University of St. Thomas Athletics
Wooster
Baseball: Fast starts common in NCAA playoff win streak
5/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By DOUG HENNES
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- Score early, score often.
Easier said than done, perhaps, but that was one of the keys to St. Thomas' four-game winning streak in 
the NCAA Division III baseball playoffs heading into Saturday night's second-round game against Shenandoah University.
And it was the key again Saturday as the Tommies romped to a 16-5 win. They got a quick run in the first inning and followed with three in the second and two in the third to chase Shenandoah's starter.
The barrage was similar to what occurred in Friday's 9-1 win over Chapman University, when the Tommies picked up three runs in the first two innings. A week ago in the Midwest Regional title game, they scored all five of their runs in the second in shutting out St. Olaf.
"No complaints here," Coach Dennis Denning said of his team's penchant for early runs. "They always help our pitching, too."
St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 47-8 in the last five games and has had at least 13 hits in each of the last four. UST is also 35-5 this season when it leads or is ied after three innings.
The recent scoring output has surprised Denning, who saw his team struggle at the plate in the MIAC playoffs two weeks ago.
"We keep getting big hits, putting runs up and getting more big hits," he said. "Hitting is always a little contagious, and everybody chipped in tonight."
Centerfielder Matt McQuillan and shortstop Roy Larson each had four hits to lead the Tommie onslaught. 
After a game-opening strikeout, the fleet McQuillan had a double, an infield single, a double and another infield single in which he simply outran the fielder to first base.
"You take what you can get and don't look back," McQuillan said. "I didn't like starting the game with a strikeout, but that kind of thing happens. You just have to put the ball in play and see what happens."
Larson had four runs batted in on four hits -- two singles, a double and a long three-run homer to left that padded the St. Thomas lead to 15-2 in the sixth. Larson went hitless Friday night, with one sacrifice-fly RBI, and was happy to break out of what he called a frustrating slump.
"I've been putting more effort into batting practice, and I saw the ball better tonight," he said. He struck out on a curve in the fifth, so when he came to the plate the following inning he was looking for a curve again "and just happened to knock it out. That felt good!"
Freshman southpaw Bryce Gapinski picked up his seventh win of the season. After a 1-2-3 first inning, he gave up hits in every inning except the fifth before being pulled with one out in the sixth, bases loaded and a 16-3 lead. Brady Gibbs and Blake Searles finished off Shenandoah.
St. Thomas and the College of Wooster (Ohio) are the only two remaining undefeated teams in the double-elimination tournament and will face each other at 7 p.m. today. Wooster racked up its own impressive second-round win earlier Saturday, defeating Kean University 14-1.
PHOTOS: Above, Matt McQuillan; below Roy Larson
Turnaround
Tommies in Postseason (all 9 inning unless noted)
First 7 Games (4-3 W-L) .245 batting average, 35 runs, 62 hits, 18 walks in 71 innings
5-8 vs. Carleton W 15-3, 18 hits in 42 AB, 3 walks
5-9 vs. St. Olaf W 4-3, 9 hits in 32 AB, 2 walks
5-10 vs. St. Olaf, L 1-19, 8 hits in 34 AB, 1 walk
5-10 vs. St. Olaf, L 0-8, 7 hits in 32 AB, 2 walks
5-13 vs. UW-Stevens Point, W 5-4 (17 innings) 6 hits in 55 AB, 3 walks
5-14 vs. St. Scholastica, W 8-4, 9 hits in 30 AB, 4 walks
5-15 vs. St. Olaf, L 2-5, 5 hits in 31 AB, 3 walks
Last 5 Games (5-0 W-L) .349 batting average, 47 runs, 68 hits in 195 AB, 14 walks in 45 innings
5-15 vs. UW-Stevens Point, W 6-0, 7 hits in 32 AB, 3 walks
5-16 vs. St. Olaf, W 11-2, 16 hits in 42 AB, 3 walks
5-16 vs. St. Olaf, W 5-0, 14 hits in 41 AB, 1 walk
5-22 vs. Chapman, W 9-1, 13 hits in 34 AB, 3 walks
5-23 vs. Shenandoah, W 16-5, 18 hits in 46 AB, 5 walks
