By Pat Coleman
D3sports.com

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – LaGrange put up crooked numbers in the third, sixth, seventh and eighth, giving Baley Coleman all the support he needed as the Panthers defeated Trinity (Texas) 12-0 on the opening night of the Division III World Series on Friday, June 3.

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The shutout put a capper on a great day of baseball, one which was played in pristine conditions and impeccable weather at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Coleman, the junior right-hander who is one of the Panthers’ two workhorse staring pitchers on the season, threw seven and one-third innings of shutout ball, allowing four hits, a walk and striking out nine before being relieved in the eighth. LaGrange advances into the winners’ bracket in Bracket 2 and will face Eastern Connecticut in the final game of the night on Saturday, scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m. CT.

“The story of the game is Baley Coleman,” said Trinity coach Tim Scannell. “I thought he was outstanding.”

“I think the consensus of the whole lineup is that he was spotting up well and placing pitches,” said third baseman Jack Wisniewski. “We really thrive on walks and free bases and it was hard for us to get a base hit and start a rally.”

LaGrange (43-7) got on the board in the third thanks to just a little bit of help. Rhett Hebert reached on an infield grounder where the shortstop’s throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and Gabriel Pallo chopped a ball down to third that Tigers’ third baseman Jack Wisniewski chose to throw across his body to second, resulting in everyone being safe on a fielder’s choice. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, McKinley Erves smacked a ball into right field, bringing home Hebert with Pallo charging hard behind him to make it 2-0.

Baley Coleman gets a big welcome from his teammates after coming out of the game in the eighth inning. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com

Coleman went out and got Trinity (37-12) quickly in the fourth, on a strikeout and two infield grounders.

"We talk about it all year, once we get a lead, we try our best to pitch with a lead, try to force some contact, get the defense involved, try not to miss barrels, try to put the ball in play," Coleman said after the game.

"It’s easy to let the moment get big and that’s something Coach (David) Kelton talks about all year, trying to stay composed, be where your feet are. When we have those big innings, that just reassures me that it’s not all on me, we have a team for a reason and it worked out."

The heart of the order came up big for LaGrange in the sixth. Joe Ruth, the No. 3 hitter, fought off an inside pitch and smacked it into left field for a base hit. Cael Chatman followed with a ball up the middle with one down, to put runners on first and second. David Smigelski got on as well, on a ball under the second baseman’s glove, bringing Ruth around to make it 3-0. That brought up Jared Aldridge, who uncorked the biggest hit of the night, a ball to the 390 sign in right center, bringing in another run and chasing Trinity starter Joseph Chavana (10-2). The Panthers got another run off a failed squeeze attempt, which turned into a Chatham steal of home.

Coleman (11-1) went out and got Trinity quickly in the sixth as well.

Ruth’s eighth-inning single was his third of the night, and his 104th of the season, setting the NCAA Division III record for hits in a season. It broke the previous record of 103 set by Sean Risley of Marietta in 1986, when he played 63 games.

"I try not to focus on personal achievements over what we’re doing as a team," Ruth said, "but to be able to hold that record and get it tonight in our first World Series win, it’s really cool. D-III baseball has a very rich history, a lot of great players have come through D-III, and to have that hit record is pretty cool."

Chatham went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, but also made a couple of outstanding defensive plays to preserve the shutout. In the fifth, he ranged far to his left on a grounder by Wisniewski and threw him out, stranding a Trinity runner in scoring position. 

"I credit that to the coaching staff, because during (fungo practice) we hit them all over the place," Chatham said. "We’re always very competitive and hollering at each other. ‘You gotta dive.’ You gotta go again if you miss it. You gotta get back and do it again. This coaching staff will hit us plays like that, where it’s a chopper and I gotta go five feet the other side of second place and make a play."

If that wasn't impressive enough, in the seventh inning, he robbed Trinity leadoff hitter MJ Metz of a hit, throwing him out from his rear end. 

"I had Coach Kelton in the back of my head when I got up. He told me yesterday I have to be light on my feet today. That play was just all of the throwing I’ve been doing, all of the long toss. I had trust in my arm that I was going to be able to get the throw there and I had trust in Jack (Layrisson) that if I gave him a good hope, he’s going to make the play, which he did."

Kelton's thoughts as that play was going on were much more simple: "Please make the play. All I'm doing is counting down outs."

Trinity falls into the losers’ bracket and will face Baldwin Wallace in a game scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.