Thomas More Clips W&J in PAC Baseball Title Game 5/10/2014 11:10:46 PM PAC Tournament Central (thanks to W&J sports information office) WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Thomas More College junior catcher Brad Popham's (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights) sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning proved to be all the second-seeded Saints would need in their 8-7 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Championship Tournament title game win over top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College Saturday afternoon at W&J's Ross Memorial Park. With Saturday's win, the Saints improve to 23-17 and earn the conference's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The NCAA will announce the tournament field and its regional locations on Monday, May 12 on ncaa.com. With the loss, the Presidents fall to 29-15 on the season. Saturday's title-game matchup marked the third time in the last five seasons the Saints and Presidents would battle for the league crown. Popham's sacrifice fly, his second RBI of the afternoon, scored senior third baseman Travis Miller (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry). Popham finished the day two-for-four with a double. Thomas More freshman reliever Ken Ruberg (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) earned the victory, going 3.2 innings and allowing one run (1 earned) on three hits with three strikeouts. Ruberg replaced senior starter Andy Roenker (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross), who earned a no-decision after going 6.1 innings and allowing six runs (2 earned) on 10 hits with a pair of strikeouts. Senior first baseman Craig Hyson (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) led the Saints at the dish, going two-for-five with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI. W&J led 5-1 after three innings, but the Saints would score three in the fourth to get to within one, 5-4. Sophomore shortstop Michael Ruffing (Brunswick, Ohio/St. Ignatius) pushed the Presidents back up by two, 6-4, with a RBI single in the sixth, but three Thomas More runs in the seventh would lead to the Saints taking a 7-6 lead into the eighth. Senior center fielder Josh Staniscia's (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) sacrifice fly in the ninth evened the score at 7-7, forcing extra innings. W&J senior third baseman Kyle McLain (East Amherst, N.Y./Canisius) finished four-for-five at the plate with a pair of RBIs. McLain would also suffer the loss on the mound for the Presidents, allowing one run (0 earned) on one hit in 2.0 innings. Ruffing went three-for-five with a RBI and run scored. 2014 PAC Baseball Championship Tournament Hosted by Washington & Jefferson College - Washington, Pa. Saturday, May 10 Game F (1 p.m.): (2) Thomas More 8, (1) W&J 7 (10 inn.) Friday, May 9 Game C (12 p.m.): (2) Thomas More 9, (1) W&J 6 Game D (3 p.m.): (4) Waynesburg 5, (3) Bethany 4 Game E (6 p.m.): (1) W&J 16, (4) Waynesburg 9 Thursday, May 8 Game A (3 p.m.): (2) Thomas More 14, (3) Bethany 5 Game B (6:05 p.m.): (1) W&J 14, (4) Waynesburg 4 GAME F (4) Waynesburg vs. (1) W&J - Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park Thomas More 8, W&J 7 (10 inn.) WASHINGTON, Pa. -- After spotting the top-seeded Presidents a significant early lead for the second time in as many days, the second-seeded Saints used a sacrifice fly off of the bat of junior catcher Brad Popham (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights) in the top of the 10th inning to break a 7-7 tie and secure the 8-7 title game win. The league title is the third for the Saints (2014, 2011, 2010) since joining the PAC in 2006. Freshman reliever Ken Ruberg (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) earned the victory for the Saints, going 3.2 innings and allowing one run (1 earned) on three hits with three strikeouts. Ruberg replaced senior starter Andy Roenker (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross), who earned a no-decision after going 6.1 innings and allowing six runs (2 earned) on 10 hits with a pair of strikeouts. Senior first baseman Craig Hyson (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) led the Saints at the dish, going two-for-five with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI. W&J senior third baseman Kyle McLain (East Amherst, N.Y./Canisius) finished four-for-five at the plate with a pair of RBIs. McLain would also suffer the loss on the mound for the Presidents, allowing one run (0 earned) on one hit in 2.0 innings. GAME E (4) Waynesburg vs. (1) W&J - Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park W&J 16, Waynesburg 9 WASHINGTON, Pa. -- W&J plated 11 runs in the top of the first and never looked back in Friday's 16-9 elimination-game victory over Waynesburg. Freshman Joe Vita (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) improved to 3-2 on the season with the win. Vita went six innings, allowing seven runs (7 earned) on 11 hits. Senior catcher Ronny Peirish (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) highlighted W&J's 11-run opening frame by hitting a pair of three-run runs, tying a NCAA Division III record with two home runs in one inning while his six RBIs tied the eighth-highest total in a single inning in Division III history. Senior centerfielder Josh Staniscia (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) added four hits, drove in four and scored four times for the Presidents, who will take on Thomas More for the championship Saturday at 1 p.m. W&J will need to defeat the Saints twice on Saturday to earn the league title and conference's automatic bid to the Division III Championship Tournament. Waynesburg first baseman Matt Bensinger (Shoemakersville, Pa./Hamburg Area) finished three-for-five with two triples, a double a RBI and two runs scored. Senior catcher Marc Timmons (Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) chipped