2005 All-PAC Baseball Team
Player of the Year: Anthony Recker, Alvernia (Sr, C, R/R, Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua)
Rookie of the Year: Zach Lutz, Alvernia (Fr, 3B/P, R/R, Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin)
Coach of the Year: Yogi Lutz, Alvernia
First Team
Pitchers
Brandon DeWald, Alvernia (Sr, Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin)
Jerry Lukach, Misericordia (Sr, Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan)
Catcher
Anthony Recker, Alvernia (Sr, Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua)
1st Base
Josh Kendrick, Misericordia (So, Milton, PA/Warrior Run)
2nd Base
John Drozdowski, GMC (Sr, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic)
Shortstop
Eric Bonds, Alvernia (Jr, Lancaster, PA/Penn Manor)
3rd Base
Zach Lutz, Alvernia (Fr, Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin)
Outfielders
Justin Loomis, Arcadia (Sr, Tuckerton, NJ/Pinelands)
Anthony Capella, GMC (So, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic)
Andrew Mikowski , Misericordia (Sr, Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Valley Central)
Designated Hitter
Eric Sagnor, Arcadia (Sr, Gap, PA/Pequa Valley)
Utility
John Bellis, Arcadia (Jr, Audubon, NJ/Audubon)
Second Team
Pitchers
Zach Lutz, Alvernia (Fr, Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin)
Jason Zeigler, Alvernia (So, Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin)
Tyler Pennepacker, Arcadia (So, Reading, PA/Reading)
Catcher
Bryan Sorenson, Wesley (Sr, West River, MD/Southern)
1st Base
Mike Lemon, Wesley (Sr, Wilmington, DE/St. Mark’s)
2nd Base
Jason Kromko, Marywood (Jr, Lake Ariel, PA/Western Wayne)
Shortstop
Troy Peiffer, GMC (Jr, Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford)
3rd Base
Justin Fowler, Misericordia (Sr, Montgomery, NY/Valley Central)
Outfielders
Ben Reifsnyder, Alvernia (So, Wyomissing, PA/Wilson)
Bob Drozdowski, GMC (Sr, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic)
Matt Krimm, GMC (Sr, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic)
Designated Hitter
Dan Pierce, Alvernia (Sr, Green Lane, PA/Upper Perkiomen)
Steve Sellers, GMC (So, Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge)
Utility
Mike Piercy, Marywood (Sr, Throop, PA/Mid Valley)
Honorable Mention
Ryan Zimmerman, Alvernia (Jr, OF, Wyomissing, PA/Wilson); Anthony Dabrowski, GMC (Jr, UT, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic); Matt Faber, Marywood (So, OF, Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville); Harold Knebel, Misericordia (Sr, Warwick, NY/Warwick)
All-PAC Baseball Sportsmanship Team
Brandon DeWald, Alvernia (Sr, P/OF, Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin)
Justin Loomis, Arcadia (Sr, 2B, Tuckerton, NJ/Pinelands)
Jeremy Dager, Eastern (Jr, 2B, Cheltenham, PA/Cheltenham)
Josh Thomas, Gwynedd-Mercy (So, P, Severn, MD/Cardinal Gibbons)
Dennis Hricenak, Marywood (Sr, C/OF, Scranton, PA/West Scranton)
Chris Orner, Misericordia (Sr, IF/P, Warrenton, VA/Fauquier)
Matt Backert, Neumann (Jr, OF, North East, MD/Rising Sun)
Mike Lemon, Wesley (Sr, 1B, Wilmington, DE/St. Mark’s)
PAC Players of the Week
May 2 - Alvernia College's Eric Bonds (Jr, SS, Lancaster, PA/Penn Manor) - Bonds hit .556 (10-for-18) with seven runs scored, three doubles, a triple and four RBI on the week, which saw the Crusaders win four of their five contests.
College Misericordia's Jerry Lukach (Sr, Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) - Lukach was 1-0 with a save and a 1.12 earned run average in two appearances for the Cougars, capturing the Player of the Week award for the second consecutive week.
April 25 - Gwynedd-Mercy College's John Drozdowski (Sr, 2B, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) and College Misericordia's Justin Fowler (Sr, 3B, Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) - Drozdowski hit .481 (13-for-27) with eight runs scored, seven RBI, five doubles, a home run and a stolen base on the week. He also snapped Gwynedd's all-time hits record when he recorded career hit number 169 against Wesley College on Friday. Fowler hit .500 (10-for-20) with a double and seven RBI in a 4-1 week for the Cougars.
College Misericordia's Jerry Lukach (Sr, Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) - Lukach threw a five-hit shutout, striking out eight in the process, to lead the Cougars to a Conference win.
April 18 - Alvernia College's Zach Lutz (Fr, 3B, Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin) - Lutz hit .440 (11-25) with 10 runs scored, four home runs, one double and 11 RBI as the Crusaders swept six contests.
This was the second week in a row Lutz took home the honor.
Alvernia College's Brandon DeWald (Sr, Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin) - DeWald was 1-0 on the week, allowing just one run in six innings of work. He struck out eight to help earn the 20th win of his career, an Alvernia record.
April 11 - Alvernia College's Zach Lutz (Fr, 3B, Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin)- Lutz hit .586 (17-29) with 13 runs scored, two home runs, two doubles and 11 RBI as the Crusaders swept six Conference contests. Lutz added two stolen base in two attempts.
Alvernia College's Todd Stapleton (Sr, P, Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) - Stapleton was 1-0 with two saves on the week, allowing just one run in 9.2 innings of work. Stapleton recorded eight strikeouts on the week and threw a shutout in a 6-0 win over Arcadia.
