Day 1 Recap in Eastlake for the DIII NCAA World Series

 

The four games scheduled for Friday started 15 minutes late due to field maintenance issues. Yes, that’s right. But the action all day in Eastlake was intense! Maintenance problems or not!

 

Game 1

In the first game, Misericordia defeated the first-timers, Pomona-Pitzer, 6-3. Catcher Brock Bollinger went 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Joe Valenti notched his 11th win of the year for the Cougars while Matt Lanzendorfer went three full innings for the save.  Jake Hilton took the loss to drop his record to 9-3.

 

Isaac Kim doubled to tie up the game in the bottom of the fifth for the Seagales. Then Greg Pierant singled him home for the early Pomona lead, 3-2. But the Cougars tacked on two at the top of the 6th via a single and a hit batter with bases loaded to go back up 4-3. 

 

Then the 9th belonged to Bollinger as he singled in a run and scored on a fielding error for the 6-3.

 

Misericordia plays in the winner’s bracket today against Lynchburg.

 

The Sagehens will have their consolation bracket, loser-go-home game against top ranked Endicott, who did the unthinkable. Lost!

 

Game 2

Lynchburg had the job of trying to defeat the top ranked Endicott team, who many pegged as a finalist. The Hornets are the defending DIII champions, so the 7-2 victory yesterday over Endicott just reminds everyone that the title still belongs to the Virginia school! Maybe the luck of the Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliate, Lynchburg Hillcats, being from their hometown gave them positive vibes. Who knows. But the game was exciting.

 

Lynchburg struck first with four runs in the top of the 2nd, which was really all they needed. Thanks to Endicott errors, Lynchburg racked up 6 runs by the top of the 6th inning. In the bottom of that inning, Endicott rallied with back to back doubles to make it 6-2.

 

But Wesley Arrington was too much as he pitched a complete game, 132 pitch outing for his 10th win on the season. Arrington struck out 12 Endicott batters. Jordan Gottesman saw his unblemished record get blemished as he dropped to 11-1 on the season.

 

SS Brandon Garcia, hitting in the leadoff spot, went 2-5 with three RBIs for the game.

 

Endicott now must battle Pomona-Pitzer with the loser heading back home. Lynchburg will match up with Misericordia for game 2.

 

Game 3

Birmingham-Southern has received national attention as their school officially closed for good Friday, the same day they had to battle Salve Regina. B-S scored five runs late and had bases loaded but three straight strikeouts by the Seahawks closer, Kyle Carozza, ruined what could have been a magical day. Regina wins, 7-5.

 

Birmingham-Southern faces Randolph-Bacon in the consolation bracket. Salve Regina will face UW-Whitewater later this evening.

Game 4

In the night cap, Randolph-Bacon scored three early. But University of Wisconsin-Whitewater responded by scoring eleven and shutting down the Yellow Jackets from inning two on. The final there was 11-3.

Follow all the action on the D3Baseball X page here.