a .636 clip while in Marietta, collecting a double, two triples, a home run and eight RBI in his three games.

Cal State Stanislaus took the early lead in the title game with two unearned runs in the second and a single tally in the third set up by Boer's one-out triple.  Ithaca responded in the fourth with four runs to take an one-run lead. With the bases loaded, Tom Welch tripled to right center, clearing the bases and scoring on an error by the Warriors shortstop.

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Cal State Stanislaus regained the lead in the next inning. Mike Valponi led off the inning with a triple and scored on John Farmer's double.  Boer added a double for a run and scored on a Mel Anderson single for a 6-4 advantage over the Bombers.

In the fifth inning Ithaca tied the score. Gary Bucci's sacrifice fly to centerfield scored Welch and Kevin Van Remmen came around on a throwing error by the Warriors' center fielder. With two outs in the inning, Steve Rodriguez replaced Warriors starter Bill Sizemore and got the Ithaca batter to ground out, preserving the tie.

Rodriguez would finsh the game, pitching one-hit ball over the final four innings, while Cal State Stanislaus would add seven runs, scoring in three of their final four innings.  Rodriguez earned the win with Ithaca's second pitcher of the day, Scott Pierce, taking the loss.  Boer's four hits led all batters with Cal State Stanislaus's Rusty Kuntz and Ithaca's Paul Mezza adding three hits for their respective teams.

In the four team double-elimination tournament, Cal State Stanislaus drew Ithaca in the first contest.  The Warriors needed just five hits as Gene Oliver pitched a complete game in the 5-4 win over Ithaca.  Montclair State took game two 2-1 over Wilkes behind the pitching of Dave Gunstra. Wilkes' Andy Kesky was the hard-luck pitcher of the day, allowing a run in the third on a wild pitch and an unearned run in the fourth in the loss.

On the second day of the tournament, it was the offenses that dominated. Wilkes was eliminated with a 16-3 shellacking at the hands of Ithaca and Montclair lost a slugfest with the eventual champions, 10-9. In the late game, Ithaca eliminated Montclair State, 10-5, to set up its second meeting of the tournamant with Cal State Stanislaus.
In a 40th year reunion of their first D-III World Series championship 15 players from the 1976 baseball team and many of their friends and family members gathered at Warrior Field to be honored by the university and to trade memories.

CSS players reunite for the 40th anni- versary of their D-III World Series title. Cal State Stanislaus athletics photo

“I originally came here on scholarship and then had it taken away when we went Division III,” said outfielder Gary House, who made the trek from Martinsburg, W.Va., to be part of the reunion. “You could still qualify for work study and academic grants. [Head coach Jim] Bowen had a knack for putting together guys that nobody else wanted. I went to Cal Poly initially and got cut. I was talked into coming here.”

Bowen was good at that. When Modesto High and Modesto Junior College standout Dan Boer wasn’t sure about playing at Sacramento State, Bowen convinced him to become a Warrior.

“It was magical how so many of us just showed up to play here,” said Dan Boer, who was the most valuable player of the 1976 College World Series. “All these guys were from all over, but we had juniors and seniors who melded at the right time.”

Another last-second addition was outfielder Rusty Kuntz, who went on to a seven-year major league career and was the first base coach for the World Series champion Kansas City Royals at the time.

“Rusty was the main man, and even then he knew a lot about baseball,” said second baseman Jim Valponi. “Imagine how much he knows about baseball now, after he’s been in it at the professional level for all these years.”