Starting pitcher JP Feyereisen and left fielder Casey Barnes celebrate the Pointers' three-run, eighth-inning rally. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com More photos from this game

By Pat Coleman
D3sports.com

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – Despite having a runner erased on a phantom tag at second base and not being granted first on a hit batsman, UW-Stevens Point still managed a three-run rally in the top of the eighth to take the lead and held on to defeat Kean, 4-3.

Senior shortstop Dan Douglas smacked a single back through the middle to score the tying and go-ahead runs for the Pointers, who improved to 41-9. 

• D3baseball.com scoreboard
• d3photography.com photo galleries
• Game 7: Linfield crushes So. Maine
• Game 6: Webster extends run
• Game 5: Locastro lifts Bombers
• Watch UW-Stevens Point news conference
• Watch Kean news conference
• Championship Record Book

The Pointers rallied for the second time in as many nights at the Division III baseball World Series and find themselves in the winners’ bracket championship game on Sunday vs. Linfield. That game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CT. Kean faces Ithaca in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

For UW-Stevens Point, the win continued the trend. The Pointers have won six of the last seven games by one run, including two walk-off wins in the regional and a walk-off win on Friday night against Manchester.

“There’s another typical Pointer postseason win,” said UW-Stevens Point coach Pat Bloom. “Between the conference tournament, the regional and the first two games of the World Series, we’ve certainly kept it entertaining.”

"Tough loss to take, very difficult the way it was kind of taken from us at that point," said Kean coach Neil Ioviero. "That was almost the typical game we play on a regular basis – grinding at-bats out, getting a key hit when we can."

Douglas’ two hits gave him the Pointers’ career mark in hits. He was looking fastball and got it from Kean starter Charles Thielmann.

“I was just trying to stay calm and confident, trying to not make it too big of a situation,” Douglas said. “The coaching staff always tells us that sometimes it looks like we change at the plate when we have runners in scoring position, so later in the year we’ve tried to just stay relaxed, stay confident, trust our ability and trust what we’ve worked on all year.” 

The inning started when Casey Barnes reached on an infield single, one which Charles Thielmann had a chance to barehand and scoop to first but was unable to do so. Riley Spatz followed with an infield grounder to third which Kean's Andy Lopez fielded and threw wide, pulling Tyler Smarslok off the bag. Smarslok also attempted a sweep tag of Barnes and missed, but Barnes was called out anyway.

A wild pitch, just Thielmann's third of the season, moved Spatz to second and Bobby Gregorich singled to right, putting runners on the corners. Bryton Guckenberg followed with a dribbler off to the left of Thielmann, which he was unable to field, scoring Spetz. After an infield fly for the second out, another wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position, setting up Douglas' big hit.

"If you look at the inning, the only thing (Thielmann) didn’t do well tonight is field his position," Ioviero said. "He had a lot of mistakes on the defensive end." 

Kean ran itself out of opportunities in the third, fourth and fifth innings even as the Cougars were scoring two runs to take a 3-1 lead.

Kean took a chance on the basepaths in the fourth, when Matt Meleo punched a single through the middle with the bases loaded and two down. Ryan Kelley scored, but Gregorich easily gunned down Nick Zucchero at the plate for the third out. Kean also ran itself out of the fifth inning when Joe O’Connor was thrown out stealing second to end the inning.

O’Connor walked to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning but was erased on a double play. Ryan Kelley followed with a bases-empty double to the gap in left-center field but was stranded.

“We were trying to bunt him over and get (O’Connor) to second,” said Kean coach Neil Ioviero. “Twice we couldn’t get him to second. You’re basically judging how the pitcher is approaching the particular runner. He was pretty fast to the plate at that point and you can’t take too many chances at that point.”

Luke Watson followed up that eighth inning with a perfect ninth, striking out two, for his team-leading sixth save.

The Pointers struck first, as catcher Ryan Schilter singled through the middle and stole second in the top of the first inning. After Sean Gerber walked, Schilter came around to score from second on a flare into short center field by Jimmy Coady.

The Cougars answered with a run in the bottom of the second without the benefit of a hit. O’Connor led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and went to third on an error by JP Feyereisen. He then came home on a double steal attempt in which Ryan Kelley ranged far off first base, then got back safely after O’Connor scored.

Douglas finished 2-for-5 with two RBI for the Pointers, while Ryan Schilter, Jimmy Coady and Riley Spetz had two hits apiece. Kean worked Feyereisen for seven walks, three of them by Tyler Smarslok. O’Connor and Matt Meleo had RBI for the Cougars.

“We’re finding a way to win ballgames and I told the guys at the end of the game there’s nothing about style points at the end of the year,” said Bloom. “It’s all about wins. So whether we get it by scoring runs late or win by one or win by eight or nine, it’s all the same and we’re moving on.”

Thielmann gave up four runs, two earned and 11 hits in going the distance for Kean and falling to 10-3. Feyereisen improved to 7-2.

UW-Stevens Point postgame news conference

Kean postgame news conference