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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/12/03
G.C. Baseball Panthers Return to Celina, Ohio for NCCAA National
Tournament
Team Advances to NCCAA Tourney for Third Straight
Year
GREENVILLE, Ill. - The May journey to Celina, Ohio, for the National
Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national tournament
is becoming a common road trip for the Greenville College baseball
team.
The Panthers (20-19) qualified for their third straight NCCAA national
tourney with two victories in three games on Thursday and Friday
against Trinity International University.
The tourney's number eight seed, Greenville opens the NCCAA national
tournament on Wednesday, May 14, against Cedarville University at
10 a.m. EDT (9 a.m. CDT). A win will match them against number one
seed Spring Arbor University at 8 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. CDT). A loss
would put the Panthers in a 4 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. CDT) game against
the loser of Louisiana College and Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College.
Further tournament information, including brackets, is available
by visiting http://www.thenccaa.org/Member%20Schools/Div1Sports/MBaseball/mensbaseball.htm.
Regional Championship
Traveling to Deerfield, Ill., to take on the host school, the Panthers
split a doubleheader on Thursday before topping Trinity International
5-3 on Friday afternoon for the North Central regional championship.
The regional championship was the first for the Panthers since
1996 after advancing to the national tournament on an at-large bid
in 2001 and 2002.
"The nice thing about this team is that we have played our
best baseball towards the end of the year when it matters most,"
said head coach Lynn Carlson. "It's fun to watch players achieve
to their maximum ability."
"This may not be the most talented team that we've had, but
it's the team that has come the closest to reaching their full potential."
After having to win five of their last six regular season games
to qualify for the regional, the Panthers found themselves having
to win two straight after a 7-4 loss to Trinity International in
the first game on Thursday.
In game two, four runs was enough for pitcher Alan Engelhardt as
he shut down the TIU offense, holding them to two earned runs on
six hits while striking out seven in a seven-inning complete game.
The Panthers trailed 2-1 in the fifth inning before adding single
tallies in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Mike Malone crossed
the plate with the game-winning run in the sixth inning on an error
by TIU's pitcher.
For the game, Jeremy Knapp, Mike Malisia, and Malone each had two
hits. Malone scored two runs with Knapp and Malisia crossing the
plate once. Lance Boldt, Scott Hostetler, and Nate Hessel had one
RBI apiece.
In the regional championship game, Matt Good scattered six hits
over five and two-thirds innings, only allowing one earned run for
the win. Engelhardt closed the game by pitching the last inning
and a third for his eighth save.
Four runs over the fourth and fifth innings gave the Panthers a
5-2 advantage, and they were able to hold on to the lead for the
win. Hostetler scored the eventual winning run on an RBI single
by Malone in the fifth inning.
Knapp led the Panther offense with three hits in three at-bats.
Boldt, Hostetler, Malone, and David Chedester posted two hits apiece.
Scoring the Greenville runs were Malone, two; Knapp, one; Hostetler,
one; and Chedester, one. Hessel had two RBI, and Knapp, Boldt, and
Malone tallied one RBI each.
CONTACT:
B.J. Schneck (
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Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-6621
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