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| Southern Maine athletics photo |
Southern Maine pounded out 20 hits and junior Jason Jensen threw his second complete game of the series to lead the Huskies to a 15-1 victory over Wooster in the Division III Baseball Championship title game May 28 in Salem, Va.
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| Southern Maine athletics photo |
The championship is the second in six years for Southern Maine. The Huskies won their first title in 1991. "It was very similar to 1991," said Southern Maine head coach Ed Flaherty, referring to the team that defeated the College of New Jersey, 9-0. "We got hot hitting in the regional tournament and carried it into the championship (finals). It's almost like deja vu. "It's not very often you can sit in the dugout and know you've won it in the fifth inning. We did it in 1991 and today."
Junior first baseman Jason Crepeau hit the first of his two home runs in the first inning to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Senior third baseman Tony Miner singled later in the inning to extend his hitting streak to a Division III record 35 games.
Travis Snyder put Wooster in the record book when he tied the game with an opposite field home run in the bottom of the first. It was the 104th home run of the season for Wooster, which broke the Division III single-season team home run mark established by UW-Oshkosh in 1986.
Southern Maine countered with five runs in the second to take the lead for good. The Huskies sent 10 men to the plate in the inning, including designated hitter Ritchie White, who hit a two-run double, and Bill O'Brien and Ken Reed, who added sacrifice flies. The Huskies continued the assault with four runs in the sixth inning. White stroked an RBI single and Rich Cahill drove in two of his four RBIs with the second of his three doubles.
Jensen, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, found a groove after allowing Snyder's home run in the first. The lefthander allowed just five more hits and struck out nine in winning his ninth game of the year. In the series, Jensen was 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts. "I stayed with the fastball and kept the change-up away," Jensen said. "I had more of a curveball today. I just went after them."
All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player: Jason Jenson, Southern Maine
Catcher - Matt Jackson, Wooster
First Base - Jason Crepeau, Southern Maine
Second Base - Jamie Whiting, NC Wesleyan
Third Base - Travis Snyder, Wooster
Shortstop - Bill O'Brien, Southern Maine
Outfield - Shorty Flees, Carthage; Trevor Urban, Wooster; Cory Adams, Southern Maine
Designated Hitter - Ritchie White, Southern Maine
Pitcher - Jason Jensen, Southern Maine; Drew Binkowski, Wooster.