in with three RBIs. GAME D (2) Thomas More vs. (1) W&J - Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park Waynesburg 5, Bethany 4 WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Junior third baseman Jordan Truscott's (Delmont, Pa./Greensburg Salem) two-out, walkoff single lifted Waynesburg to a 5-4 elimination-game victory over Bethany. Truscott's game-winning hit scored freshman shortstop Nathan Mori (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield), who walked earlier in the frame, from second. Junior second baseman Neal Yakopin (Washington, Pa./Trinity) finished two-for-four with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore Derrick Zavatsky (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) picked up the win in relief, tossing 2.1 innings of one-hit baseball. Junior catcher Luke Flaus (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour), junior right fielder Cory Myers (Verona, Pa./Plum) and freshman second baseman Adam Becker (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) each had two hits and a RBI for Bethany. GAME C (2) Thomas More vs. (1) W&J - Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park Thomas More 9, W&J 6 WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Key two-out scoring helped second-seeded Thomas More erase an early 6-0 deficit and claim a 9-6 victory over top-seeded W&J. With Friday's early afternoon win, the Saints advance to Saturday's title game. Sophomore Logan Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) picked up his team-leading seventh victory of the season (7-2). The right-hander settled down after spotting W&J a 6-0 lead after three and a half frames, allowing just one hit over his final three innings of work. Miller yielded six runs (6 earned) on 14 hits in 7.0 innings. Senior reliever Andy Roenker (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) posted his sixth save, going 2.0 innings and allowing just one hit and striking out a pair. Junior first baseman Craig Hyson (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) finished three-for-four with a home run, a double, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Senior third baseman Travis Miller (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) and junior catcher Brad Popham (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights) each chipped in with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore designated hitter Donovan Pogue (Sharonville, Ohio/St. Xavier) went three-for-four with two runs scored. Senior right-hander Bryan O'Neill (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep.) made the start for W&J, earning a no decision. O'Neill was touched up in the bottom of the fourth, surrendering a lead off solo home run to Hyson and a two-out RBI single to Popham, allowing the Saints to cut the lead to four, 6-2. The Saints began creating their two-out opportunities in the bottom of the fifth, striking for four runs in the frame to draw even with the Presidents at 6-6. Thomas More would add two more in the sixth and another in the seventh to close out the scoring. Freshman left fielder Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) went two-for-five with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs for the Presidents. Senior catcher Ronny Peirish (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) finished three-for-five with a run scored. GAME B (3) Waynesburg vs. (1) W&J - Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park W&J 14, Waynesburg 4 WASHINGTON, Pa. -- W&J junior designated hitter Kyle Smith's (Pickerington, Ohio/Central) two-run home run in the second saw the top-seeded Presidents grab a 2-0 lead and W&J's five-run fifth, keyed by a three-run home run off of the bat of senior centerfielder Josh Staniscia (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional), pushed the Presidents lead to 7-0. Freshman shortstop Nathan Mori (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) drove in the Jackets' first run of the game in the sixth before Waynesburg added three unearned runs in the seventh to pull to within three, 7-4, after seven full. Senior right-hander Eddie Nogay (Weirton, W. Va./Madonna) earned the win for the Presidents to improve to 6-1 this season and 28-2 for his career. Nogay went 8.0 innings (104 pitches, 67 strikes) and gave up one earned run on eight hits. He struck out three and did not issue a walk. Smith and Staniscia both drove in three in the win. Junior rightfielder Eric Crum (Catonsville, Md./Catonsville) went two-for-five with a pair of runs scored for the Jackets. GAME A (3) Bethany vs. (2) Thomas More - Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park Thomas More 14, Bethany 5 WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Tied 2-2 with third-seeded Bethany after two innings, second-seeded Thomas More plated seven runs in the bottom of the third en route to a 14-5 opening-round victory. Two-run base hits from senior third baseman Travis Miller (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) and senior shortstop Tyler Graber (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) keyed the Saints' five-hit, seven-run frame. Freshman Vic Newberry (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) secured the opening-game victory for the Saints, allowing four runs (3 earned) on six hits in 6.0 innings of work. Newberry evened his season record at 3-3 with Thursday's win. Miller led the Saints at the plate, finishing two-for-five with a home run, a double, four RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Senior second baseman Jason Handley (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) finished three-for-five with two RBIs and two runs scored. Freshman first baseman Chris Koegel (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon Area) and junior designated hitter Zac Edmiston (California, Pa./California) each totaled two hits, a RBI and a run scored for the Bison.