Dickinson State heads to championship
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Saturday, May 12, 2007
After losing in the first round, top-seeded Dickinson State has made its way to the championship round of the NAIA Region III Baseball Championships.
The Blue Hawks punched their ticket to today's title game with a 9-2 victory over fourth-seeded Briar Cliff, the tournament's host team, Friday at Lewis and Clark Park.
Dickinson State, continuing on with a 33-10 record, was awaiting its opponent in a 1 p.m. contest today. Jamestown, the tournament's lone unbeaten team coming into Friday, met surprising sixth-seeded Northwestern in a late game.
The Blue Hawks got an outstanding pitching performance from junior righthander Ed Davila in a game that turned ugly for the Chargers in the fourth inning and even uglier for both teams in the sixth.
Davila went the distance, spacing seven hits while striking out eight and walking four. The junior from San Pablo, Calif., gave up only two unearned runs while improving his overall record to 5-0.
Briar Cliff, closing its season with a 27-20 record, managed seven hits, all singles.
"We had seven hits, but the unfortunate part is that they weren't seven hits that produced much," said Briar Cliff Coach Boyd Pitkin. "But there was no quit in this team. They kept fighting until the end."
The Chargers, picked sixth in the pre-season poll of Great Plains Athletic Conference coaches, wound up sharing the regular season title with Sioux Falls. Then, after not making the GPAC tournament last season, played well enough this year to earn an at-large regional berth.
BCU lost its first game to Jamestown 8-4 on Wednesday before defeating Northwestern 4-1 Thursday.
"I told our team, look where you were last year at this time and where you are now," said Pitkin. "They have nothing to be ashamed of, they played hard all year.
"They finished their year with a share of a conference title, so they have nothing to be disappointed about."
Dickinson State, the Dakota Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion, took command with a four-run fourth inning, snapping a 2-2 tie. The Blue Hawks added two more in the sixth, when both benches emptied after a play at the plate.
Dan Boudreau, one of the hottest hitters in the tournament, finished 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. Paulo Contreras was 3-for-4 with a couple of RBIs and Adam Aurlbert tacked on two hits.
Scott Tulloch started the Dickinson fourth with a double after right fielder Louis Beare lost the ball in the sun. Nolan Bracken then laid down a bunt that pitcher Stephen Keane fielded, but threw wide of first, allowing Tulloch to score.
Bracken stole third and after Ed Warren walked and swiped second, Bracken scored on a ground out by Boudreau. Hurlbert singled home Warren and Contreras greeted reliever Eric Fox with another RBI single.
Tempers flared in the sixth when Warren tagged up at third on a fly ball and apparently made contact with the Briar Cliff catcher on a hard slide. Both benches emptied and words were exchanged, but order was quickly restored by the umpires and head coaches.
Jeff Butcher, one of 10 seniors on the Briar Cliff roster, had three singles in his final collegiate game.
"We had 10 seniors that are leaving this program and nine out of 10 have been here for three or more years and eight of them for four years," said Pitkin. "They have accomplished a lot in that four-year time frame.
"Just looking back, a conference title, regional title, super regional title, World Series. They have a lot of good memories to live on."
The seniors were part of a squad that reached the NAIA World Series just two seasons ago.
Briar Cliff scored its runs in the second inning when Mike Schwartz singled and Andrew Swank walked. Schwartz went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch while Swank scored when pinch-runner Cody Davis got into an intentional rundown between first and second base.
Dickinson State 011 402 010 -- 9 10 1
Briar Cliff 020 000 000 -- 2 7 3
Ed Davila and Paulo Contreras; Stephen Keane, Eric Fox (4), Adam Keane (8), Tony McFarland (9) and Keegan Danaher, Matt Lee (5). WP - Davila (5-0). LP - S. Keane (5-4).
The Blue Hawks punched their ticket to today's title game with a 9-2 victory over fourth-seeded Briar Cliff, the tournament's host team, Friday at Lewis and Clark Park.
Dickinson State, continuing on with a 33-10 record, was awaiting its opponent in a 1 p.m. contest today. Jamestown, the tournament's lone unbeaten team coming into Friday, met surprising sixth-seeded Northwestern in a late game.
The Blue Hawks got an outstanding pitching performance from junior righthander Ed Davila in a game that turned ugly for the Chargers in the fourth inning and even uglier for both teams in the sixth.
Davila went the distance, spacing seven hits while striking out eight and walking four. The junior from San Pablo, Calif., gave up only two unearned runs while improving his overall record to 5-0.
Briar Cliff, closing its season with a 27-20 record, managed seven hits, all singles.
"We had seven hits, but the unfortunate part is that they weren't seven hits that produced much," said Briar Cliff Coach Boyd Pitkin. "But there was no quit in this team. They kept fighting until the end."
The Chargers, picked sixth in the pre-season poll of Great Plains Athletic Conference coaches, wound up sharing the regular season title with Sioux Falls. Then, after not making the GPAC tournament last season, played well enough this year to earn an at-large regional berth.
BCU lost its first game to Jamestown 8-4 on Wednesday before defeating Northwestern 4-1 Thursday.
"I told our team, look where you were last year at this time and where you are now," said Pitkin. "They have nothing to be ashamed of, they played hard all year.
"They finished their year with a share of a conference title, so they have nothing to be disappointed about."
Dickinson State, the Dakota Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion, took command with a four-run fourth inning, snapping a 2-2 tie. The Blue Hawks added two more in the sixth, when both benches emptied after a play at the plate.
Dan Boudreau, one of the hottest hitters in the tournament, finished 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. Paulo Contreras was 3-for-4 with a couple of RBIs and Adam Aurlbert tacked on two hits.
Scott Tulloch started the Dickinson fourth with a double after right fielder Louis Beare lost the ball in the sun. Nolan Bracken then laid down a bunt that pitcher Stephen Keane fielded, but threw wide of first, allowing Tulloch to score.
Bracken stole third and after Ed Warren walked and swiped second, Bracken scored on a ground out by Boudreau. Hurlbert singled home Warren and Contreras greeted reliever Eric Fox with another RBI single.
Tempers flared in the sixth when Warren tagged up at third on a fly ball and apparently made contact with the Briar Cliff catcher on a hard slide. Both benches emptied and words were exchanged, but order was quickly restored by the umpires and head coaches.
Jeff Butcher, one of 10 seniors on the Briar Cliff roster, had three singles in his final collegiate game.
"We had 10 seniors that are leaving this program and nine out of 10 have been here for three or more years and eight of them for four years," said Pitkin. "They have accomplished a lot in that four-year time frame.
"Just looking back, a conference title, regional title, super regional title, World Series. They have a lot of good memories to live on."
The seniors were part of a squad that reached the NAIA World Series just two seasons ago.
Briar Cliff scored its runs in the second inning when Mike Schwartz singled and Andrew Swank walked. Schwartz went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch while Swank scored when pinch-runner Cody Davis got into an intentional rundown between first and second base.
Dickinson State 011 402 010 -- 9 10 1
Briar Cliff 020 000 000 -- 2 7 3
Ed Davila and Paulo Contreras; Stephen Keane, Eric Fox (4), Adam Keane (8), Tony McFarland (9) and Keegan Danaher, Matt Lee (5). WP - Davila (5-0). LP - S. Keane (5-4).
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
