California Claims 2010 PSAC Baseball Championship
Box Score
Evan King's two-out single into short right field drove home pinch runner Giovanni Morales with the winning run to lift California to a 10-9 win over Kutztown in the PSAC baseball championship game on Saturday afternoon at Johnstown's Point Stadium. The win gives California just its third-ever PSAC baseball title and its first since 2004 and with it, an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The game-winning RBI single capped an exciting game that was back-and-forth affair for most of the game. Kutztown scored runs in each of the last four innings and in six innings overall, while California also scored in six of the nine innings, including a three-run eighth that erased an 8-6 lead. The Vulcans were also able to overcome four errors that cost them four unearned runs.
Nick Schreiber picked up the win in relief for the Vulcans, going 1.2 innings and allowing three hits, an unearned run, while striking out two. Mike Bucklin was tagged with the loss for Kutztown after giving up four hits and three runs in an inning of work. Offensively, the Vulcans were led by tournament MVP Sam DiMatteo, who went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI, including a home run. Chuck Faust also homered and drove in two, as his shot went over the left field screen. Troy Handza and Adam Links also knocked in a pair, with Links coming up with a big two-run single in the eighth that put the Vulcans up before Kutztown tied it in the top of the ninth. Down to their final strike, Kutztown got a game-tying RBI single from Cody Montz in the top of the ninth to tie it 9-9 before Cal won it in the bottom of the ninth.
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Tournament Results
Wednesday, April 28
Game 1 - California 6, Mansfield 5
Game 2 - West Chester 7, Slippery Rock 6
Game 3 - Kutztown 12, Mercyhurst 5
Game 4 - IUP 7, East Stroudsburg 3
Thursday, April 29
Game 5 - Slippery Rock 18, Mansfield 9 (Mansfield eliminated)
Game 6 - Mercyhurst 7, East Stroudsburg 2 (East Stroudsburg eliminated)
Game 7- California 8, West Chester 3
Game 8 - Kutztown 8, IUP 3
Friday, April 30
Game 9 - Slippery Rock 9, West Chester 5 (West Chester eliminated)
Game 10 - IUP 14, Mercyhurst 12 (Mercyhurst eliminated)
Game 11 - California 11, Slippery Rock 10 (Slippery Rock eliminated)
Game 12 - Kutztown 6, IUP 2 (IUP eliminated)
Saturday, May 1
Game 13 - California 10, Kutztown 9 (California wins PSAC championship)
Friday's Boxes/Recaps
Game 12 - Kutztown 6, IUP 2
IUP pitching allowed just three hits to Kutztown as the Crimson Hawks outhit the Golden Bears 10-3 but IUP pitchers also issued a total of 10 walks and hit two batters, giving the Bears 12 free baserunners and Kutztown was able to capitalize on just enough of its scoring chances while the combination of Tyler Persun and Jordan Garcia combined to keep the IUP offense in check as Kutztown advanced to the PSAC tournament championship game with a 6-2 win over IUP.
Kutztown scored all of the runs it would need in the first inning as the Bears took advantage of a pair of walks issued and an IUP error while getting two of its three hits on the game to take a 3-0 lead. Mike Kacelowicz, who made several outstanding plays in the field at shortstop, had a two-run single in the inning. Kutztown got its final hit of the game in the second inning on Corey Buletza's solo home run, as the Bears did not have any more hits in the game after the second inning.
IUP got one in the fourth on Frank Sirolli's two-out RBI double and Kyle Stryker led off the sixth inning with a long home run over the left field screen to cut it to 4-2. But Kutztown would make it a four-run lead again in its half of the sixth without the benefit of a hit, as they were issued four walks and a hit by pitch in the inning, two of those with the bases loaded, which forced in the two runs.
Persun scattered nine hits over six innings and allowed two runs, walked one and struck out three to pick up the win. Garcia picked up a save by tossing the final three innings and allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out two. IUP starter Kyle Heane allowed just three hits over 5.1 innings but allowed all six runs, five earned, and walked six while striking out two. Stephen Cooke threw the final 2.2 innings and did not allow a hit or run.
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Game 11 - California 11, Slippery Rock 10
Slippery Rock held a 6-3 lead after six innings before a six-run seventh inning by California gave the Vulcans a 9-6 lead and the Vulcans later held on in the bottom of the ninth as The Rock stranded the tying run on first for an 11-10 win to advance to the PSAC championship game on Saturday. Slippery Rock is eliminated with a 2-2 record in the tournament.