April 4 - Alvernia College's Anthony Recker (Sr, C, Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua)- Recker hit .571 (4-7) with three runs scored, two home runs and five RBI as the Crusaders split a pair of Conference contests. Recker added a stolen base in his only attempt of the week.
Wesley College's Ryan Buckland (So, Middletown, DE/Caravel) - Buckland allowed three earned runs on nine hits in a 7-3 win over Marywood University. He added five strikeouts in his seven innings of work.
March 28 - College Misericordia's Justin Fowler (Sr, 3B, Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) - Fowler hit .800 (4-5) with two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored as the Cougars defeated Scranton, 15-10.
Gwynedd-Mercy College's Matt Daley (So, Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) - Daley allowed three runs on four hits in a 5-3 win over Arcadia University. He added three strikeouts in the contest.
March 21 - Alvernia College's Jason Ziegler (Sr, C, West River, MD/Southern) - Ziegler hit .588 (10-17) with five doubles, eight RBI and two stolen bases, as the Crusaders went unbeaten in nine contests.
Alvernia College's Brandon DeWald (Sr, Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin) - DeWald was 2-0 with a 0.82 earned run average in 11 innings of work, while striking out 10.
March 14 - Wesley College's Bryan Sorenson (Sr, C, West River, MD/Southern) - Sorenson hit .529 with five home runs and 14 RBI, as the Wolverines started the season 4-1.
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2005 Baseball Championships PAC | NCAA
2005 PAC Baseball Tournament
Bear Stadium (Boyertown, PA)
Final Round – Saturday, May 7, 2005
Game 6: (1) Alvernia 8, (3) Gwynedd-Mercy 4, Vern Wins PAC
Boyertown, PA - Senior catcher Anthony Recker belted a pair of home runs and freshman starter Zach Lutz threw seven strong innings as top-seeded Alvernia College beat #3 Gwynedd-Mercy College, 8-4, in the final of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday afternoon at Bear Stadium.
Alvernia senior Dan Pierce went 6-for-11 from the plate for the Crusaders (35-4) in three games including a pair of homeruns and four runs scored. He drove in the winning run in Alvernia's 8-7 win on Friday and scored twice in the championship game.
Lutz made pitches when he had to early in the game. After he gave up a leadoff double to senior John Drozdowski to open the day he struck out the 2-3-4 hitters to strand the runner. The Griffins (24-18) stranded a runner in every inning but the fifth and 11 on the day.
Lutz walked Matt Martin to open the second and Ryan McMahon singled to put runners on first and second with no one out, but the Griffins failed to execute the sacrifice bunt as Martin was cut down at third on the force play. Lutz worked his way out of the second with a foul out to the catcher and a ground ball to first.
Recker gave Lutz a run to work with in the second when he walked, took second on a ground out, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch, but the Griffins quickly got the run back on a double steal with two out in the third. Recker's throw to second one-hopped shortstop Eric Bonds who had no shot a John Drozdowski at the plate. Again with a runner in scoring position, Lutz got a ground out to end the inning and the game was tied at 1-all after 2 ½ innings.
The Crusaders reestablished the one-run lead scoring on a Jason Zeigler single with two out in the fourth. Junior Ryan Zimmerman sacrificed runners to second and third, and Recker was thrown out trying to score on a Dan Myers grounder to a drawn in third baseman. Zeigler followed with a clutch hit to center putting Alvernia up 2-1.
The Griffins tied the score for the second time on a two-out RBI double from Anthony Dabrowski in the sixth and Lutz got his third inning-ending strikeout of the day to preserve the tie.
Pierce and Zimmerman opened the home half of the sixth with a single and a walk, and after Myers failed to move the runners Zeigler loaded the bases with a single to right. Pierce waited to be sure the line drive went through and wasn't able to score from second, but freshman Edwin Tavarez came through in the clutch with a two-run single through the left side putting Alvernia up 4-2 after six.
Lutz, in his final inning of work, walked the leadoff man in the seventh, but induced a 6-3 double play to erase the walk. Anthony Capella followed with a single and a stolen base, but Lutz once again ended the threat with a strikeout.
Recker added insurance with a long one-out homerun to left in the seventh, and following an RBI groundout from Lutz in the eighth, added Alvernia's final two runs on a fly ball to center that carried out between the 350 and 380 signs.
Alvernia senior Todd Stapleton who relieved Lutz in the eighth got two fly ball outs with a runner on in the ninth before two late Griffin hits knocked in a pair of runs for the 8-4 final. McMahon, batting with a runner on first and two outs, flied out to Zimmerman in right to give the Crusaders their seventh PAC Title and a trip to the NCAA Regional.
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Second Round – Friday, May 6, 2005
Game 3: (4) Arcadia 14, (2) Misericordia 0
Boyertown, PA - Junior starter Chris Nusspickel allowed just two hits in six innings of work to lead fourth-seeded Arcadia University to a 14-0 win over #2 College Misericordia in the first elimination game of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Friday afternoon at Bear Stadium.
The Knights (22-18) will advance to Friday night's losers bracket final and will await the loser of the afternoon game between top-seeded Alvernia College and #3 Gwynedd-Mercy.
Both teams went quietly in the first and with no one out in the top of the second Arcadia sophomore John Connell put the Knights on the board with an opposite-field, two-run homer.
Another scoreless inning for the Cougars preceded an eight-run outburst by Arcadia. The inning started with a single up the middle off the bat of no. 9 hitter Eric Console and back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases. Five batters later the day was over for Misericordia starter Zach Kepczynski who failed to record an out in the third inning. Freshman Brandon Gehm relieved Kepczynski, but allowed two of the three inherited runners to score plus one and the Knights led 10-0 after 2 ½ innings.
