Box
Score
McMINNVILLE, Ore.
– California Lutheran University southpaw Greg Gelber
out-dueled George Fox University right-hander Mark Putney as the
Kingsmen edged the Bruins 2-1 in the third game of the day at the
NCAA Division III West Regional baseball tournament Thursday night
here at Linfield College's Roy Helser Field/Jim Wright
Stadium.
The teams battled through four-and-a-half scoreless innings before
the Kingsmen scored the game's first run in the last of the
5th. Richard Michelin crushed a two-out double
off the left-field fence that missed going over by about two feet,
and Chris Hertz delivered him with a line single to
left-center. Hertz victimed the Bruins again in
the 7th when he dumped a soft single into center following singles
by Nick Reitz and Michelin with two outs to drive in a big
insurance run.
Gelber took a no-hitter through six innings, striking out seven
through the first five, against the highest-hitting team in the
country (the Bruins were batting .375 coming
in). Bo Thunell broke up the no-hitter with a
line single through the right side leading off the 7th and Dan
Winterstein beat out a one-out chopper to third, but Gelber escaped
by fanning Seth Anderson and getting Todd Siler on a grounder to
second.
Thunell singled to right with one out in the 9th, advanced to
second on a two-out wild pitch, and scored on Winterstein's
ground single to right to break up the shutout.
Gelber retired Anderson on a pop to second, however, to finish with
a four-hitter, striking out nine and walking two while raising his
record to 9-2. Putney fell to 4-1 after
scattering nine hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Winterstein and Thunell had all of the Bruins' hits, while
David Iden, Michelin, and Hertz had two hits apiece for the
Kingsmen. The bottom three in the Cal Lu order
– Reitz, Michelin, and Hertz – collectively went
5-for-9.
George Fox (33-10) will try to avoid an early exit against the No.
1 team in the nation, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (36-5), which dropped
Hendrix College (22-22) 8-3, in Friday's second game at 3:30
p.m. Cal Lutheran (32-9) will play Chapman
University (27-14), a 16-2 winner over the University of
Texas-Tyler (38-11), in Friday's third game at 7:00
p.m. In the first game of the day at 12:00 noon,
Hendrix and Texas-Tyler will meet in an elimination game.
