Anderson 6, Ohio Wesleyan 4

May 18, 2003

Troy Loyd delivered a 2-run single to break a scoreless tie, John Buckner had a 2-run single to highlight a 3-run sixth inning, Greg Cauble turned in a fine pitching performance and Anderson held off an Ohio Wesleyan rally in the ninth to escape with a win over the Battling Bishops in Game 7 of the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional on Sunday at Littick Field on the Ohio Wesleyan campus in Delaware, Ohio.
Complete tournament results

With the win, Anderson advances to the NCAA Division III championship tournament at Grand Chute, Wis.

The game opened as a pitchers' duel between Cauble and Bishop junior righthander Tyler Mott (Grove City).

Cauble, who was pitching on one day's rest after hurling Anderson to a 7-5 win over Hope in Game 3 of the regional tournament on Friday, was sharp. He allowed only 2 hits through the first 4.0 innings, both singles by Mott.

Mott, meanwhile, was not as sharp as he was in Game 2 of the tournament on Thursday, when he pitched 8.0 innings in a win over Hope, but the Bishop defense rallied around him.

In the second inning, Brandon Dillon led off with a single to center and, one out later, stole second. Duke Behr followed with a bunt single, sending Dillon to third, but the inning ended when Kyle Rahl flied to left and junior outfielder Mike Albert (Shelby) threw out Dillon trying to score on the play.

Anderson had another runner erased on the bases in the fifth when Behr led off with a single down the leftfield line but was thrown out at second by Albert. Adam Bollier struck out for the second out, but Rayl walked -- only the eighth walk of the season allowed by Mott -- and Aaron Woolsey followed with a single to left. Brent Hodges followed with a single to center, but senior outfielder Travis Falk (Bryan) preserved the scoreless tie by throwing out Rayl trying to score on the play. Buckner was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Loyd followed with a ball up the middle that got by Mott and into centerfield to score Hodges and Woolsey for a 2-0 Anderson lead.

The sixth inning unfolded in similar fashion. Dillon led off with a single. After Bollier struck out, Mott picked Dillon off first base for the second out. But Behr walked and stole second, then stole third and continued home when junior catcher Mike Schultheis (Columbus/Watterson) threw wide of third base. Rayl followed with a walk and Woolsey and Hodges singled to center to load the bases, and Buckner followed with a single to center to put the Ravens ahead, 5-0, and knock out Mott.

Senior righthander Shaun Burchett (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) got out of the inning by striking out Travis Davis, but was touched for a run in the seventh on one-out singles by Bollier, Behr and Rayl. The Bishops got the second out when Rayl was thrown out trying for second on his hit, and got out of the inning when Behr was tagged out trying a straight steal of home.

Cauble kept the Bishop offense in check, not allowing a runner to reach second base through the first 8.0 innings.

That changed in the ninth. Mott led off with a walk and, one out later, senior third baseman Mark Wherry (Dublin/Scioto) singled through the left side. Falk singled to right to load the bases and Albert delivered a single to right, scoring Mott and pinch-runner Brandon Williams (Dublin/Coffman), with Albert advancing to second when Raven rightfielder Behr did not field the ball cleanly. Schultheis followed with a grounder to the right side, with Buckner ranging far to his left to make the play and record the out, with Falk scoring to make it 6-3. After senior shortstop Joe Deck (Waverly) walked, senior second baseman Seth Tenpenny (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne) lined a single through the right side to score Albert for a 6-4 score.

Kevin Nichols, who had pitched in Game 1 of the regional for Anderson, came on to relieve Cauble and face senior outfielder Joe Loudenslager (Hilliard/Darby), who represented the winning run, but Loudenslager struck out swinging to end the game.

Cauble recorded the win, allowing 8 hits and striking out 5 while walking 3. Nichols, who got the final out, was credited with a save.

Mott, who allowed 12 hits and struck out 2 while walking 4 in 5.2 innings, was charged with the loss, his first of the season after 12 straight wins this season and 16 straight wins dating back to the 2002 season. Burchett allowed 5 hits and struck out 4 over the final 3.1 innings.

Anderson's 17 hits on the day were all singles. Behr collected 3 to lead the Ravens, while Hodges, Loyd, Dillon and Bollier had 2 apiece.

Mott and Schultheis had 2 hits apiece for Ohio Wesleyan.

Cauble was named the regional tournament's Most Valuable Player after recording the 2 wins on the mound. The complete all-tournament team:

All-tournament team
P Brian Manering, Benedictine
P Shaun Burchett, Ohio Wesleyan
P Greg Cauble, Anderson
C Kyle Rayl, Anderson
2B John Buckner, Anderson
3B Mark Wherry, Ohio Wesleyan
SS Joe Deck, Ohio Wesleyan
OF Brandon Dillon, Anderson
OF Mike Albert, Ohio Wesleyan
DH Troy Loyd, Anderson
Utility (P-1B) Tyler Mott, Ohio Wesleyan

MVP: Greg Cauble, Anderson.

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