Cal led 3-2 before Slippery Rock scored four runs in the fifth, getting three RBI singles in the frame. The Vulcans then scored six runs in the seventh, as they were aided by a Rock error and a few wild pitches. Rock cut the lead to 9-7 in the eighth as Carter Haponski led off with a triple and then scored on a groundout. Cal picked up two runs in the top of the ninth that would turn out to be important, one on a bases loaded walk and one on an infield hit.
The Rock got an RBI double from Jacob Oswalt, an RBI single from Matt Howard in the ninth. However, Oswalt was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch when the pitch bounced right back to the catcher off the brick backstop. That would prove to be crucial as Howard came around to score on a passed ball. Haponski would reach after being hit, bringing the winning run to the plate, but Nick Schreiber induced a groundout off the bat of Mitch Monas to end the game and earn the save.
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Game 10 - IUP 14, Mercyhurst 12
IUP scored eight runs in the sixth inning to turn a 7-3 Mercyhurst lead into an 11-5 Crimson Hawk lead and then held off a rally by the Lakers in the bottom of the ninth to hold on for a 14-12 win over Mercyhurst to advance to tonight's semifinal round against Kutztown and eliminate Mercyhurst.
Jake Rougeaux picked up the win for IUP by throwing 3.2 innings out of the bullpen and not allowing an earned run. He held the Lakers scoreless for three innings and got the first two outs in the ninth before a two-out error led to Mercyhurst scoring five unearned runs in the inning and bringing the tying run to the plate before Stephen Cooke came on to get the final out and earn the save.
IUP pounded out 16 hits, just two more than Mercyhurst's 14. Leading the way for the Crimson Hawks was Paul Bingham, who went 3-for-6 with three runs scored, including one in the first inning on a sacrifice pop out to second base. Frank Sirolli went 2-for-6 with three RBI. Robbie Zinsmeister and Kofi Osei-Aning each had three hits. For Mercyhurst, Trey Bennett led the way with a 3-for-5 afternoon, driving in four runs and scoring three. He was just a double short of hitting for the cycle.
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Game 9 - Slippery Rock 9, West Chester 5
Slippery Rock scored six runs in the first two innings and West Chester stranded 13 runners on base as the Golden Rams were victims of a big first inning by their opponent for the second straight day as The Rock avoided elimination by eliminating the defending PSAC tournament champion Rams with a 9-5 win.
It was a balanced hit attack for Slippery Rock, as seven of its nine starters got hits, but no one had more than two hits in the game. Mitch Monas homered over the left field wall for The Rock in the second inning, a two-run shot that gave Rock a 6-0 lead. Rock had scored four runs in the first inning as it got an RBI single from Adam Jury, a sacrifice fly from Jamison Walck, and a two-run single from Derek DiRuscia.
Much like yesterday's game, the Golden Rams had plenty of chances to score, as today they had baserunners in eight of the nine innings, but only managed to four of those innings, three of which resulted in just one run. Joe Wendle had an RBI in the third while Bob Stumpo hit a two-run homer in the fourth, bringing the Rams to within a 6-3 deficit. However, Rock answered with two in the bottom of the fourth as Billy Messer drove in a pair with a single.
West Chester loaded the bases with two out in the eighth, knocking out Slippery Rock starter Don Pugliese, but reliever Jason Steen came on to retire Wendle on a deep fly ball to right to end the threat. Steen allowed a run in the ninth but managed to close out the game and pick up the save.
Thursday's Boxes/Recaps
Game 8 - Kutztown 8, IUP 3
Kutztown pitcher Nate Reed tossed 8.1 solid innings, allowing just four hits, two of which were infield hits, and one earned run while striking out 10 to lead the Golden Bears to an 8-3 win over IUP and into the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament tomorrow night. IUP will take on Mercyhurst tomorrow afternoon for the right to take on Kutztown again tomorrow night.
Reed's only tough inning was the first, as he walked two and also had an error committed behind him as two runs scored on just one infield hit. That inning gave the Crimson Hawks their only lead of the game, 2-1, after Kutztown had scored a run in the top of the first on James Quigley's RBI triple.
