More Notes on the Atlantic Regional

Each of the three WVIAC teams in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament are eliminated -- two of them quickly, the other heartbreakingly.



WVIAC champion Shepherd was the first conference team to bow out of the playoffs in West Lawn, PA, falling to West Chester 10-1 on Friday.
West Chester starting pitcher Bret Moyer shut down the Rams' offense. Moyer allowed only two hits in eight innings, striking out nine while improving his record to 10-1.
Meanwhile, the Golden Rams banged out 14 hits -- five for extra bases -- against four Shepherd pitchers. West Chester catcher Bob Stumpo was the star, going 4-5 with a home run, a triple, three runs scored and three RBIs.



Concord was the next WVIAC team to get knocked out, dropping a 9-4 decision to Kutztown Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears reached Concord starter Trey Smith for three runs in the top of the 1st; Concord squared the game with two runs in the bottom of the 1st and a single run in the 3rd.
But the Mountain Lions' defense betrayed them in the top of the 4th. Concord committed two errors and uncorked three wild pitches, allowing Kutztown to score four unearned runs to take the lead.

For the second straight year, Concord ended with four consecutive post-season defeats -- two at the conference tournament and two in the regional.
On the upside, coach Kevin Garrett loses only three seniors (C Will Moody, OF Tim Merolillo, P Allen Schurdell) from this year's 27-15 club. With the bulk of the roster due back -- including Brooks Cullen, Donovan Huffer, Greyson Schramm -- the Mountain Lions will be one of the favorites to win the WVIAC in 2010.



West Virginia State wound up as the WVIAC's last hope. The Yellow Jackets downed Kutztown 4-1 on Friday morning, then fell into the losers' bracket after a 4-1 defeat to Mercyhurst Friday night.
WVSU rebounded with a superlative performance from Eric Workman to eliminate Kutztown 6-1 Saturday afternoon. The senior from Ivydale was the Jackets' starting pitcher, and he threw a complete-game six-hitter. Meanwhile, at the plate, Workman flashed his conference Hitter of the Year credentials, going 3-4, including a two-run single in State's decisive three-run rally in the bottom of the 5th.
The Yellow Jackets had to immediately follow their win over Kutztown in the afternoon with a night game against Mercyhurst, and the quick turnaround may have had an impact. Mercyhurst jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, chasing WVSU starter Mike Barron in the process.
WVSU replied with a three-run rally in the bottom of the 4th, another three-run rally in the 5th and a single run in the 7th to go ahead 7-5.
But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Mercyhurst answered with a game-tying two-run rally in the 8th, then took the lead in the 9th on John Blike's pinch-hit RBI double.
The Yellow Jackets then had to wait out an agonizing 97-minute rain delay before getting to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Josh Bower drew a walk to lead off the inning, and advanced to third with two outs. But Mercyhurst's Jamie Walczak struck out State DH J.D. Broderick on a 2-2 pitch to end State's season.

WVSU coach Cal Bailey will have some roster restructuring to do for 2010. The Jackets will lose eight seniors, among them Workman, Broderick, 1B Michael Deleeuw and 2B Chad Chambers. But, as always seem to be the case in Institute, the cupboard won't be entirely bare. Among a strong core group of returning players are Bower, WVIAC home run champion Bo Darby, 3B Joey Jobst, C Jeremy Fisher, pitchers Ryne Holstine and Jacob Kight and P/INF Nate Koepsel.




NOTES:
Concord's Cullen, Shepherd 3B Brian Collins and West Virginia State's Workman and Chambers earned spots on the All-Atlantic Regional Team .... West Chester completed an undefeated run through the regional with 14-0 paddling of Mercyhurst in Sunday's championship game; the Golden Rams outscored their opponents 35-6 in their four wins at Owls Field .... West Chester advances to the Division II National Championship Tournament starting Friday, May 23 at the U.S. Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, NC .... Joining the Golden Rams in the championship field are Grand Valley State, Mesa State, Dowling, Belmont Abbey, Lynn and UC San Diego. Central Missouri and Emporia State were playing for the eighth and final championship berth in their regional final at the time of the writing of this article Monday afternoon .... The next potentially big event for the WVIAC's star players is baseball's amateur draft on Tuesday, June 9.