Nusspickel continued to cruise through the Cougars lineup retiring 10 straight batters at one point through the middle innings before giving way to a trio of relievers for an inning each to complete the shutout. The Arcadia bullpen did not allow a hit in three innings, walked one, and struck out one.
The Knights tacked on three runs in the fifth inning on three hits. Freshman Joe Sacerdote led off with a single, and Misericordia ace Jerry Lukach entered with the bases loaded and one out. Lukach gave up back-to-back singles to chase home all three base runners and the Knights were up 13-0 after five innings.
Arcadia tacked on one more run in the eighth inning for the 14-0 final. Junior outfielder Anthony Ragona led the Knights' 16-hit attack with four hits in six at bats. Five different Knights scored a pair of runs. Nusspickel improved to 5-3 with the win.
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Game 4: (1) Alvernia 8, (3) Gwynedd-Mercy 7
Boyertown, PA - Junior shortstop Eric Bonds scored three runs including the game-tying and winning runs as top-seeded Alvernia College beat #3 Gwynedd-Mercy College, 8-7, Friday evening in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament action at Bear Stadium. Alvernia advances to the tournament final Saturday afternoon and will face the winner of Friday night's #4 Arcadia / #3 Gwynedd-Mercy game.
Alvernia put the first run on the board in the home half of the second when Ryan Zimmerman scored on a two-out single off the bat of no. 9 hitter Edwin Tavarez. Gwynedd-Mercy starter Josh Thomas plunked Zimmerman with one out and he moved up on a single and a fielder's choice groundout before the Tavarez RBI single.
Gwynedd-Mercy wasted no time in taking its own lead with four runs in the top half of the third inning. Crusader starter Artie Gehret, who struggled to find the plate through four innings of work, gave up a pair of walks and a pair of doubles to the top four batters in the Griffins' lineup, and was working with a runner on third with one out. Gehret got Ryan McMahon swinging, but the pitch eluded catcher Anthony Recker allowing Troy Peiffer to score from third.
Trailing 4-1 after four, the Crusaders tagged Thomas for five runs in the fifth on the strength of three homeruns. Tavarez started the inning by working a full count and jerking a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence. Freshman Steve Burdan and Bonds reached on back-to-back singles in front of freshman Zach Lutz who smacked the Crusaders' second homerun of the inning out to left field. Recker hit a fly ball to center for the second out of the inning and senior designated hitter Dan Pierce hooked a ball inside the right field foul poll for the third homer of the inning.
Alvernia brought senior reliever Brandon DeWald in to start the sixth and he loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before giving up a bases-clearing double to sophomore third baseman Matt Martin. DeWald then settled to strand Martin at second, but the damage was done as the Griffins took a 7-6 lead after 5 ½.
The Crusaders went in order in the sixth and the Griffins threatened with two on and one out, but DeWald induced the 6-3 double play to end the inning. Bonds opened the home half of the seventh with a hard hit single to the right side of the infield and after a pair of flyouts Thomas walked Pierce to put runners at first and second with two out. GMC turned the ball over to reliever Kyle Reynolds and with the runners in motion, Zimmerman's flare to second had just enough to clear the outstretched glove of John Drozdowski allowing Bonds to score from second. Reynolds got Dan Myers on a foul out to the catcher to end the seventh and both teams went in order in the eighth.
DeWald retired the leadoff in the ninth and gave up a one-out single to Anthony Dabrowski. Dabrowski was taken out for a pinch runner, Angel Burgos, but the Griffins couldn't get the bunt down to move the runner over. With two outs Burgos took off for second and no one covered as Recker's throw cruised into center giving Burgos third. DeWald held the 7-all tie striking out Drozdowski to strand the go-ahead run at third.
Bonds reached to lead off the ninth with his third straight hit, a line drive double to the gap in left center. Gwynedd-Mercy intentionally walked Lutz to create the force and Reynolds retired Recker on a line drive to center before Pierce hit a one-out slicing line drive up the middle that scored Bonds from second ending the game.
DeWald, who pitched four innings of relief, picked up his eighth win of the season.
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Game 5: (3) Gwynedd-Mercy 10, (4) Arcadia 7
Boyertown, PA - A quartet of Gwynedd-Mercy relievers combined to throw four shutout innings as the third-seeded Griffins advanced to the Championship game of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament with a 10-7 win over #4 Arcadia University Friday evening at Bear Stadium.
Freshman Lee McInerney took the ball from starter Steve Sellers and went an inning and a third surrendering just one hit. Junior Sean McGovern retired the only two batters he saw. Joe Harris worked around a pair of walks and a single, and freshman closer Kyle Reynolds loaded the bases with no one out in the ninth, but escaped with a force out at the plate, a strikeout, and a fly ball to left to end the game.
Gwynedd-Mercy wasted little time putting up a crooked number in the home half of the first inning. Troy Peiffer knocked home John Drozdowski with a sacrifice fly to right, Matt Martin drove in a run with a double, and scored on a wild pitch to put the Griffins up 3-0 after one inning.
Arcadia responded with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third sending eight batters to the plate, but stranded three base runners. Eric Console and John Bellis both reached with one out and scored on back-to-back singles from Eric Sagnor and John Connell, but Sellers got out of the jam on a ground ball with the bases loaded.
Gwynedd-Mercy posted its second of three three-run innings in the third on a two-run homer from Anthony Capella and an RBI groundout from Bob Drozdowski.
Arcadia got all three runs back in the top of the fourth aided by a pair of Griffin errors to close the gap back to one run at 6-5. For the second straight inning the Knights sent eight men to the plate and Console and Bellis tallied their second unearned runs of the evening.