Kutztown picked up two in the third to take the lead on Jared Frey's RBI single and Quigley's groundout. The Crimson Hawks tied it in fifth, scoring an unearned run as they benefited from an throwing error on a stolen base. The Golden Bears went ahead on Matt Kulbacki's two-run triple in the sixth. Kutztown added one more on another RBI hit by Quigley in the seventh and then put the game out of reach with two in the ninth as Shayne Houck picked up an RBI double and Quigley picked up another RBI single.
Quigley led the Kutztown offense with a 4-for-5 night with four RBI while Frey and Houck each had a pair of hits. Kofi Osei-Aning went 2-for-4 with a run and had both of the IUP hits that left the infield.
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Game 7 - California 8, West Chester 3
California scored all eight of its runs in the first inning, pounding out seven of its 10 hits in the game in that inning and taking advantage of a pair of errors and balks by West Chester starter Fred Breidenbach in that inning and the Vulcans never looked back in an 8-3 win West Chester. California advances to tomorrow night's tournament semifinal game while West Chester will take on Slippery Rock tomorrow morning for the right to meet California again tomorrow afternoon.
In the first, after a leadoff single by Evan King, Cal attempted to lay down to straight sacrifice bunts, but Breidenbach committed errors when fielding both of them, loading the bases with no outs. Two balks and six more hits later, Cal had an 8-0 lead after sending 12 men to the plate. Of the Vulcans' seven hits in the inning, six were singles.
Breidenbach would then proceed to allow only four more hits and a walk the remainder to the game, even setting down 21 straight batters from the final out of the first through the seventh before Troy Handza's two-out single broke up the string. Meanwhile, West Chester was unable to string together many hits against Cal starter Randy Sturgill, who scattered 10 hits, walked four and struck out seven in a complete game performance. Despite having baserunners in every inning except one, West Chester could only muster three runs off of him. They got on in the third on Joe Wendle's RBI double and got two in the eighth but also stranded two.
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Game 6 - Mercyhurst 7, East Stroudsburg 2
A three-run homer by Adam Gray in the third inning broke open a 1-0 game and gave Mercyhurst all the runs it would need and behind a decent pitching performance from Ben Rawding and a solid relief appearance from Joe Cochran, the Lakers topped East Stroudsburg 7-2 to eliminate the Warriors and remain alive in the PSAC Tournament.
Rawding scattered six hits and pitched around five walks to keep the Warriors off the scoreboard for the first five innings. He got in a little trouble in the sixth, allowing two runs before getting out of the jam with the tying run at the plate. Cochran came on to relieve him in the seventh and threw the final 2.2 innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out two.
East Stroudsburg starter Brian Ernst pitched the first four innings and allowed five runs, four earned. He left after the fourth inning, in which he gave up a solo homer to Justin Urschel that made it 5-0. Urschel had a big day at the plate for the Lakers, going 4-for-4 with a pair of runs. Colin Kelly came on for the Warriors in the fifth and pitched well over the final five innings, allowing just three hits and two unearned runs in the ninth inning.
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Game 5 - Slippery Rock 18, Mansfield 9
Slippery Rock broke out the bats on Thursday morning as The Rock scored in seven of the nine innings, including a big six-run fifth inning the broke open a tie game and then never looked back as The Rock topped Mansfield 18-9 to eliminate the Mountaineers from the PSAC Tournament. There were a total of six home runs in the game, four by Slippery Rock, including an inside-the-park home run.
Matt Kosik led the 17-hit parade for Rock, as he went 3-for-6 with five RBI and four runs. Carter Haponski also went 3-for-6 and knocked in four, including three on an inside-the-park homer in the eighth inning. Billy Messer also went 3-for-6 and knocked in a pair. Rock got a complete game pitching performance from George Hebert, who improved to 7-1 on the year by scattering 11 hits and nine runs, striking out five and walking four.
Four of Slippery Rock's run in the six-run fifth were unearned as Rock took advantage of a key Mansfield error. Matt Howard had a big two-run triple in the inning. After Mansfield was set down in order in the bottom of the fifth, Rock added three more run in the sixth on Kosik's three-run shot, his second round-tripper of the day, to make it 14-5.
Mansfield got home runs from Chris Coleman and Glen Jenkins in the game, but they were both solo shots.
Wednesday's Boxes/Recaps
Game 4 - IUP 7, East Stroudsburg 3
IUP scored four runs in the first inning and two in the sixth to take an early 6-0 lead and behind the pitching of Steve Mondschein, never looked back, as the Crimson Hawks topped East Stroudsburg 7-3 despite being outhit by the Warriors 11-9.
