May 18, 2007

Box Score

Kutztown, Pa. - Matt Adams smacked a game-winning home run in the top of the 11th inning and Mike DeCola pitched five scoreless innings Friday to lead The Rock to a 6-5 win over West Chester in second-round action of the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional tournament.

The win was the 700th in 22nd-year Rock head coach Jeff Messer's career, but more importantly it moved the fourth-seeded Rock (35-15) into Friday's 9 a.m. winners bracket final game.

The Rock will face top-seeded Kutztown (47-5) Friday morning to determine one of the two teams that will play in Saturday's regional title game (12 noon).

The loser of the Friday morning game returns at 4:30 p.m. Friday to play either Shippensburg (28-23) or West Chester (31-16) in the losers bracket final.

Shippensburg remained alive with a 6-1 win over second-seeded West Virginia State in Friday's first game before Kutztown eliminated third-seeded California U. of Pa. by the same 6-1 score.

If there was an Offensive Player of the Game award presented Thursday, Adams would have been the hands-down winner. He had three hits in six at bats, including his game-winning fifth roundtripper of the season and school-record-tying 21st double. The first-team All-PSAC and all-region catcher also had four RBIs in the game.

But the Player of the Game award would have been won by DeCola, who allowed only three hits in the final five frames after replacing Rock starter Derek Blyzwick. He was rewarded for his effort, which also included seven strikeouts, with his fourth win in as many decisions this season.

The highlight of DeCola's performance came in the bottom of the 10th inning when he recorded two strikeouts and a ground out to work out of a first-and-third, no-out jam.

After Adams hit his game-winning home run on the second pitch in the top of the 11th, DeCola made it stand up by recording two called-third-strike outs and then inducing game-ending flyout.

The Rock jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to an infield single by leadoff hitter Phil Butch, a double down the right field line by Billy Herman and a sharp, two-RBI single through the right side of the infield by Adams.

West Chester cut the margin in half with a run in the bottom of the second inning before SRU scored two more tallies in the top of the third to take a 4-1 lead.

Butch started The Rock rally with a bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Herman before Adams drilled an RBI double to right field. Adams then scored on an RBI double by Scott Bender.

A West Chester run in the bottom of the fourth cut The Rock lead to 4-2 before singles by M.J. Parsons, Bender and Jacob Oswalt in the top of the fifth produced The Rock's fifth run of the game.

The lead held up for less than an inning, though, as West Chester came right back to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score at 5-5.

West Chester had a short-lived threat to take its first lead of the game in the sixth when it got a leadoff double by Blair Dameron, but he was put out while trying to move to third on a ground ball by the next hitter in the Golden Rams' lineup.

The Rock then had a chance to retake the lead in the top of the seventh when Parsons lined a leadoff double into the right field corner, but he was ganned down at home trying to score on a bloop single to center field by Bender.

DeCola then entered the game in relief of Blyzwick, who had allowed five earned runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked two in the first six innings.

Aside from the aforementioned 10th-inning jam, DeCola was in control throughout his five-inning stint.

The efforts of Adams and DeCola overshadowed strong offensive showings by three other Rock players. Parsons was 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles, while Bender (double) and Rich Michalek added three hits each.

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