APPLETON, Wis. — Seniors Forrest Chadwick and Matt Verrier drove in four runs apiece Sunday as the University of Southern Maine Huskies came from behind to defeat the Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets, 11-5, in an elimination game of the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament at Fox Cities Stadium.
The win moves the Huskies (37-14) into another elimination game (Game 12) of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament on Monday (1 p.m.,EDT) against the winner of the game between SUNY Cortland and Emory University. The Huskies, who lost their opening round game to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, have won two straight elimination games. The Yellow Jackets went 1-2 in the tournament and ended their season 30-20.
Chadwick had a double, two singles and a walk, and scored twice in addition to driving in four runs. Verrier was 2-for-4 with a run scored to go along with his four RBI. Sophomore Sam Dexter had a pair of hits and scored three runs, and senior Troy Thibodeau had a double and a single. Senior John Carey scored three times after reaching base on a single and two walks.
Junior Andrew Richards earned the win for the second straight day going four innings in relief of sophomore starter Tyler Leavitt. Richards (7-1) gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out three. He did not walk a batter. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Browner finished up with two scoreless innings.
Sophomore Jerry Scholle, junior Eric Murphy and senior Brad Gugliotta had two hits apiece for the Yellow Jackets. Scholle had two doubles and scored twice.
Rookie starter Logan Heffernan, the first of eight hurlers employed by the Yellow Jackets, kept the Husky hitters off stride for four innings before the Huskies erupted for five runs in the fifth inning. Heffernan (4-4) gave up five runs on four hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss.
BWU built a 3-0 lead with a single run in the third and two runs in the fourth inning. In the third, junior Kyle Chontos walked, stole second and third, and scored the first run of the game on an RBI groundout by sophomore Hunter Handel.
Murphy singled to lead off the fourth and came all the way around to score on Scholle’s first double that ended Leavitt’s day and brought Richards to the hill. After Richards recorded an out, Scholle stole third and score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of junior Alex Green.
The Huskies bats, held to one hit over the first four innings by Heffernan, woke up in the fifth. Carey dumped a single into right field to bring home the first run. After Dexter walked to load the bases, Chadwick grounded a single up the middle to bring home two runs that tied the game. Verrier greeted reliever Mark Zimmerman with another single up the middle to plate two more runs and give the Huskies a 5-3 lead.
The Yellow Jackets pecked away for a run in the sixth to make it 5-4 as Scholle doubled and scored on Green’s two-out single.
In the seventh, Carey, Dexter and Chadwick reached on a walk, single and walk, respectively, to load the bases for Verrier who delivered two more runs with a single down the left-field line. USM would reload the bases on a one-out single by Thibodeau. Rookie Matt Bender drove in two runs with a two-out double down the right-field line. Seven of USM’s 11 runs came after two were out.
Carey and Dexter set the table for Chadwick in the eighth inning and Chadwick delivered both with a double down the right-field line to account for the final two runs.
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