Baseball - 2004 North Atlantic Regionals

last updated 03/25/08 08:42 AM

• Tournament Preview
• Official Tournament Homepage (at NCAAsports.com)
• KU Results (below)
• All-Tournament Team

Hear the archived play-by-play broadcasts of  KU baseball at the NCAA Regional Championships

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ANY OF THE BROADCASTS
 

Game 1 - Kutztown vs. West Virginia State - Thursday at 12:00 PM

NCAA North Atlantic Regional

Thursday, May 13, 2004 

Kutztown 13, West Virginia State 2 

SHIPPENSBURG, PA – Kutztown rapped out 19 hits en route to a 13-2 win over West Virginia State in game one of the North Atlantic Regional Baseball tournament at Shippensburg University. 

            Kutztown advances to face Shippensburg, which defeated West Chester 2-1 in the second game, Friday at 1:00 PM.  The Yellow Jackets face The Golden Rams at 10. 

            KU was led at the plate by Paul Koropchak, who was 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.  His RBI double in the first drove in Josh Fink for a 1-0 lead.  He had two hits, a single and a two-run double, as part of KU’s eight-run fourth inning that broke the game open.  The Golden Bears had nine hits in the inning.

             The offense was more than enough for starter Donny Langdon (W, 5-3), who struck out four and walked five, allowing one hit through five innings.  Mike McCardell, Ryan Loper, Marshall Mirarchi and Matt Keller also pitched for KU.           

            Greg Rada was 3-for-3 and scored twice, while Clay Kuklick was 2-for-4 with two RBI.  Gary Canuso had a pair of RBI hits, and John Yearsley and Loper added two hits each. 

            Kutztown improves to 35-14 with the victory, while WV State falls to 37-13. 

Game 4 Kutztown vs. Shippensburg - 1:00 PM Friday, May 14

NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament
Friday, May 14, 2004 

Game 4: Kutztown 2, Shippensburg 1 (10 inn.) 

SHIPPENSBURG, PA – Ryan Loper’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10^th inning gave Kutztown a 2-1 win over Shippensburg in game four of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional at Shippensburg’s Fairchild Field Friday afternoon. 

            Loper’s RBI single broke a 1-1 deadlock and gave Kutztown a berth in the championship game of the tournament Saturday afternoon.  KU will face the winner of game 5, between West Virginia State and Shippensburg to be played Saturday morning.  Game 6 is set to start at 1:00 PM. 

            Gary Canuso started off the game-winning rally, with a pinch hit double to start the 10^th.  Josh Fink then laid down a bunt to advance pinch runner P.J. Gallo, but Fink beat out the throw to put runners at the corners.  Ship was forced to intentionally walk Paul Koropchak to load the bases.  John Yearsley hit a grounder to first, where Brett Brobston forced Gallo out at home.  Loper then roped a 2-2 pitch to left field to drive in Fink for the winning run. 

            The first eight innings were a pitchers dual between starters Matt Haverly of KU and Randy Dicken of Shippensburg.  Both starters allowed just one run in eight innings pitched.  A thunderstorm halted play for 40 minutes in the top of the ninth, forcing both pitchers to the bench once play resumed.  

            Matt Keller came on in the ninth to pick up the win (7-3).  Ship brought in T..C. Senseney (2-2) who was the losing pitcher. 

            Shippensburg got on the board first with a third-inning, two-out home run by Chad Stecker, who was 3-for-5.  Kutztown answered in the fourth, when Loper walked and scored on a Mike McCardell double. 

            KU had just six hits in the game, only two of them off Dicken.  Six different players had one hit for KU.  Shippensburg also had just six hits, three of them by Chad Stecker.

            Kutztown now waits for the winner of game five of the tournament.  Shippensburg and West Virginia State will play at 10:00 AM on Saturday in the second elimination game of the tournament.  That game five was originally scheduled for Friday afternoon, but the rain delay forced it to be moved to Saturday.  

            Earlier in the day, West Virginia State knocked out West Chester, 9-8, in game 3.

Game 6 - Kutztown vs. West Virginia State/Shippensburg - Saturday at 1:00 PM

NCAA Division II Baseball North Atlantic Regional
Saturday, May 15, 2004 

KUTZTOWN WINS NORTH ATLANTIC REGIONAL 

Kutztown 6, West Virginia State 4 (10 inn.) 

SHIPPENSBURG, PA – For the third time in four years, Kutztown University has won the Division II North Atlantic Regional Championship, clinching the crown with a 6-4 win over West Virginia State in 10 innings Saturday afternoon. 

            Mike McCardell sparked the game-winning rally, leading off the 10^th with a single.  Ryan Loper followed with an RBI single to put runners at first and second.  After Kyle Costello bunted the runners over, Greg Rada’s pinch hit bloop single to right field drove in pinch runner John Shade.  Loper later scored on a grounder to short, diving into home under the tag by catcher Jerry Adkins.   

            The Golden Bears had to come from behind to defeat the Yellow Jackets, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the third inning.  Jonathan McDowell had an RBI groundout, and Ryan Taylor doubled to drive in another run in the first.  McDowell belted a solo home run in the third to make it 3-0. 

            Kutztown got on the board in the fourth inning, when Paul Korpchak scored on a grounder to short by Costello.  The Golden Bears chipped away again, loading the bases in the fifth for Paul Koropchak, who drew a walk to force in a run. 

            The Yellow Jackets, though, went up 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Andy Maught.   

            KU tied it up in the seventh, thanks to a pair of WVSC errors. Josh Fink grounded to third with two outs, but the throw by Gerald Hager missed the mark and Fink ended up at second.  Koropchak followed that with a double to drive in Fink, then scored on a single by McCardell. 

             Kutztown had to survive a scare in the ninth inning to get it to extra innings.  Rob McCuen, who allowed five hits and no runs in four innings of relief, allowed a leadoff single to start the ninth.  After a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second, Matt Keller relieved McCuen.  After walking Dana Samples to get a force play, Keller induced Gerrad Talkington into an inning-ending double play and send it to extra innings. 

            Keller was the winning pitcher, improving to 8-3 after retiring the Yellow Jackets in order in the bottom of the 10^th inning.  Keller, who also had an extra-inning win against Shippensburg on Friday, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.   

            Keller, along with Clay Kuklick, Josh Fink, Ryan Loper, Paul Koropchak and Greg Rada were named to the All-Tournament Team.   

            Kutztown improves to 37-14 with the victory, the second-most wins in school history and one behind the all-time high of 38 wins in 2001.  West Virginia State’s season comes to a close with a 40-16 record. 

            Kutztown’s first game at the Division II Championship is scheduled to be against Columbus State, the South Atlantic Region Champion, on Sunday, May 23.

NCAA DIVISION II NORTH ATLANTIC REGION ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

 Most Valuable Player--Matt Keller, Kutztown

P--Matt Keller, Kutztown
P--Evan Englebrook, Shippensburg
C--Clay Kuklick, Kutztown
1B--Andy Maught, West Virginia State
2B--Josh Fink, Kutztown
3B--Josh Bell, Shippensburg
SS--Robert Flinn, West Virginia State
LF--Gerrad Talkington, West Virginia State
CF--Ryan Loper, Kutztown
RF--Paul Koropchak, Kutztown
DH--Greg Rada, Kutztown

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