University of St. Thomas Athletics
Hamline
Baseball goes 1-1 on Sat., needs two Sunday wins
5/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By DOUG HENNES
J.B. Korte didn't hit a home run, make a great catch or start a slick double play to turn around St. Thomas - and keep its season alive - on Saturday night in the MIAC baseball playoffs in Minnetonka.
He just hit a routine grounder to the Macalester shortstop with two outs and a runner on second in the sixth inning, sprinted down the line and dove head first into first base.
His hustle barely beat the throw. The next two hitters followed with a double and a single to push three runs across home plate and give St. Thomas an 8-7 lead en route to an 11-7 win.
The Tommies (26-15), who lost 4-3 to Hamline earlier in the day, will need to beat the Pipers twice on Sunday to win the tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA regioinal tournament next week in Whitewater, Wis. Sunday's first game will be at 11 a.m. and if the Tommies win, the rematch will follow at 2:30 p.m.
Korte, a senior third baseman from St. Thomas Academy, wasn't happy with his swing on the grounder to shortstop in the sixth.
"I got jammed on the pitch," he said. "The ball wasn't moving fast off the bat and I just ran and got there (to first base) before the ball did. I thought I might be out when I slid in, but I just made it."
Coach Chris Olean was surprised Korte made the head-first slide but said it made the difference, allowing him to reach the base a split second earlier than if he had run across the bag.
"He's out if he doesn't dive, and we're out of the inning and still down 7-5," Olean said. "It was a huge play. J.B.'s really been stepping up, showing leadership and playing hard."
With runners now at the corners - first baseman Dan Reichert had preceded Korte with his third double of the night off Macalester ace Eric Robinson - Tim Kuzniar doubled down the left field line to drive in Reichert and shave the Scots' lead to 7-6. Tim Kahle followed with a single to left to score Korte and Kuzniar and give the Tommies an 8-7 lead.
Macalester wasn't finished. It already had rallied from deficits of 2-0, 3-1 and 5-3. In the seventh, the Scots' first two hitters walked and were hit by a pitch from freshman reliever Jared Dehmer, but he shut down the next three hitters to hold the 8-7 lead.
St. Thomas added three runs in the eighth, stringing together a walk and four straight singles. Second baseman Chuck Bruchu had the biggest hit, driving in two runs for a 10-7 lead and Drew Cremisino followed with a single to finish the scoring at 11-7.
Freshman Mark Ulrich gave up walks in the eighth and ninth innings but held on to pick up the save. Tommy Dancyzk - the third freshman pitcher used by Olean in relief of starter John Licht - got the victory.
While Olean was pleased with how the Tommies hit the ball against Macalester - 11 runs and 14 hits after two games with only four runs and nine hits - he said his pitchers will need to be sharper Sunday to win. They walked seven Scots and hit one batter.
"We were lucky to win tonight the way we pitched," he said. "We just can't walk that many guys and stay in the game."
Reichert had a productive night at the plate for the Tommies, stroking three doubles, scoring three runs and knocking in a fourth. He had gone 0-for-4 in the opener against Hamline.
"All three doubles were on changeups," he said of the pitches from Robinson. "I always look for a fastball, but his changeup was slow enough that I had enough time to react and I was able to put good wood on them."
Click here for box score:
http://www.miac-online.org/custompages/baseball/baseball2011/macustp1.htm
HU 4, St. Thomas 3
Hamline defeated St. Thomas 4-3 Saturday aftrnoon in a second-round MIAC baseball playoff game in Minneonka. The Pipers (27-12) move into the championship round and push the Tommies into an elimination game Saturday evening at 6:30.
St. Thomas (25-15) and Macalester (26-13) will square off, with the loser going home and the winner needing to defeat Hamline twice on Sunday to get the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA regional playoffs.
The Pipers ended St. Thomas' 10-game winning streak and defeated the Tommies for the third time this season, this time behind a complete-game win by Cass Kreitlow (8-1), who outdueled Bryce Gapinski (6-2).
Both teams struck early, piling up seven runs in the first two innings before the pitchers took control. Hamline scored all four of its runs on "small" ball - two hits, two hit batsmen, a walk, an error and two sacrifice bunts.
The Tommies opened the scoring in the first on a J.D. Dorgan homer, his fifth of the year, to left after Tim Kahle doubled. Hamline bounced back in its half of the inning with two runs on a hit batsman, walk, sacrifice bunt and two-RBI single by Andy King.
Designated hitter Nick Reichert hit an opposite-field home run over the right field fence in the second inning, but Hamline grabbed the lead for good in the bottom half on another hit batsman, an error, sacrifice bunt and two-RBI double by Andy Powell.
The Tommies had their best chance in the eighth. Kreitlow had set down 18 Tommies in a row before Kahle was hit by a pitch, Chuck Bruchu singled to left and Drew Cremisino walked to load the bases with two outs. Dorgan hit a liner up the middle but Powell made a nice diving catch to end the inning.
Gapinski also flirted with trouble in the third and fourth innings, putting three runners in scoring position but holding off the Pipers and retiring nine in a row.
Click here for box score:
http://www.miac-online.org/custompages/baseball/baseball2011/huustp1.htm
