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TERRE HAUTE, IND. – The
College of Wooster shortstop Matthew Johnson blasted a 13th inning
grand slam to lead the Fighting Scots to an 11-8 victory over
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in game eight of the NCAA
Division III Mideast Baseball Regional on Friday.
Johnson lofted the grand slam
over the left field wall with two outs in the 13th frame to provide
the winning margin.
Rose-Hulman had gained the
lead at 8-7 in the top of the 13th inning on a double by Keenan
Long, a ground out by Tim Tepe and a sacrifice fly by Michael
Matsui. The Engineers had tied the game at 7-7 in the top of
the eighth inning, before Wooster closer Mark Miller and Engineer
pitchers Joe Valerioti, Nick Maloney and Sam Deters entering a
scoreless duel until the final frame.
Jake Sankal led the Wooster
offense with three hits and three runs scored. Stu Beath, Sean
Karpen, Matt Groezinger and Johnson had two hits each for the
Fighting Scots. Beath blasted a home run and had three RBIs,
while Karpen scored twice for the victors.
Long smashed four hits,
including two doubles, with two runs scored to pace Rose-Hulman's
offense. Andrew Bilse added three hits and one RBI, while
Michael Matsui and Gabe Focke had two hits each for the Fightin'
Engineers. Matsui scored twice on two doubles and drove home
three runs, while Focke had two RBIs.
Miller tossed 6 1/3 innings in
relief to improve to 5-1 on the season with the victory.
Valerioti, Maloney and Deters allowed just four hits over seven
scoreless innings prior to the grand slam.
Wooster improved to 36-10 on
the season and returns to action against Heidelberg College later
tonight in game nine of the tournament. Rose-Hulman completed
the season with a 32-15 record and earned its first NCAA Division
III Tournament victory earlier in the tourney with a win over
Calvin.