FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The first day of the 2010 NCAA South
Regionals proved a tough one for the York College baseball squad as
they suffered a disappointing 6-5 setback at the hands of familiar
foe Mary Washington. The Spartan loss, their third in a row, drops
the Green and White to 28-15 while the Capital Athletic Conference
champion Eagles improve to 27-12.
Down 5-1 to start the bottom of the eighth, and having just
given up what could have been a crushing trio of runs in the bottom
of the seventh, the Spartans embarked on a marvelous late-inning
comeback. Speedy leadoff man Dustin Worthman
(Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) opened the frame with an infield
single before Kyle Cook (Pylesville,
Md./North Harford) singled through the left side to put
runners on first and second. Rick Shumway
(Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area) would jam the bags
with the Green and White's third single of the inning. Four-hole
hitter Mike Connolly
(Selden, N.Y./Newfield) banged a productive ground out to
first which brought home Worthman from third. The spry Worthman
displayed grit and sheer determination in scoring York's first of
the eighth as he plowed into Mary Washington catcher Nick Espinosa
in a collision that jarred the ball loose from Espinosa's mitt.
With runners now at second and third, Spartan first baseman
CT
Stanley (Timonium, Md./Calvert Hall College) knocked
home Cook with a sacrifice fly to center, which also allowed
Shumway to scoot over to third. Steve Tretter
(Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata), who had come on earlier as a pinch
hitter, then laced a double down the left field line to pull the
Spartans to within one at 5-4.
After Spartan starter Jason
Christenberry (Yoe, Pa./Dallastown) retired the Mary
Washington side in the bottom of the eighth, facing only four
batters in the eighth, the Green and White were primed for one
more.
Matt
Monti (Easton, Pa./Easton) led off York's half of the
ninth with a ringing double, one of the ground-rule variety, into
centerfield. Then, with one out, Worthman advanced Monti to
third with a ground out to second. This set the stage for what was,
at the time, late-game heroics for Cook. With two outs and down one
at 5-4 in the first game of NCAA Tournament, the junior third
baseman found himself in a hole with two strikes early in the
count. Undaunted, the veteran infielder cracked a line drive single
into left field to plate Monti and knot the game at 5-5.
However, that would prove the last bit of jubilance the Spartans
would have on this day. In the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles
quickly loaded the bases as their first three batters in the inning
reached. With a drawn-in Spartan infield and outfield, Jackson
Clement served a single into right field to scratch across Eric
Rehbein for the game's winning run in walk-off fashion.
Christenberry twirled a tremendous ballgame despite suffering
the defeat. The senior righty threw 115-plus pitches, scattered
nine hits, struck out three, and only allowed three earned runs
throughout his technically eight innings of work although he did
pitch in the ninth. Interestingly enough, each of Christenberry's
three losses this season, he currently owns a strong 9-3 record,
have come against Mary Washington.
York struggled defensively behind their ace, especially early in
the game, as the Spartans committed five errors – their
highest single-game total since being charged with five miscues
during their 7-5 los to Gettysburg on March 18.
Rehbein, Christenberry's counterpart on the hill, hurled a 7.2
inning performance while only surrendering seven hits and four
earned runs as he struck out three Spartans. Ryan Engelking, who
relieved Rehbein in the bottom of the eighth, records the win after
tossing 1.1 and only giving up a pair of hits.
For the Spartans, Cook led the offensive charge with a 3-for-4
showing at the plate while also driving in and scoring a run. The
majority of the offense was spread around as a total of six
Spartans totaled just one hit while five different players each
drove in one of York's five runs.
On the Mary Washington side, Clement posted a 3-for-5 day with
two RBIs and one run scored to lead the Eagles. Will Wright went
2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
Now facing elimination, in the two-loss tournament format, the
Spartans will now have to battle from behind. York takes on
Shenandoah on Thursday in a 2:30 pm tilt for the second game of the
South Regionals. The Hornets, the top-seed in the south region,
bested Bridgewater on Wednesday 11-1.
GAME BOX
Photo: Jason Christenberry prepares to throw a pitch
at the 2010 NCAA South Regionals