Mondschein scattered 10 hits in eight strong innings of work, allowing three runs and striking out seven while walking none. He blanked the Warriors through the first five innings before allowing them one run in the sixth.
Of the 20 combined hits in the game, only one went for extra bases - a leadoff sixth-inning double by ESU's Carey Zimmerman, which helped produce the Warriors' first run. IUP scored its six runs in the first two innings using station-to-station baseball, as two of their RBIs in those two innings came on outs and three came on singles.
East Stroudsburg scored two in the eighth to pull within four at 7-3 and then managed to get the tying run to the plate with two outs in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs but Stephen Cooke got Jason Kelmer to bounce into a game-ending fielder's choice.
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Game 3 - Kutztown 12, Mercyhurst 5
Kutztown scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, all unearned, turning a 5-4 deficit into an 11-5 lead and that inning would ultimately be the difference in the game as the Golden Bears took advantage of five Mercyhurst errors to top the Lakers 12-5. Only four of Kutztown's 12 runs were earned in the game.
The teams traded runs in the second inning, with Mercyhurst getting an RBI single from Greg Turk and Kuttown getting a solo home run from James Quigley. The Lakers took a 4-1 lead in the third on Adam Gray's three-run homer. The Golden Bears got one back in their half of the third without the benefit of a hit as Mike Kacelowicz walked, moved up two bases on two wild pitches and then scored on a ground out. Kutztown then tied it in the fourth as it benefited from a Laker error to score two unearned runs.
Quigley led the way for Kutztown with a 3-for-5 performance with a pair of runs. Matt Kulbacki drove in a pair as did Matt Albaugh on a pinch-hit two-run single in the seven-run seventh. Gray drove in three runs for Mercyhurst while Craig Denman, Trey Bennett and Ethan Santora each had two hits.
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Game 2 - West Chester 7, Slippery Rock 6
Kyle Orensky's RBI double in the bottom of the sixth ended up being the game-winner as West Chester topped Slippery Rock 7-6. Jordan Lehman tossed a complete game for the Golden Rams, settling down after allowing four runs in the first inning. He allowed eight hits and six runs and struck out six while walking three.
Slippery Rock scored four runs in the first off four hits but West Chester answered in the bottom of the inning with four runs of its own. Rock starter Zach Jeney last just one-third of an inning, allowing three hits and all four first-inning runs. Joby Lapkowicz came on and got out of the jam in the first and then threw the remainder of the game. He went the final 7.2 innings, allowing just five hits and one earned run, but he also allowed two unearned runs and walked five while also striking out five.
Jamison Walck went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI to lead The Rock, while Orensky had three RBI and and scored a pair of runs for West Chester. Charlie Kelly went 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBI.
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Game 1 - California 6, Mansfield 5
Kyle Petty's game-winning two-out single through the right side in the bottom of the ninth lifted California to a 6-5 win over Mansfield in the first game of the tournament. The Vulcans advance to tomorrow's 3:30 p.m. game against the winner of the second game today between West Chester and Slippery Rock while Mansfield will face the loser of that game tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
It was a pitchers' duel for most of the game, except for two of the middle innings. Starters Tyler Zimm of Cal and Justin Garcia of Mansfield matched zeros for the first four innings. The Mountaineers got on the board first in the top of the fifth as they scored twice but had a runner thrown out at the plate. Mansfield got three more runs in the top of the sixth as they were aided by a pair of Cal errors and got a two-run single by Glen Jenkins to take a 5-0 lead.
California then answered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, as they pounded out six hits in the frame. Petty led off with a long triple just in front of the 395 sign in right field and he scored on a single by Chuck Faust. Two more runs scored later in the inning on another triple by Troy Handza.
Mansfield threatened in the top of the ninth, putting their first two runners on, but a fielder's choice and a double play got Cal out of the inning. In bottom of the ninth with two outs, Adam Links doubled and after a walk to Aaron Ordy, Petty's seeing-eye single snuck through the hole between first and second, scoring pinch runner Giovanni Morales with the winning run.
Zimm tossed a complete game, allowing 10 hits and five runs, four earned, while striking out three and walking two. Despite being tagged with the loss, Mansfield's Bernard Johnson pitched well in relief, giving up just three hits and the one run, striking out five and walking just one.