Briar Cliff stays alive in regional
Chargers turn back Northwestern, 4-1
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Friday, May 11, 2007
Briar Cliff's seniors played like they didn't want their careers to end on Thursday and the result was a 4-1 triumph over Northwestern in the NAIA Region III Baseball Championships at Lewis and Clark Park.
Jared Jacobs turned in a masterful pitching performance. Jeff Butcher, Chris Stevenson and Josh Malenosky combined for six base hits and two RBIs as Briar Cliff stayed alive in the double elimination tournament.
Jacobs, a senior lefthander from Yakima, Wash., checked the Red Raiders on three hits in 7.2 innings. Butcher, a former East High standout, finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and RBI while turning in two outstanding defensive plays. Malenosky, a high school teammate of Butcher's, contributed two hits in three trips.
Briar Cliff, now 27-19, plays Dickinson State (32-10) in an elimination contest at 4 o'clock today. That follows a 1 o'clock game between Northwestern (34-16) and either Dakota State or Jamestown.
"Being a senior, you don't want it to be your last game," said Jacobs, who walked four and did not strike out a batter while improving his record to 7-3. "It was great to go out there and know that I was on the mound and it was in my hands.
"I was just trying to throw strikes, work in and out and let my defense do the work, because we have a good defense. We got a lot of ground balls and a couple of big double plays today."
The Chargers gave Jacobs an early cushion, scoring twice in their first at-bat. Coach Boyd Pitkin's squad, which lost to Jamestown 8-4 in the first round on Wednesday, then tacked on two big insurance runs in the eighth.
"Everybody chipped in and did their part," said Butcher, a senior first baseman. "We played a lot harder than we did the game before. Jared's been doing that all year so it was no real surprise. Now, we'll come back tomorrow to play another game and see what we can do."
Stevenson, a senior shortstop and first-team All-Great Plains Athletic Conference selection, laced an RBI triple in the top of the first, plating Chris Davis, who led off the game with a walk. Butcher then reached out and guided a soft line drive into left field, giving the Chargers a 2-0 lead.
Butcher led off the eighth with a double to deep left field and courtesy runner Cody Davis raced to third on an errant pickoff attempt. After Mike Schwartz was retired on a screaming line drive to first, Davis was thrown out at the plate on a hard grounder to second by Al Sagert.
Sophomore Louis Beare, though, came through with an RBI triple to deep center and Matt Lee followed with a run-scoring single to left on an 0-2 pitch. The Chargers eventually loaded the bases before Matt Sauter was retired on a ground out to first.
"Beare's hit was a momentum builder and Lee's single gave us another run," said Pitkin, whose team had split two regular season meetings with Northwestern. "Those were the two biggest hits, along with Stevenson's triple. The guys stepped up in clutch situations.
"We were hoping for Jacobs to go out there and pitch the game he knows how to pitch. That's probably the best we've seen him throw all year."
Briar Cliff won despite stranding 10 baserunners and committing two errors.
Northwestern got its run in the second when Justin Lane hit a one-out double, advanced to third on an error by the shortstop and scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Gray. The Red Raiders, who beat top-seeded Dickinson State 6-4 on Wednesday, had a couple more opportunities but were denied by Jacobs and Trent Scheider, who worked the final 1.1 innings for his sixth save.
"Jacobs did a real nice job and kept us off balance," said Northwestern Coach Brian Wede. "We hit the ball hard right at them a few times and that hurt our chances.
"Both teams played great defense, but unfortunately we just couldn't get a hit when we needed it and they did."
Northwestern had the tying run on second with one out in the fourth but failed to score. Speedy Brad Payne led off the fifth with a double on a hard grounder that caromed off Jacobs' leg.
Payne, however, was doubled off second after Briar Cliff centerfielder Beare raced deep in the alley to snag a fly off the bat of Austin Malone. Beare then relayed to second baseman Davis for the twin-killing. BCU turned another double play in the sixth, thanks to Butcher's second nifty scoop of the inning.
