- Release courtesy of the Ashland University Sports Information Department
May 28, 2008
SAUGET, IL - The final line in newspapers around the country from Wednesday's elimination game at the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships will read Ouachita Baptist 12, Ashland 5.
That line doesn't belong in cold, 12-point bold type like an obituary.
Instead, it should have some of the trappings of a graduation party invitation. Keep the black clothes and crepe paper packed away. Really, AU fans should celebrate.
No one with the Eagles (40-18) will be smiling about the outcome of Wednesday's game at GCS Ballpark right now, but in time they will fondly recall this season. A team that was supposed to be in a rebuilding mode made it to the NCAA Division II World Series for the second time in three seasons and the fifth time in school history. The Eagles peaked at the perfect time, winning a regional championship and opening the World Series with a victory over the defending national champ, third-ranked Tampa.
"As a coach, your goal every year is to get a team to play as close to its potential as possible," said AU head coach John Schaly. "No team ever plays to its full potential. This team, it came as close to it as any team I've ever coached. What was to be a rebuilding year, all kinds of new people, all freshmen and no transfers. At one point, for one reason or another, we were down to six pitchers. This team, I'm as proud of this team as any team I've had."
Wednesday's game was there for the taking, but the Eagles couldn't hold on for another day. AU led, 5-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning thanks in large part to outstanding efforts from sophomore first baseman Ben Minard and junior righthander pitcher Todd Schlenkerman. As well as those two played, they couldn't prevent Ouachita Baptist from scoring five times in the sixth inning.
Minard rapped a pair of homers and drove in three runs. Schlenkerman (8-3) pitched 5.2 innings and allowed eight runs - six earned - on six hits. He walked six and struck out 10. Seven of those punchouts were of the called variety.
"He gave us everything he had," said Schaly.
"I know he was hurting," said catcher Chase Beatty, one of nine seniors on the team. "He was hitting his spots. I just went out and told him not to overthrow."
Schlenkerman pitched better than his final line would indicate. He gave up two runs in the first inning, but just one of those was earned. Blake Lockwood led off with a walk and an error by Minard on Justin Pennell's hard-hit ground ball put runners on the corners. The error was just Minard's second of the season.
A single over third base by catcher Jim Streicher got Lockwood home and moved Pennell to third. Pennell scored on third baseman Rudy Jovanovski's sacrifice fly to Tyson Rowland in center field.
Minard's first homer of the game came in the third inning and was a two-out, two-run shot to center field off of starter Jarod Hershberger. The inning began with singles by second baseman Matt McAllester and Rowland to put runners at first and second. David Quiroga's ground ball to Hersberger advanced both runners one base.
Third baseman Jacob Petkac drove in his fifth run of the Championships and his 65th of the season with a ground ball to Jovanovski at third . Minard then sent a Hershberger delivery over the center-field fence for a 3-2 Ashland lead.
The Eagles added a run in the fifth when McAllester singled and got to second via a stolen base. Rowland rolled a single up the middle to get McAllester to third and he scored on Quiroga's sacrifice fly to right.
Minard victimized Hershberger again when he led off the sixth inning with his team-high 11th homer of the season. Minard reached out and poked this ball to the bank in right field.
"Thank God for the short porch in right field," Minard said. "I've been slumping a bit and I just tried to put the bat on the ball rather than trying to hit it hard."
The Tigers (49-15) pulled Hershberger in favor of Trent Lingle and he retired the Eagles one-two-three in the sixth after the Minard blast.
At that point, AU was in front, 5-3. Everything fell apart in the bottom of the sixth when the Tigers scored five times. All the runs came with two outs. Chad Taylor led off with a single and pinch hitter Nick Williams walked. Schlenkerman got the next two hitters out with a fly ball to left and a strikeout. The AU pitcher then walked Lockwood to fill the bases.
A two-run single to left by Pennell tied the score, 5-5. The ball wasn't hit that hard, but it was placed perfectly in short left field.
"Baseball's funny, sometimes you hit rockets," said Tigers head coach Scott Norwood. "One of the biggest hits we got was Pennell's flare to left."
Streicher unloaded with a three-run homer to left field that gave the Tigers an 8-5 lead. That forced Schlenkerman's exit, who departed in favor of freshman Brad Thomas.
"In my first three at bats I saw 70 percent offspeed pitches," said Streicher, who has eight homers this year after hitting just one roundtripper last season. "He hung a slider and I was fortunate to get it over that tall wall."
While the Eagles were going down quietly against Lingle, the Tigers kept adding insurance runs. The Tigers scored four runs in the seventh to go ahead, 12-5. Schaly did everything he could to quiet the Tigers. Thomas, lefty Jeremy Sloan and righthander Matt Schultz all pitched in the inning. The Tigers had three hits, the biggest a three-run homer by Lockwood. The homer was his first of the season.
Lingle got his first decision of the season by earning the victory. He pitched four inningsd and allowed a run on two hits. He walked one and whiffed three.
"Trent Lingle did a great job carrying us all the way to the house when he came in," said Norwood.
Minard finished 3-for-4 with three RBI. Rowland was 3-for-4 and McAllester went 2-for-4. Streicher was 2-for-4 with five RBI. Destan Makonnen and Drew Maus also had two hits each for the Tigers.