Trailing by just one run Arcadia starter Butch Magliaro struck out the first batter he saw in the fourth but struggled with the top of the Griffins' lineup giving up three straight hits before giving way to reliever Matt Evanitsky. Upon entry, Evanitsky uncorked a wild pitch to plate the Griffins' ninth run, but allowed just one run over the final 4 2/3 innings. He also escaped a bases loaded jam inducing a pop out to end the Griffins' fourth.
The Knights opened the fifth with a walk and a single and after bunting the runners over, Console rapped a two-run single to the gap in right center to pull within two, 9-7. Another single and a walk loaded the bases again for Arcadia with two outs, but Sellers wriggled out of the jam by striking out Connell.
The Griffins went in order for a change in the fifth and failed to score with three walks in the sixth. Their final run of the night came in the seventh when Peiffer beat out a two-out, bases loaded bunt that scored John Drozdowski.
Arcadia managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the eighth, but pinch hitter MC Bertolino hit a line drive right at Capella in right to end the threat. The tying run reached first base for the Knights in the ninth against Reynolds, but Justin Loomis was jammed on a come backer to the mound erasing pinch runner Mike Ramsden at the plate, Sagnor struck out on a breaking ball, and Connell hit a fly ball to left that Bob Drozdowski squeezed to send Gwynedd-Mercy back to the final for the third straight year and fifth time in the last six.
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First Round – Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Game 1: (3) Gwynedd-Mercy 18, @ (2) Misericordia 3
Dallas, PA - Gwynedd-Mercy blasted five home runs enroute to an 18-3 win over College Misericordia in the first round of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference playoffs, Wednesday afternoon.
Matt Krimm led the Griffins attack with two homers and four RBI and Matt Martin added five hits, two RBI and four runs scored. Troy Peiffer had three hits and three RBI, incuding a homer and Bob Drozdowski had a homer and three RBI. John Drozdowski added three hits and scored four runs.
GMC scored five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back as they raced to an 8-0 lead through four innings. The Griffins put the game away with six runs in the sixth.
Kyle Reynolds picked the win with 1.2 innings of shutout relief. Terrence Mull had three hits to pace Misericordia while Justin Fowler added two hits and Andrew Mikowski had a pair of RBI.
Gwynedd-Mercy, 23-15, will face Alvernia in the winners bracket final, Friday at 3:30 at Bear Stadium in Boyertown. Misericordia, 18-19-1, will play Arcadia in an elimination game at noon.
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Game 2: @ (1) Alvernia 9, (4) Arcadia 7
Reading, PA – Top-seeded Alvernia College smacked back-to-back-to-back homers in the fourth inning to build a 9-0 lead, but needed pitching and defense in the late innings to hold off fourth-seeded Arcadia University, 9-7, Wednesday afternoon in first round action of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament at Alvernia.
Alvernia will face #3 Gwynedd-Mercy College, an 18-3 winner over #2 College Misericordia, on Friday in the second game of a tripleheader at Bear Stadium in Boyertown. The Crusaders, ranked 27th in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association National Poll, improve to 33-4 this season.
Senior catcher Anthony Recker opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the first inning, and scored on designated hitter Dan Pierce’s three-run homer in the third inning that put the hosts up 5-0.
Sophomore starter Jason Zeigler cruised through the first four innings picking up five of his six strikeouts on the day his first time through the Arcadia order. Zeigler plunked third baseman Joe Sacerdote with two out in the fourth and surrendered his first hit to the next batter, Steve Calamito before getting a fly-out to end the first Arcadia threat.
Scarlet Knights starter Butch Magliaro walked the first batter he saw in the home half of the fourth and ended his day surrendering a two-run blast to left off the bat of freshman centerfielder Steve Burdan. Freshman reliever John Squire was greeted by two straight homers by junior Eric Bonds and freshman Zach Lutz, but allowed just three harmless singles for the remainder of the day.
The Knights finally got to Zeigler in the fifth inning which started with a walk and a wild pitch. An outfield error left runners at first and second for junior leadoff John Bellis who walked to load the bases. Senior Justin Loomis followed with a base hit to right, but the Crusaders cut down the second runner at the plate for the first out of the inning. Sophomore John Connoll came through with an RBI single and Zeigler got Eric Sagnor looking, but gave up a three-run homer to Sacerdote before getting out of the inning on a pop up.
Arcadia plated a single run in the sixth inning on a base hit and an error, and Sagnor doubled to put runners on second and third with one out in the seventh ending Zeigler’s day. Senior reliever Todd Stapleton gave up an RBI groundout to Sacerdote and the Knights put the go-ahead run at first with a single and a walk before high heat from Stapleton struck out junior shortstop Tom DeCicco with two out and the bases loaded.
Arcadia brought the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Stapleton retired Connell on a flyout to end the eighth, and senior Brandon DeWald picked up a one-out save retiring pinch hitter Brian Emerich with a runner on first in the ninth.
The opener on Friday at 12 noon will feature Arcadia and Misericordia with the winner to face the loser of the Alvernia – Gwynedd-Mercy game in Friday’s nightcap.
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2005 NCAA Division III Baseball East Regional
May 19-23, 2005, Bear Stadium, Boyertown, PA
Hosted by the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
Seeds (records prior to tournament)
1. Rowan (37-7)
2. DeSales (31-8)
3. Alvernia (36-4)
4. The College of New Jersey (34-11)
5. Messiah (27-12-1)
6. Franklin & Marshall (25-14)
Friday, May 19, 2005
Game Three - #3 Alvernia 6, #4 The College of New Jersey 5
Alvernia College junior Pete Jordan (Reading, Pa.), a defensive replacement in the top of the eighth inning, hit his first homerun of the year in the bottom of the eighth to give the third-seeded Crusaders a 6-5 win over #4 The College of New Jersey in game three of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Thursday evening at Bear Stadium.