After Briar Cliff scored its two runs in the top of the eighth, the Red Raiders had the tying run at the plate in the bottom half. Jacob Jansen, though, was retired on a fly out to deep center.
Payne, a freshman from Alta, Iowa, has been filling in at shortstop for sophomore Grant Wall, the GPAC player of the year, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Wall could possibly see action if the Red Raiders advance to Saturday's championship game.
Jake Koerselman was the losing pitcher, allowing nine hits while striking out four and walking five in 7.2 innings.
Briar Cliff 200 000 020 -- 4 9 2
Northwestern 010 000 000 -- 1 3 1
Jared Jacobs, Trent Schneider (8) and Matt Lee; Jake Koerselman, Trevor Kuiper (8), Andrew Engesser (8) and Codie Zuetenhorst. WP -- Jacobs (7-3). LP -- Koerselman (8-2). S -- Schneider (6).
Dickinson State 15, Sioux Falls 12
Dickinson State, the tournament's top seed, outscored Sioux Falls 15-12 in Thursday's first game. Sioux Falls, the co-champions of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, was the first team to be eliminated.
The teams combined for 30 hits, with Dickinson State rallying from a 6-3 deficit after two innings. The victorious Blue Hawks finished with 18 hits, including a triple and homer by leadoff hitter Ed Warren.
Dan Boudreau finished 4-for-6 while Adam Aurlbert and Rory Tycoles chipped in three hits apiece and Nolan Bracken two. Winning pitcher Cory Neer stemmed the tide, giving up just three runs in 5.1 innings after starter David Morari allowed nine in 3.2 innings.
Kyle Thompson had a two-run homer for Sioux Falls, which finished its season at 26-19. Joe Larson added three singles and Aaron Baken two hits.
Dickinson State, now 32-10, plays Briar Cliff in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.
Dickinson State 120 514 002 -- 15 18 3
Sioux Falls 510 303 000 -- 12 12 3
David Morari, Cory Neer (4) and Scott Tulloch; Brett Swim, Eric Van Roekel (4), Mike Smith (5) and Zach Smith. WP -- Neer (6-0). LP -- Van Roekel (5-1).
Jared Jacobs turned in a masterful pitching performance. Jeff Butcher, Chris Stevenson and Josh Malenosky combined for six base hits and two RBIs as Briar Cliff stayed alive in the double elimination tournament.
Jacobs, a senior lefthander from Yakima, Wash., checked the Red Raiders on three hits in 7.2 innings. Butcher, a former East High standout, finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and RBI while turning in two outstanding defensive plays. Malenosky, a high school teammate of Butcher's, contributed two hits in three trips.
Briar Cliff, now 27-19, plays Dickinson State (32-10) in an elimination contest at 4 o'clock today. That follows a 1 o'clock game between Northwestern (34-16) and either Dakota State or Jamestown.
"Being a senior, you don't want it to be your last game," said Jacobs, who walked four and did not strike out a batter while improving his record to 7-3. "It was great to go out there and know that I was on the mound and it was in my hands.
"I was just trying to throw strikes, work in and out and let my defense do the work, because we have a good defense. We got a lot of ground balls and a couple of big double plays today."
The Chargers gave Jacobs an early cushion, scoring twice in their first at-bat. Coach Boyd Pitkin's squad, which lost to Jamestown 8-4 in the first round on Wednesday, then tacked on two big insurance runs in the eighth.
"Everybody chipped in and did their part," said Butcher, a senior first baseman. "We played a lot harder than we did the game before. Jared's been doing that all year so it was no real surprise. Now, we'll come back tomorrow to play another game and see what we can do."
Stevenson, a senior shortstop and first-team All-Great Plains Athletic Conference selection, laced an RBI triple in the top of the first, plating Chris Davis, who led off the game with a walk. Butcher then reached out and guided a soft line drive into left field, giving the Chargers a 2-0 lead.
