By John McGraw
D3sports.com
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- D3baseball.com First Team All-American Nathan Malinovsky pitched a complete game four-hit shutout and Tyler Cauley drove in five runs to propel Texas Lutheran over Wooster, 7-0, in the final game on the first day of the World Series at Neuroscience Group Field.
- D-III World Series team-by-team preview
- Pat and Jim wrap up Day 1 from Appleton
- Defenses scuffle as UTT takes Game 1
- Game 2: Miseri leaves Macon stranded
- Game 3: Cougars maul Swarthmore
- Game 4: Wooster gets bulldogged
- World Series Day 1 scoreboard
- World Series Day 2 schedule
- World Series record book
- Photo galleries: Game 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
With its 11th straight win, Texas Lutheran (39-9) set up a Saturday night showdown with Concordia-Chicago in the Bracket 2 winners bracket. Wooster (40-9) will face Swarthmore in an elimination game on Saturday evening with the winner moving on in Sunday’s pod play.
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| Ben Marvin slides across with one of his two runs. The Bulldogs' 2-3-4 hitters combined to go 9-for-14 with six runs scored. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
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| Nathan Malinovsky was basically untouchable all night for Texas Lutheran, giving up four hits and three walks. photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
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Malinovsky (12-1) kept Wooster hitters off balance all night, mixing his pitches and limiting the nation’s top offense (10.2 runs per game) to three singles, a double and seven baserunners total. The junior walked three, struck out nine and allowed the Scots multiple baserunners just once in nine frames.
“Nate was awesome tonight. He threw the ball really well, both sides of the plate with velocity, didn’t walk many guys, and that was important with a team like these guys that put up the numbers that they do” said Texas Lutheran head coach Greg Burnett.
Malinovsky mastered the Scots with a combination of breaking pitches and heavy heat that contributed to lots of swings and misses. “In the bullpen before the game, my curveball was breaking pretty good. The fastball was running and my two seam was moving as well.”
In his second straight complete game effort and third shutout, Malinovsky faced no more than four batters in a single inning and did not allow a Wooster runner to advance past second base. Last weekend, Malinovsky struck out six and did not allow an earned run in a five-hit complete game effort against Texas-Dallas in the Spokane regional.
While the Texas Lutheran junior was cooling off the Wooster bats, Tyler Cauley and the middle of the Texas Lutheran order helped the Bulldogs batter the Scots early with six runs over the first three innings on Wooster starter Chandler Dippman (8-1).
Texas Lutheran wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. Following back-to-back singles in the top of the first by Ben Marvin and Thomas Varner, Tyler Cauley mashed a 1-2 offering over the left-field fence and into the Wisconsin night for his team-leading 11th home run to give TLU an early 3-0 lead.
Greg Burnett felt his team’s early offensive explosion was an important key to the game. “Tyler’s home run in the first inning was big. To have that first big hit to settle us down.”
Conversely, Wooster head coach Tim Pettorini summed it up. “It’s obviously not the way you want to start a tournament.”
The Texans tacked on another run in the second thanks to a quick start to the frame with both Chad Curtis and Spencer Brandt reaching base. Eric Rabinowitz bunted over the runners and Curtis came home to score on a Riley Schaefer fly out to right.
Cauley continued his assault on Wooster pitching in the third as he roped a line drive down the left field line that curled into the corner, scoring Thomas Varner from first. Cauley came home to score his second run three batters later on TLU’s third extra-base hit of the game, a two-out double blistered into right-center field by Chad Curtis.
The Bulldogs padded the lead in the eighth against the Wooster bullpen which used four pitchers in relief of Chandler Dippman. Ben Marvin singled off reliever James Usher and moved to second on a ground out. Tyler Cauley tied a season game high with his fifth RBI on a two-out single into left field.
Cauley finished 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored to lead a trio of Texas Lutheran hitters with big nights. Ben Marvin and Thomas Varner, TLU’s two and three hitters, each went 3-for-5 and scored twice. The threesome accounted for six of the Bulldogs seven runs.
Four different Scots had one-hit apiece with Michael Wielansky’s first inning double into left-center field being the only extra-base hit.
Wooster moves into the elimination round on Saturday against New York regional champ Swarthmore. Tim Pettorini believes the Scots will be ready on Saturday, counting on his team’s leaders. “We’ve got some really good seniors who’ve been through the wars, a lot, and been in tough situations.” He added “It’s a double elimination tournament for a reason and (tomorrow) the Fighting Scots will be ready to play.