Alvernia will face DeSales University at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and TCNJ will face top-seede Rowan for the sixth time this season. The Lions hold a 3-2 advantage in the series this year.
Alvernia starter Jason Zeigler (Mohnton, Pa.) allowed just a two-out single in the first inning and TCNJ starter Joe D’Alessandro (Glassboro, N.J.) also set down the first two he faced, but then walked the bases loaded before striking out Ryan Zimmerman (Breinigsville, Pa.) to end the threat.
Both teams went in order in the second and Alvernia mounted the only serious threat in the third. Freshman Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.) singled with two out and took second when senior catcher Anthony Recker (Catasauqua, Pa.) walked on four pitches for the second straight time. This time D’Alessandro retired designated hitter Dan Pierce (Green Lane, Pa.) to end the Crusaders’ third.
TCNJ right fielder Chris Wilson (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) doubled to left to open the fourth inning, took second when Blake Bullis (Delran, N.J.) reached and error, and scored the first run of the game on a Rich Kropp (Pottstown, Pa.) single to left. Bullis took third when Tom Grohs (Wycoff, N.J.) reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch. Mike Feaster (South River, N.J.) followed with a single through the right side that plated Grohs and TCNJ had a 3-0 lead after 3 ½ innings.
Dan Myers (Mount Joy, Pa.) doubled with one out in the bottom of the third, but was stranded when D’Alessandro recorded a strikeout and a comebacker to end the fourth.
TCNJ went in order in the fifth and D’Alessandro struck out Crusaders on either side of an Eric Bonds (Lancaster, Pa.) double. Recker followed with his third straight walk and Pierce slammed a long, three-run homer to right to knot the score at 3-3 after five.
TCNJ catcher Gerard Harran (Old Bridge, N.J.), the nation’s leader in RBIs, wasted no time putting the Lions back on top with a homerun to left on the first pitch of the sixth inning. Zeigler settled to get the next two batters, but allowed a single to Grohs with two out. Feastser reached on an error and sophomore Matt Zonies (Marlton, N.J.) knocked in the Lions’ fifth run on a single to right center.
Alvernia cut the lead in half with a single run in the bottom of the sixth. Myers led off with a walk and sophomore Ben Reifsnyder (Wyomissing, Pa.) singled to center to put two on with no one out and ended the day for D’Alessandro. Freshman second baseman Edwin Tavarez (Reading, Pa.) laid down a bunt, but Myers was out at third leaving two on with one out. TCNJ reliever Brad Kittle (Millville, N.J.) struck out Steve Burdan (Pottstown, Pa.) before Bonds rapped his second straight double to center plating Reifsnyder.
The Crusaders tied the score in the seventh on Recker’s second run of the night. The senior catcher was hit by a pitch in front of a Pierce single, and Zimmerman was also plunked to load the bases. Myers grounded into a 4-6-3 double play plating Recker and Reifsnyder struck out to end the seventh with the score tied at 5-all.
Grohs walked with one out in the eighth and was in motion on a full-count pitch to Feaster that led to a Tavarez-to-Myers double play ending the inning. TCNJ went to Blake Ortiz (Swedesboro, N.J.) in relief of Kittle and he got Tavarez on a ground ball to third before Jordan’s homerun.
Zeigler stayed in for the ninth and gave up a single to Zonies who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Leadoff hitter Charles Iacono (Hamilton, N.J.) grounded out to second and Bonds made a diving catch on a soft line drive off the bat of Wilson to end the game.
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Saturday, May 20, 2005
Game Six - #2 DeSales 10, #3 Alvernia 4
DeSales University junior Matt Reppert (Allentown, Pa.) gave up three first inning runs, but just one more over six full innings to lead the second-seeded Bulldogs to a 10-4 win over #3 Alvernia College Saturday morning in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Baseball Regional Tournament at Bear Stadium.
DSU head coach Tim Neiman earned his 400th career victory in the win and improves his lifetime record to 400-200-3. The Bulldogs turn right around to face #1 Rowan University while the Crusaders take a game off and will face #5 Messiah College in an elimination game at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Alvernia starter Brandon DeWald (Shillington, Pa.) walked Dan Fratantoro (Sewell, N.J.) to open the game and he came around to score following a sacrifice bunt and a single to center off the bat of senior shortstop Ian Hauze (Phoenixville, Pa.). Hauze was thrown out trying to steal second and DeWald retired Kyle Hoffman (Boyertown, Pa.) on a ground ball to shortstop to end the first.
Alvernia started the home half of the first with a pair of singles and Reppert plunked Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.) to load the bases with no one out. Reppert struck out Anthony Recker (Catasauqua, Pa.) for the first out of the inning and leftfielder Dan Pierce (Green Lane, Pa.) followed with a two-run single to center. Reppert recorded his second strikeout before Ryan Zimmerman (Breinigsville, Pa.) knocked home Lutz with a single past third base. Reppert struck out the side getting junior Dan Myers (Mount Joy, Pa.), but the Crusaders had done their damage and held a 3-1 lead after one inning.
DeSales went quietly in for the second and the third, and Alvernia tacked on its fourth run in the home half of the third. Recker was hit with a pitch attempting to bunt his way on, took second on an infield error, and scored when Nolan Neiman’s (Center Valley, Pa.) turn at second bounced out of play.
Hauze homered to left to open the fourth inning and Hoffman followed with a walk. He took second on a wild pitch and eventually came around to score when a fielding error by Alvernia shortstop Eric Bonds (Lancaster, Pa.) extended the inning. The error moved the tying run to third, but DeWald ended the inning getting Derek Miller (Green Lane, Pa.) to pop out to Myers at first.
