Ohio Wesleyan 7, Denison 3

May 9, 2008

Senior first baseman A.J. Dote (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) drove in 3 runs and senior lefthander Joey McDaniel (Dublin/Scioto) held Denison to 2 runs over 8.0 innings as the Bishops defeated the Big Red in Game 3 of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship series on Friday in Granville.

With the win, Ohio Wesleyan takes the series, 2 games to 1, and wins its second consecutive NCAC championship. This marks the first time since 2000-01 that the Bishops have won back-to-back NCAC titles, and is Ohio Wesleyan's eighth NCAC tournament championship, the most among conference institutions.

The win also gives Ohio Wesleyan the NCAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament. NCAA regional fields and pairings likely will be announced on Monday.

Ohio Wesleyan jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when junior shortstop Logan Hronis (Rocky River/St. Edward) ripped a 2-out single, moved to second when senior outfielder Brent Wilkins (Fairview Park/Fairview) was hit by a pitch, and scored on Dote's single to right.

McDaniel made it a 2-0 game in the third, leading off with a single, taking second on a sacrifice by freshman outfielder Zach Frentsos (Delaware/Hayes), moving to third on Hronis's infield out, and scoring on a wild pitch.

The Bishops tacked on 3 runs in the fourth. Dote led off with a double, sophomore third baseman Eric McComas (Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves) walked and freshman outfielder Scott Wise (Delaware/Hayes) beat out a bunt single to load the bases. Sophomore catcher Steve Ruygrok (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek) plated Dote with a sacrifice fly, and one out later, McDaniel and Frentos slapped consecutive RBI singles.

Denison got on the scoreboard in the fifth as Kevin Teague led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice, and scored on Hronis's 2-out throwing error, but the Bishop shortstop got that run back in the top of the sixth when he and Wilkins scored on Dote's 2-out double to right that gave Ohio Wesleyan a 7-1 lead.

The Big Red rallied with RBI singles by Tony Christopher in the eighth and Aidan Lucas in the ninth, but McDaniel got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and sophomore righthander Matthew Struble (Defiance/Edon) stranded 2 Denison baserunners in the ninth to seal the win.

Dote finished at 3-for-5 with 3 RBI for the Bishops, while McDaniel, Frentsos, Hronis and Wise had 2 hits apiece.

McDaniel pitched the first 8.0 innings, scattering 10 hits while striking out 3 and walking 1. Struble worked the ninth to finish off the win.

Nick Smith allowed 6 hits over the first 3.2 innings and was charged with the loss for the Big Red.

McDaniel, who batted .414, collected a win and a save, and compiled an ERA of 2.03 in 13.1 innings pitched during Ohio Wesleyan's run to the NCAC title, was named the tournament's MVP.  He was joined on the all-tournament team by Dote, Frentsos and McComas.

All-Tournament Team

P Adam Samson, Wooster
P J.D. Wyborny, Denison
C Alex Horn, Denison
IF A.J. Dote, Ohio Wesleyan
IF Eric McComas, Ohio Wesleyan
IF Park Smith, Denison
IF Will Smith, Kenyon
OF Zach Frentsos, Ohio Wesleyan
OF Danny Pritz, Denison
OF Tony Christopher, Denison
DH Joey McDaniel, Ohio Wesleyan

MVP: Joey McDaniel, Ohio Wesleyan

Box Score