By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
EASTLAKE, Ohio - Pete Egbert and Frank Pericolosi have known each other since they were classmates at Springfield College, but the two had never coached a game against each other as head coaches at Misericordia and Pomona-Pitzer. That changed on Friday, in the opening game of the Division III World Series, when Egbert's Cougars scored twice in the sixth and twice in the ninth for good measure to get past the Sagehens 6-3.
"A good ballgame, a pitcher's duel," said Egbert. "You expect this so early in the tournament. We caught some breaks; it is what we do."
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Joe Valenti and Matt Lanzendorf combined to hold the Pomona-Pitzer offense to three runs on nine hits with a walk. They posted seven stiikeouts.
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| Brooks Kanwisher's expert turn of the double play at second base nabbed Isaac Kim to end the game. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com | More photos from this game |
"Joe gets ahead of the hitters but he struggled with that just a tad," said starting catcher Brock Bollinger. "He was able to fight and battle."
"My goal is to finish the game but that did not happen," said Valenti. "I want to compete and try my best to put up zeroes. I know if I can make my pitches, I can trust my defense."
"He [Lanzendorf] has been a staple in the bullpen," said Egbert. "Lanz has been tremendous. The combination of Lanz and Joe was outstanding."
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Misericordia opened the scoring in the first inning. Garrett McIlhenney was hit by a pitch. He was ruled out on an attempt to steal second, but the play was overturned by a challenge. The video showed he was safe and when Bollinger's ball scorched the left field line, McIlhenney scored easily.
"I would rather have been the home team but the advantage is you get to make the statement first," said Egbert. "We want to play ahead."
The game remained at 1-0 as both Valenti and Pomona's Jake Hilton settled in. Both pitchers were allowing runners but keeping them off the scoreboard.
This continued until the fourth inning where Misericordia took chances on the base paths. Jason Sanfilippo singled to shortstop with two outs. Brooks Kanwisher then doubled to center. Sanfilippo easily made third base and kept running, catching the Sagehen outfielder off-balance. The relay came but too late to keep Misericordia's second run off the board.
"We were fortunate he missed his cutoff man," said Egbert. "Jason got a good jump and was running on the pitch and got from first to third easily. We are going to be aggressive in this situation."
"I knew I had first to third, and was just trusting coach waving me through," said Sanfilippo.
Pomona-Pitzer broke the shutout in the fifth inning, taking a 3-2 lead. William Kinney single to left and was moved to third when an error allowed JC Ng to reach and end the play standing on second. Isaac Kim got his third hit of the game, a double on the left field line, that tied the score 2-2. Greg Pierantoni's safety to center scored Kim for the first Sagehen lead of the game.
The lead was short-lived as Misericordia plated two in their next at-bats. Hilton got a quick strikeout then a couple of walks to face Sanfilippo. He singled to left field to get the equalizer. A hit batter loaded the bases and Hilton's day was over. Eric Plough came on in relief and was one out from escaping with a tie before he hit McIlhenney with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run.
Valenti followed up with a 1-2-3 inning and his day was done as Lanzendorf came in for the three-inning save.
Misericordia added some insurance in the ninth inning. McIlhenney drop a single into right center and was erased on a unique 5-2-6 fielders choice. Jack Regenye stole second and was plated by safety by Bollinger. An attempt to pick off Bollinger flashed past the first baseman, allowing the fleet-footed catcher to end on third. An error by the third baseman allowed Bollinger to score the game's final run.
"Extending the lead was important," said Egbert. "Getting a bit of a lead allowed us to pitch to Isaac Kim."
Misericordia will play the winner between Lynchburg and Endicott with the loser of game two playing Pomona-Pitzer in Saturday's first game.
"We had it happen to us against Willamette and we bounced back the next day," said Pericolosi. "I feel confident with this group."