Reppert allowed just a single baserunner in each of the next three innings and ended his day after six innings of work. The offense gave Reppert plenty of support with five in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Rightfielder Matt Lezinsky (Bethelhem, Pa.) doubled to open the sixth and designated hitter Matt Burkhart (Reading, Pa.) singled to tie the score with no one out. Chris Peters (Allentown, Pa.) moved Burkhart to second with a bunt and Miller hit a ball down the rightfield line that just eluded Zimmerman’s diving attempt putting runners at second and third with one out. Fratantoro walked to load the bases and Neiman followed with a two-run single through the right side to give the Bulldogs a 6-4 lead.
Neiman’s single marked the end of the day for DeWald who gave way to senior reliever Todd Stapleton (Boyertown, Pa.). Hauze welcomed Stapleton with a looping shot to left the Bonds caught on a sliding catch over the shoulder. Fratantoro tagged and scored from third on the play and after a Hoffman walk, Kyle Peters (Allentown, Pa.) put DSU up 8-4 with an RBI single through the left side.
The Crusaders extended the Bulldogs seventh inning with a throwing error and Neiman smacked his second straight RBI single to plate Peters. Pete Jordan’s (Reading, Pa.) throw from center hit Fratantoro on his way to third allowing the senior to score the Bulldogs 10th run of the game.
Junior Joe Chapman (Sellersville, Pa.) relieved Reppert to start the seventh and threw three innings of scoreless relief to pick up his second save of the season.
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Game Eight - #3 Alvernia 5, #5 Messiah 2
Alvernia College freshman Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.) threw eight innings, gave up two runs, and went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run and an RBI to lead the third-seeded Crusaders to a 5-2 win over #5 Messiah College Saturday afternoon in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament at Bear Stadium.
The loss eliminated Messiah from the tournament and dropped its season record to 28-14-1 while the Crusaders improve to 39-5. Alvernia will face #2 DeSales University at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday with the winner facing top-seeded Rowan for the right to play in the NCAA Division III World Series.
Alvernia put a run on the board right away in the first inning. Junior leadoff hitter Pete Jordan (Reading, Pa.) drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Junior Eric Bonds (Lancaster, Pa.) bunted Jordan to third and Lutz knocked him home with a single to center. Senior catcher Anthony Recker (Catasauqua, Pa.) followed with a walk to put runners on at first and second with one out, and Messiah starter Nick Lindner (Middletown, Del.) recorded the last two outs of the first on fly balls to the outfield.
Messiah mounted a serious threat with three straight one-out hits to load the bases in the bottom of the first, but Lutz got Tyler Hollenbach (Hummelstown, Pa.) swinging and Robert Revercomb (Shade Gap, Pa.) looking to end the inning.
The Crusaders put two runners on with two out in the top of the second and Bonds worked the count to 3-1, but Dan Myers (Mount Joy, Pa.) was thrown out at third on the front end of a double steal to end the inning.
Messiah went without a run in the home half of the second and Alvernia scored once in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Lutz reached on a one-out single and went to third on Recker’s double off the wall in left center. Dan Pierce (Green Lane, Pa.) struck out and Jason Zeigler (Mohnton, Pa.) was intentionally walked after getting to 3-0. Junior Ryan Zimmerman (Breinigsville, Pa.) followed with an infield RBI-single, and Myers bounced into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded to end the inning.
The Crusaders doubled their lead to 4-0 in the sixth inning, and threatened for more. Jordan led off with his second homerun of the tournament and Alvernia loaded the bases with a walk and two hit batsmen. Pinch hitter Ben Reifsnyder (Wyomissing, Pa.) hit a one-hopper to short, but Peter Godino (Chester, Pa.) threw wild to the plate allowing Bonds to score from third. The Crusaders still had the bases loaded with no one out, but Messiah reliever Garrett Dobbs (Newport, Pa.) recorded three straight outs to strand the runners.
Messiah manufactured its first run of the game in the home half of the sixth. Sophomore Chris Heisey (Mount Joy, Pa.) doubled to the gap in left center and took third on a Chris Regan (Wellsville, N.Y.) single through the left side. Hollenbach then lofted a shallow fly to center and Heisey tagged and scored without a play.
Neither team scored in the seventh, and Messiah cut the lead in half when Heisey reached on a bunt with one out, stole second, and came home on Hollenbach’s bloop single to right. The tying run then came to the plate, but Lutz struck out Revercomb sending the game to the ninth with the Crusaders up 4-2.
Alvernia scored an unearned run in the ninth without a hit. Freshman Edwin Tavarez (Reading, Pa.) was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored when Bonds reached on an error.
Freshman Andrew Long (Pottstown, Pa.) relieved Lutz for the ninth inning and set the Falcons down in order to pick up his first save of the year.
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Sunday, May 21, 2005
Game Nine - #3 Alvernia 5, #2 DeSales 3
Second-seeded DeSales University and #3 Alvernia College were locked in a pitchers’ duel for seven full innings Sunday morning at Bear Stadium before the offenses awoke for the final two. When the dust settled, Alvernia had taken a 5-3 win over the Bulldogs to advance to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament Championship game against top-seeded Rowan University Sunday afternoon.
Alvernia senior Todd Stapleton (Boyertown, Pa.) gave up two hits in an inning and a third of relief to pick up his fourth win of the season and push the Crusaders’ record to 40-5. Freshman outfielder Steve Burdan (Pottstown, Pa.), an eighth-inning pinch hitter had a double and a walk, scored twice, and made a sliding catch with the tying run on base to end the ballgame.
DeSales starter JT Brotosky (Bethlehem, Pa.) appeared to be on cruise control for much of the first seven innings while Alvernia freshman Doug Fritchman (Allentown, Pa.) worked out of jams in four of the opening seven innings.
