TAMPA WINS NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP!
Back-to-back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Jake Schrader, Zach Gawrych and Adam Pendleton highlighted a five-run second inning that propelled Tampa to its sixth NCAA Division II Baseball Championship with an 8-2 victory over Minnesota State.
Schrader was named Most Outstanding Player of the national tourament. He went 2-for-3 Saturday and batted .444 (8-for-18) with two home runs, seven runs batted in and a .944 slugging percentage in five games at the event.
An announced crowd of 2,478 was in attendance at the title game, the second highest single-game attendance since the Division II Baseball Championship moved to Cary in 2009. Last year’s championship game between West Chester and Delta State saw a record crowd of 2,663.
Sean O’Brien led off the bottom of the second with a single up the middle on an 0-2 pitch. B.J. Zimmerman followed with a single to right. O’Brien came home with Tampa’s first run on Schrader’s double to center field, which was just short of the warning track. Gawrych followed with a chopper over the third base bag that resulted in a two-run double down the left field line. Garwych scored on Pendleton’s double to right, Tampa’s fifth consecutive hit. Pendleton advanced to third on a sacrifice and scored on a line single to left by Connor Obrochta to give the Spartans a 5-0 lead.
Minnesota State used an unearned run to get on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth after Nolan Johnson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Stetson Olson singled up the middle. Taylor Branstad hit into a force at second, but Johnson scored when the throw to first was off target to pull the Mavericks within 5-1.
That was as close as Minnesota State would get, as Tampa starter Jon Keller (6-3) shut down the Mavericks with five strikeouts and no walks. He scattered six hits and retired the side in order in the seventh before giving way to two relievers for the final two innings. The win was Keller’s second in as many starts in the national championship.
Tampa added a run in the bottom of the fourth on Michael Danner’s sacrifice fly and scored two unearned runs in the seventh on a throwing error.
Lucas Skjefte singled in a run in the top of the ninth for Minnesota State, which outhit Tampa 9-8. Parker Sullivan and Stetson Olson had three hits apiece for the Mavericks, which suffered their only loss of the tournament.
Minnesota State starting pitcher Harvey Martin (9-1), who recorded a win Monday against Franklin Pierce, suffered his first loss of the season. Martin was the consensus Division II Baseball National Pitcher of the Year.
Tampa also won Division II Baseball National Championships in 1992, 1993, 1998, 2006 and 2007. The Spartans, the last team to win back-to-back national titles, ended a streak of five consecutive first-time champions.
All-Tournament Team
Catcher: Nolan Johnson, Minnesota State
First Base: Nate Bobrowski, St. Edward’s
Second Base: Lucas Skjefte, Minnesota State
Third Base: Jake Schrader, Tampa
Shortstop: Jacob Tillotson, Tampa
Outfield: Brandon Smith, Grand Canyon
Outfield: Zach Gawrych, Tampa
Designated Hitter: Jesse Abel, Grand Valley State
Pitcher: Mike Adams, Tampa
Pitcher: Kyle Teague, Grand Valley State
Pitcher: Jason Hoppe, Minnesota State
Most Outstanding Player: Jake Schrader, Tampa
Box Score