box score

Wilkes University scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but its late surge fell short as the Colonels fell in the semifinals of the ECAC South Baseball Championship to Wesley 10-9. Their defense was largely to blame as Wilkes committed six errors that led to six unearned runs.

The Wolverines scored all 10 of their runs in the third through the sixth inning including four in the top of the fifth. Wilkes opened the game with a 2-0 lead after the first two innings, but Wesley put up three runs in the top of the third and never lost the lead the rest of the way.

Andy Garofoli (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) put the Colonels on the board first when he hit an RBI single through the left side scoring Matt Ruch (Dallas, Pa./Holy Redeemer ), who led of the game with a single to right. Geoff Miller (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) followed with a walk, moving Ruch to second, but he would later steal third before scoring on Garofoli's single. Garofoli finished with a team-high three RBI on the day and scored a run as well.

The Colonels made it 2-0 in the second inning when Eric Wetzel (New Berlin, N.J./Mifflinburg) and Ruch hit back-to-back two-out singles before Miller walked for the second time to load the bases. Garofoli picked up his second RBI of the game when he walked on five pitches to score Wetzel from third.

Geoff Kimmel put the Wolverines on the board when he hit a double down the left field line to score Kevin Murphy, who reached on a fielder's choice. Bryan Reshetar gave Wesley the lead for good with a two-run single up the middle plating Kimmel and Grant Morlock. Morlock finished with a game-high three hits, while three others finished with two-or-more.

Wesley tacked on two more runs in the fourth on three hits, one of which was unearned thanks to Wilkes' first error of the game. The Wolverines would score four more in the fifth and picked up five more hits, but three errors by the Colonels kept the inning alive allowing three earned runs. Wilkes had three failed pickoff attempts, including two by its pitching staff.

The Colonels finally put another run on the board in the fifth when Randy Dengler (Ashland, Pa./Tri-Valley ), who led off the inning on a hit by pitch, scored on a wild pitch. By that time, Wesley built a 9-2 lead. A single run in the sixth gave Wesley a 10-3 lead before the Colonels made the game interesting with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Wesley's pitching staff had trouble finding the strike zone in the sixth as Miller reached on a one-out walk before Garofoli, Dengler and Joel Watson (Honesdale, PA/Honesdale) were hit by a pitch allowing Miller to score. The Wolverine staff gave out 17 free passes that included 10 walks and seven hit batters.

Wilkes pitcher Mike Brennan (New Ringgold, Pa./Marian Catholic) tossed the final four innings and kept the Wolverines at bay allowing just one run off one hit while striking out two.

Trailing 10-6 in its final at-bat, Wilkes opened the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back hit batsmen before Miller singled to right to load the bases. Garofoli picked up his third RBI of the game when he was hit by a pitch which allowed Wetzel to score. With two outs in the inning, Watson doubled to center scoring Miller, but Wesley's Chris Koch struck out the final Wilkes hitter to end the game.

The Colonels finished the year with a 29-12 record, while Wesley, who fell to PSU Altoona in the championship game, ended their season with a 26-17-1 record. PSU Altoona advanced to the championship game with a win over Neumann in the second semifinal game of the day.