Yellow jackets stepping up Fortunate finish, improved pitching put Baldwin Wallace on path to College World Series
The season came to an end for the Baldwin Wallace baseball team Sunday when it fell to Southern Maine in the NCAA Division III World Series.
(Thomas Ondrey / The Plain Dealer)
APPLETON, Wisconsin -- Baldwin Wallace's first trip to the NCAA Division III World Series came to an end here Sunday as the Yellow Jackets fell to Southern Maine, 11-5, at Fox Cities Stadium.
The loss was the second straight for BW in the double-elimination tournament, after winning its first game on Friday. The Jackets finished with a school-record 30 wins against 20 losses.
BW jumped out in front and had a 3-0 lead through four innings, but Southern Maine scored five runs on five hits and two walks in the fifth and was never headed.
Left fielder Jerry Scholle was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, two stolen bases and a run batted in for the Jackets, while shortstop Eric Murphy was 2-for-3 with a run scored and third baseman Brad Gugliotta was 2-for-4 with a double. Right fielder Alex Green knocked in two runs.
Freshman right-hander Logan Heffernan started and took the loss, giving up five runs and five hits in 4.2 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.
BW finished fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament to just qualify for the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional, then won four straight to reach the World Series.
"This loss does not diminish the season we had as a team," said fourth-year head coach Brian Harrison. "Our baseball student-athletes had a wonderful season and achieved a great deal of success. We made the school's first-ever trip to the Division III World Series."