DeSales got its only run off Fritchman in the fifth inning. Junior outfielder Derek Miller (Green Lane, Pa.) led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and took second on Dan Fratantoro’s (Sewell, N.J.) single to left. Nolan Neiman (Center Valley, Pa.) bunted foul with two strikes for the first out of the inning, but with the runners in motion on an Ian Hauze (Phoenixville, Pa.) grounder to second base, Miller rounded third hard on the throw to first and scored past the sweeping tag of Alvernia catcher Anthony Recker (Catasauqua, Pa.)
The Bulldogs threatened to extend the lead in the sixth loading the bases with one out, but Fritchman got Miller on a pop up and ended the inning on a Fratantoro ground ball to short.
Brotosky was perfect the first time through the Alvernia order and worked around a two-on, two-out situation in the fourth with a ground ball to Hauze at short. The 5-11 freshman set down ten in a row from that point until Burdan opened the eighth with a pinch-hit double to left. Dan Myers (Mount Joy, Pa.) flew out to center and Brotosky hit Ben Reifsnyder (Wyomissing, Pa.) and allowed a bloop single to left to load the bases with one out. With the infield drawn in Brotosky got Alvernia leadoff Ryan Mark (Pennsburg, Pa.) on a soft liner to second. Alvernia freshman Edwin Tavarez (Reading, Pa.) drew a full-count walk to push across the tying run and end the day for Brotosky. Freshman designated hitter Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.) welcomed reliever Jon Kensecki (Bethlehem, Pa.) with a line drive to center that Miller couldn’t handle on the slide, plating two runs.
Alvernia gave the ball to freshman Jeremy Hess (Orwigsburg, Pa.) for the eighth inning and he promptly retired the first two. He struck out pinch hitter Luke Pisker (Oley, Pa.), and would have been out of the inning, but the pitched caromed all the way to the screen allowing Pisker to take first. Hess threw a pickoff attempt over Myers at first and Pisker went around to third before Fratantoto walked to put runners at the corners. Neiman followed with a single down the first base line to plate Pisker, and Hauze extended his hit streak to 24 games with a slap single to center that plated Neiman to tie the game at 3-all. Stapleton, who came in to face Hauze retired Scott Matejicka (Whitehall, Pa.) on a fly ball to center stranding the go-ahead runner at third.
With one out in the top of the ninth, Burdan drew a walk and took second when Myers’ slow chopper found a hole on the left side. Joe Chapman (Sellersville, Pa.) relieved Kensecki and got two quick strikes on pinch-hitter Dan Pierce (Green Lane, Pa.) before uncorking a wild pitch that moved the runners up to second and third with one out. Pierce hit a hard chopper off the hand of Chapman that bounded over the bag at second and scored Burdan and Myers to put the Crusaders up 5-3.
Stapleton came back out for the bottom of the ninth and gave up a looping liner to Chris Peters (Allentown, Pa.) before getting the first out on a fly ball to center. The next batter was hit to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Brian Podlak (Newark, Del.), but he bounced into a fielder’s choice at third and pinch-hitter Matt Burkhart (Reading, Pa.) hit a liner to left that Burdan snagged to end the game.
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Game Ten - #3 Alvernia 6, #1 Rowan 5
Senior catcher Anthony Recker (Catasauqua, Pa.) smashed a pair of homeruns and a trio of freshman pitchers combined to lead third-seeded Alvernia College to a 6-5 win over #1 Rowan University Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament at Bear Stadium.
The Crusaders’ win improves their record to 41-5 and forces a final game Monday morning between Alvernia and Rowan at 11:00 a.m. at Bear Stadium with the winner advancing to the Division III World Series. Rowan’s record drops to 40-8.
Sophomore centerfielder Ryan Mark (Pennsburg, Pa.) drew a walk to leadoff the game and after a lineout to second was caught in a rundown trying to steal second. Freshman Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.) followed with a two-out single up the middle and Recker drilled a shot out to leftfield giving Alvernia a 2-0 lead.
Rowan responded with a run in the second inning and had Alvernia starter Artie Gehret (Sinking Spring, Pa.) on the ropes a number of times in the opening five innings, but as those who have thrown before for the Crusaders this weekend, Gehret was able to keep the damage to a minimum. Rowan junior Frank Galeota (Berlin, N.J.) was hit by Gehret to start the home half of the first and took second on Mike Rucci’s (Clayton, N.J.) single to center. Designated hitter Jesse Pappler (Southampton, N.J.) followed with an RBI single to center, and Gerhet stranded a runner in scoring position on a double play ball to Edwin Tavarez (Reading, Pa.) at second.
Gehret hit another batter with one out in the second, but got help from Recker on a strikeout/throw out double play that ended the inning.
Mark singled with one out in the Crusader third and Tavarez’s bunt single was thrown away by Rowan starter Joe Cichy (Vineland, N.J.) putting runners at second and third with one out. Lutz hit a bounder to third that allowed Mark to score, but Tavarez was thrown out with the shortstop covering third base for the return throw.
No. 9 hitter Mark Johnson (Atco, N.J.) opened the bottom of the third with a single to center, and was forced out at second as Galeota beat out a potential double play ball to short stop. His hustle paid dividends as the Profs strung together three hits with two outs plating a pair of runs to tie the score at 3-3 after three. Rucci singled down the leftfield line and Pappler followed with a ball in the same spot to plate Galeota. Irv McFarland (Sewell, N.J.) walked to load the bases and Bryan Ciconte (Gibbstown, N.J.) singled to left to tie the score. Rowan, which stranded 12 runners in the game, left the bases loaded when Gehret got Brian McLaughlin (Glendora, N.J.) to fly out to center.
