Baseball Heading for the Big Dance, Defeat Butler 4-1 for Horizon League Championship
5/28/2006 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
Behind a three-run second and solid pitching performances from Chris Snyder and Joe Smith, the Wright State baseball team captured the Horizon League championship Sunday morning with a 4-1 decision over the Butler Bulldogs at Nischwitz Stadium.
Butler posed a threat in the first as Stephen Gill led off with a double to right center and Joe Pauley walked with two out, but Snyder kept the game scoreless as he induced Joe Dempsey to fly out to right.
WSU scored what turned out to be all the runs it would need with three in the second. Justin Wilson started the frame by smacking a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left for his seventh home run of the season. Brian Shoup followed with a bunt single along the third base line and Justin Parker walked, tournament MVP Ross Oeder delivered the key hit, a two-out, two-run double down the left field line to make it 3-0.
Dempsey cut the margin to 3-1 with his 10th home run of the year in the fourth, but Snyder was able to work out of the Bulldogs having a run at second in both the third and fifth.
Joe Smith took over in the sixth and setting down Butler in order in that inning, saw the leadoff batter reach in the seventh on an error. Catcher Aaron Garcia, though, came up with the defensive play of the game as he pounced on a bunt attempt by Joel Matheny and fired a strike to Parker at shortstop, who then turned it to Jeremy Hamilton at first for a double play. That double play gave the Green and Gold 62 total DP's on the season, setting a new school record for a single season.
Wright State closed out the scoring in the seventh as John Kopilchack doubled to left center and, after being sacrificed to third by Oeder, scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Dan Biedenharn.
Pinch-hitter Kyle Cox doubled with two outs in the eighth for Butler (21-36), but Smith got Jeff Brown to ground out to end that inning. In the ninth, Pauley led off with a hit and Dustin Bucalo reached on an error with one out, but the Raiders closed out the game in dramatic fashion as Hamilton and Parker turned a 3-6-3 double play.
Snyder (5-7) picked up the win as he went five innings, giving up three hits and two walks while striking out three. Smith picked up the four-inning save, his 13th of the season, as he gave up just two hits in fanning two.
Wright State takes a 32-25 mark into next week's NCAA Regionals as the Raiders will be making their second Division I appearance and first since 1994. The 16 regional sites will be announced on ESPNews at 3:30 Sunday afternoon with the 64-team field to be revealed on ESPN at 12:30 Monday afternoon.
2006 Horizon League All-Tournament Team
Ted Rosinski, Sr., OF, UIC
Rob Brockel, Jr., OF, UW-Milwaukee
Stephen Gill, Sr., OF, Butler
Jeff Brown, Sr., 2B, Butler
Brian Deter, So., P, Butler
Jeremy Hamilton, Fr., 1B, Wright State
Amin Abusaleh, Sr., OF, Wright State
Aaron Garcia, Sr., C, Wright State
Justin Wilson, Sr., OF, Wright State
Robert Barrett, Sr., P, Wright State
Ross Oeder, Jr., 2B, Wright State (MVP)