Butcher led off the eighth with a double to deep left field and courtesy runner Cody Davis raced to third on an errant pickoff attempt. After Mike Schwartz was retired on a screaming line drive to first, Davis was thrown out at the plate on a hard grounder to second by Al Sagert.
Sophomore Louis Beare, though, came through with an RBI triple to deep center and Matt Lee followed with a run-scoring single to left on an 0-2 pitch. The Chargers eventually loaded the bases before Matt Sauter was retired on a ground out to first.
"Beare's hit was a momentum builder and Lee's single gave us another run," said Pitkin, whose team had split two regular season meetings with Northwestern. "Those were the two biggest hits, along with Stevenson's triple. The guys stepped up in clutch situations.
"We were hoping for Jacobs to go out there and pitch the game he knows how to pitch. That's probably the best we've seen him throw all year."
Briar Cliff won despite stranding 10 baserunners and committing two errors.
Northwestern got its run in the second when Justin Lane hit a one-out double, advanced to third on an error by the shortstop and scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Gray. The Red Raiders, who beat top-seeded Dickinson State 6-4 on Wednesday, had a couple more opportunities but were denied by Jacobs and Trent Scheider, who worked the final 1.1 innings for his sixth save.
"Jacobs did a real nice job and kept us off balance," said Northwestern Coach Brian Wede. "We hit the ball hard right at them a few times and that hurt our chances.
"Both teams played great defense, but unfortunately we just couldn't get a hit when we needed it and they did."
Northwestern had the tying run on second with one out in the fourth but failed to score. Speedy Brad Payne led off the fifth with a double on a hard grounder that caromed off Jacobs' leg.
Payne, however, was doubled off second after Briar Cliff centerfielder Beare raced deep in the alley to snag a fly off the bat of Austin Malone. Beare then relayed to second baseman Davis for the twin-killing. BCU turned another double play in the sixth, thanks to Butcher's second nifty scoop of the inning.
After Briar Cliff scored its two runs in the top of the eighth, the Red Raiders had the tying run at the plate in the bottom half. Jacob Jansen, though, was retired on a fly out to deep center.
Payne, a freshman from Alta, Iowa, has been filling in at shortstop for sophomore Grant Wall, the GPAC player of the year, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Wall could possibly see action if the Red Raiders advance to Saturday's championship game.
Jake Koerselman was the losing pitcher, allowing nine hits while striking out four and walking five in 7.2 innings.
Briar Cliff 200 000 020 -- 4 9 2
Northwestern 010 000 000 -- 1 3 1
Jared Jacobs, Trent Schneider (8) and Matt Lee; Jake Koerselman, Trevor Kuiper (8), Andrew Engesser (8) and Codie Zuetenhorst. WP -- Jacobs (7-3). LP -- Koerselman (8-2). S -- Schneider (6).
Dickinson State 15, Sioux Falls 12
Dickinson State, the tournament's top seed, outscored Sioux Falls 15-12 in Thursday's first game. Sioux Falls, the co-champions of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, was the first team to be eliminated.
The teams combined for 30 hits, with Dickinson State rallying from a 6-3 deficit after two innings. The victorious Blue Hawks finished with 18 hits, including a triple and homer by leadoff hitter Ed Warren.
Dan Boudreau finished 4-for-6 while Adam Aurlbert and Rory Tycoles chipped in three hits apiece and Nolan Bracken two. Winning pitcher Cory Neer stemmed the tide, giving up just three runs in 5.1 innings after starter David Morari allowed nine in 3.2 innings.
Kyle Thompson had a two-run homer for Sioux Falls, which finished its season at 26-19. Joe Larson added three singles and Aaron Baken two hits.
Dickinson State, now 32-10, plays Briar Cliff in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.
Dickinson State 120 514 002 -- 15 18 3
Sioux Falls 510 303 000 -- 12 12 3
David Morari, Cory Neer (4) and Scott Tulloch; Brett Swim, Eric Van Roekel (4), Mike Smith (5) and Zach Smith. WP -- Neer (6-0). LP -- Van Roekel (5-1).
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