Recker opened the fourth inning with his second homer to left and Cichy retired three straight leaving the Crusaders up 4-3 after three and a half.
Rowan leftfielder Jim Comprelli (Harrison, N.J.) singled to lead off the fourth and took second on a Johnson bunt. Matt Enuco (Pitman, N.J.) slapped a two-out single to center putting runners at the corners with two out and Gehret again worked out of trouble getting Rucci on a pop up to second.
Alvernia went quietly in the fifth aided by Rowan’s third double play of the day and the Profs took their first lead of the day with a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth. McFarland started things with a one-out single, McLaughlin singled with two outs, and Comprelli walked to load the bases. Johnson’s two-run single put Rowan up 5-4, and Gehret stranded two more runners getting a ground ball to end the inning.
Alvernia quickly tied the score with a single run in the top of the sixth. Lutz reached on a single with one out that ended Cichy’s day. Rowan brought in right-handed reliever Conrad Renner (Howell, N.J.) to face Recker and after Lutz stole second Renner got Recker on a sharply hit ground ball to third. Sophomore Jason Zeigler (Mohnton, Pa.) came through with a clutch two-out single up the middle to plate Lutz tying the score at 5-all.
Freshman Jeremy Hess (Orwigsburg, Pa.) entered in relief of Gehret in the sixth and gave up singles to Enuco and Pappler, but then retired eight of the next nine batters he faced to get Alvernia to the ninth in a tie ballgame. Alvernia had a bit of a threat with two on and one out in the eighth, but Zeigler hit a soft liner back to Renner that turned into an inning-ending double play when Recker wandered too far off first.
Alvernia freshman Steve Burdan (Pottsotown, Pa.) opened the ninth inning with a single to left field, took second on a Dan Myers (Mount Joy, Pa.) sacrifice bunt, and scored when pinch hitter Dan Pierce (Green Lane, Pa.) slapped a single to center.
Freshman reliever Andrew Long (Pottstown, Pa.) put the tying run on in the ninth with a leadoff walk to McFarland, and Ciconte promptly moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Long effectively used his curveball to strand the tying run at second base striking out McLaughlin and Comprelli to end the game.
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Monday, May 22, 2005
Game Eleven - #1 Rowan 6, #3 Alvernia 0
Rowan senior Josh Schwartz (Wenonah, N.J.) made his first relief appearance and pitched out of a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the seventh inning, and the offense tallied five runs in the bottom of the seventh as the top-seeded Profs won their second straight Mid-Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament Monday morning with a 6-0 win over #3 Alvernia College at Bear Stadium.
Rowan advances to the NCAA Division III World Series in Appleton, Wisc., for the second straight season. Schwartz, who pitched a complete game in Rowan’s 10-2, Friday night win over The College of New Jersey, struck out 15 batters in the weekend tournament, and earned the save and the Tournament MVP with Monday’s performance.
Schwartz entered in the seventh inning after starter Tom McCullen’s (Absecon, N.J.) wild pitch moved runners to second and third with no one out. Ryan Zimmerman (Breinigsville, Pa.) opened the inning with a single and McMullen didn’t handle Dan Myers’ (Mount Joy, Pa.) sacrifice bunt cleanly. His first pitch to sophomore Ben Reifsnyder (Wyomissing, Pa.), who was also trying to sacrifice, was too far inside for catcher Mike Rucci (Clayton, N.J.) to handle prompting head coach John Cole to summon Schwartz from the pen in his first career relief appearance.
Schwartz came back to get Reifsnyder swinging and retired pinch hitter Gene Stricker (Croydon, Pa.) in similar fashion before leadoff hitter Ryan Mark (Pennsburg, Pa.) hit a bouncer to third to end the inning.
Rowan centerfielder Brian McLaughlin (Glendora, N.J.) opened the bottom of the eighth with a ground ball that skipped below the glove of substitute infielder Josh Santos (Fleetwood, Pa.) at short. The next batter walked, but Alvernia starter Tim Frisch (New Freedom, Pa.) who was brilliant through six innings, retired McLaughlin at third on a failed sacrifice. Frisch hit Rowan leadoff hitter Frank Galeota (Berlin, N.J.) to load the bases with one out bringing up Matt Enuco (Pitman, N.J.), the 2004 Mid-Atlantic Regional MVP. Frisch nearly had Enuco on a full-count foul pop out, but the catch by Myers was ruled out of play as the junior first baseman caught the ball on his way into the Crusaders’ dugout. Enuco laced the next pitch, the tenth of the at bat, into the gap in left center for a bases clearing double. Alvernia senior Brandon DeWald (Shillington, Pa.) entered in relief of Frisch and retired Rucci on a groundball to short, but gave up and single and a double that drove home two more runs that put the Profs up 6-0 after seven.
Alvernia freshman Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.) ripped up a one-out double to center off Schwartz in the eighth, and senior pinch hitter Sean Dugan (Drexel Hill, Pa.) walked in the ninth, but that was all the Crusaders could muster off the senior lefthander over the last two innings.
All-Tournament Team
MVP – Josh Schwartz (Rowan, Pitcher)
Pitchers – Tom McCullen (Rowan), Ted Serro (F&M)
Catcher – Anthony Recker (Alvernia)
1st Base – Irv McFarland (Rowan)
2nd Base – Nolan Neiman (DeSales)
3rd Base – Zach Lutz (Alvernia)
Shortstop – Ian Hauze (DeSales)
Outfield – Brain McLaughlin (Rowan), Chris Heisey (Messiah), Pete Jordan (Alvernia)
Designated Hitter – Dan Pierce (Alvernia)
Utility Player – Mark Johnson (Rowan, Shortstop)
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