Two seniors came through with stellar performances on the mound and at the plate and carried St. Thomas to a 7-0 win over Bethel on Saturday noon in a second-round MIAC playoff game in Minnetonka.
Southpaw Bryce Gapinski (8-0) scattered six hits and struck out five Royals en route to the shutout. He extended his career record to 27-5, tied for third most in St. Thomas history behind Matt Schuld (30, 2007-10) and Joe Meyer (27, 1984-87).
Gapinski got all the run support he needed from the bat of Charles Bruchu. The third baseman had a double and two home runs in his first three at bats to stake Gapinski to a 5-0 lead.
As a result, No. 2 St. Thomas (32-7) advances to a second Saturday game, at 6 p.m. against St. Mary's, which fell 4-2 to St. John's in the afternoon game. If the Tommies win the nightcap, they will need two wins on Sunday over St. John's to claim the MIAC's automatic berth into next week's NCAA regionals tournament in Whitewater, Wis.
Bruchu came into the Bethel game hitting .314 but was only 2 for 10 in his last three games. He hit a first-pitch double in the top of the first inning, and Dylan Thomas came around from first to score after a fielding error. In the fourth and fifth innings, Bruchu hit home runs to left – the first a solo shot and the second a three-run blast well over the fence.
"I was really seeing the ball well today," said Bruchu, who tallied four RBI and scored three runs. "On the first home run, I stayed with a curve ball, got good bat extension and was able to drive it. On the second one, I was looking for a fastball, and when I hit it, I knew it was out."
Gapinski appreciated the 5-0 lead, and allowed only one runner to third base in achieving a nearly 3-to-1 strikes (80) to balls (28) ratio.
"I wasn't in a good rhythm at the start," he said. "I had to get used to the mound (artificial turf), but then I settled in nicely. The key to success for me is control of two pitches – my fastball and curveball. I mixed them up enough to keep the batters off balance."
Gapinski also gave credit to his defense, which turned double plays in the sixth and seventh. Earlier, Bruchu threw out at home the one Royal runner who reached third, in the second, and catcher J.D. Dorgan picked off a runner at first in the fifth
"I'm a contact pitcher," Gapinski said, "and when the guys make great plays behind me, it's a big difference."
Coach Chris Olean praised his two seniors. "Chuck was dialed in and carried us early while we were struggling a bit at the plate," Olean said. "Bryce doesn't beat himself. He goes out there and fills up the zone, and when he's down and throwing strikes, he's very tough."
The Tommies finished off the scoring with single runs in the seventh on a Thomas double and Dorgan single and in the ninth when Bruchu, on first after a fielder's choice groundout, scored on a long Tim Kuzniar single.
Thomas suffered an ankle sprain in a relief appearance in Friday night's 4-2 loss to St. Mary's, but was back on the field Saturday and running hard as designated hitter. He had two hits and scored three runs.
UST-BU box score:
http://miac-online.org/documents/2012/5/12/MIAC-3.boxscore.pdf?id=231