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| Ben Vizvary had three hits and four RBI to help power Emory to the South Regional championship. Emory athletics file photo |
Three of the participants in the 2014 Division III World Series will be back in Appleton, Wis., to give it another shot, and the defending national champions will not be among them.
Emory, Cortland and Salisbury each punched return tickets to the championship week, while Trinity (Texas), which had been eliminated by Linfield three times in the past five years, finally got past the Wildcats and will be a first-time participant, as will Frostburg State. Ramapo outlasted MIT in 13 innings and is moving on as well. UW-Whitewater, however, which was fighting its way through the loser's bracket in the Midwest Regional, was eliminated in stunning fashion, as Concordia-Chicago scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Warhawks 8-7.
- Regional Day 4 scoreboard
- Regional Day 3 scoreboard
- Regional Day 2 scoreboard
- Regional Day 1 scoreboard
Emory became the first team to punch its ticket to Appleton, as first baseman Ben Vizvary hit a two-run double in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth to lift the Eagles past Birmingham-Southern 8-5. The national runners-up last season, Emory has a chance to improve on second-place finishes in 2007 and 2014.
On a day in which Oberlin, the eighth seed in the Auburn Regional and perhaps the 56th seed in the entire tournament, reached the final three of the regional, it was RPI who defeated the Yeomen, and then it was Cortland who ended RPI's run with a 7-0 win to book its trip to Wisconsin. Brandon McClain threw a four-hitter for the Red Dragons in the win. Oberlin had stayed alive with a come-from-behind, 5-4 victory over third-seeded Keystone on Saturday morning. The Yeomen scored four unanswered runs on Saturday after the elimination game was suspended on Friday night with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Giants holding a 4-1 lead. Oberlin then watched RPI walk off to the Auburn championship game with a 5-4 victory.
In the West Regional, Linfield, needing two wins to advance, jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Trinity (Texas) after four and a half innings. But the Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the fifth and pushed across five an inning later, four of them off Wildcats ace Chris Haddeland, to get over the hump and win 7-3.
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| Ramapo celebrates its first trip to the D-III World Series since it won the 1984 national title. Ramapo athletics photo |
Rob DeAngelis opened the bottom of the 13th with a double, was bunted over to third and came in to score on a sac fly by Scott Peschiani to send Ramapo to the D-III World Series with a 6-5 win over MIT in the New England Regional. The vaunted MIT offense was held to 20 runs in its six games at the regional. Walker Larson, who went 10 innings on Wednesday for Ramapo in its regional opener vs. Castleton, came out of the bullpen for five and a third innings of relief to pick up his 10th win of the season. MIT was fighting its way through the loser's bracket and played two extra-inning games on Saturday after having played twice on Friday as well.
Earlier on Saturday, the 'Cardiac Cougars' lived up to their nickname. Down four entering their final at bats, Concordia-Chicago scored five to walk off with a win and send the defending national champs home to think what might have been. The Warhawks were rolling though eight innings but found getting the final out a problem. All five runs, culminating with a Doug Matthews single to win it, came with two outs.
In the Mid-Atlantic, Salisbury chased Alvernia starter Tim Carfrey after just three batters and his replacement, Ryan Sheekey, gave up 10 runs, seven of them earned in five innings as the Sea Gulls won 12-2. Salisbury was the No. 4 seed in the regional and might not have even gotten in the field if not for a couple of final-week wins. But if there were any doubt as to the quality of the Capital Athletic Conference in baseball this season, just remember that the only two teams who made the postseason, and the only two teams who ever got listed in any of the regional rankings, each made the Division III World Series.
| Cortland got through the Auburn Regional unblemished to return to Appleton. Cortland athletics photo by Darl Zehr Photography |
To get to that game, Alvernia did something that few teams have done in a while, hold down the Johns Hopkins offense. A potent Blue Jays offense could only manage a single run as the Crusaders eliminated Johns Hopkins 5-1 to advance to the championship matchup with Salisbury.
Frostburg State scored two runs in each of the first four innings and the Bobcats made it stand up, defeating La Roche 8-4 on Saturday night in the Mideast Regional final, clinching its first trip to the D-III World Series. La Roche scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to come from behind and eliminate Heidelberg to reach that game. The Redhawks advanced to their first regional championship in school history with a 6-5 win as La Roche redeemed their only loss in the regional tournament, a 6-5 loss to Heidelberg in the opening round.
We won't have a winner in the Waterloo Regional (waterlogged regional?) until Sunday evening, as they may have to play two games there tomorrow. Carthage secured its Sunday spot by eliminating host school Wartburg, while Webster survived after UW-Stevens Point loaded the bases in the ninth inning to win 4-2. Carthage, which lost to Webster in the opening day of the regional, will have to beat Webster twice in order to advance.