Ben Hines' homer helps Wooster survive another day in NCAA Regional play

ALTON — Senior right fielder Ben Hines tattooed a first-pitch fastball from fifth-ranked Webster University relief ace Ben Kowalski for a two-run walk-off home run, and The College of Wooster baseball team advanced to Monday’s Alton Regional championship round with a 4-3 win over the Gorloks on Sunday evening at Lloyd Hopkins Field.

Wooster’s seniors from the 2019 Wooster Regional championship team had the Fighting Scots’ fate in their hands in the bottom of the ninth inning. Senior catcher Michael Thomas took a Kowalski pitch off the helmet for his 20th hit-by-pitch of the season. Kowalski rebounded to get senior center fielder Ben Gbur to pop out on the infield. Then, Hines guessed correctly on Webster’s right-hander’s first pitch and sent a no-doubt-about-it walk-off well over the left field wall.

The Scots bullpen worked its magic and was unhittable down the stretch, keeping the game well within reach. Junior left-hander Ryan Sullivan jammed Webster first baseman Parker Wielt on a 1-2 pitch in the fifth inning, and the popup found its way into the waiting glove of first-year third baseman Nick Pett in foul territory. That was the second of 14 straight batters retired by Sullivan and junior Ethan Samangy, as the Gorloks went down in order in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.

Earlier, Wooster’s defense picked up sophomore starter Corey Knauf several times, and it was the Scots’ glovework that kept the game scoreless until the fifth inning. In the first inning, senior shortstop Tyler Chumita started a 6-4-3 double play that enabled Knauf to work around back-to-back walks that started the frame. An inning later, sophomore second baseman Eli Westrick alertly tagged his counterpart A.J. Smith on a slow grounder to the right side as part of the Scots’ second double play of the night. Chumita’s diving catch well beyond his shortstop position was the web gem of the third inning, and in the fourth the Scots senior started an inning-ending two-for-one special for Wooster’s third double play of the night.

Webster third baseman Ben Swords broke the scoreless tie in the fifth inning by depositing a two-run double into the alley in right field, and designated hitter Evan Evola upped the lead to 3-0 on an RBI ground out later in the inning. Prior to the runs, catcher Zach Goodman started the fifth with a walk, then moved up 90 feet when center fielder Adam Lovell smashed a single through the left side.

Wooster (32-15) started to chip away in the sixth inning. Hines replaced Gburon the bases on a fielder’s choice. Next, Hines swiped second base for his 30th stolen base of the season, the program’s top total since W Association Hall of Famer Matt Miller logged 30 in 2004. Then, Chumita roped a single up the middle that cut Wooster’s deficit to 3-1.

In the seventh inning, a non-catch foul ball call negated Wooster’s sacrifice fly. Webster’s Wielt made a catch near the fence in foul territory that Pett tagged up and scored on. However, the ruling on the play was that Wielt did not complete to process of the catch versus dropping the ball on the transfer, thus scratching out Pett’s tag up. Wooster did get the run across on Hines’ fielder’s choice, thanks to senior left fielder Dominic Stilliana, who eluded the tag of Swords on his way to third base. Kowalski hung in and struck out Chumita with the bases loaded to protect a 3-2 lead.

Kowalski kept it a 3-2 game in the eighth inning by getting the lead runner at home plate on a squeeze bunt attempt by the Scots.

Samangy improved to 3-0 with three innings of nine-up, nine-down baseball. Sullivan went two innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Knauf allowed just one run on two hits in his four-plus innings of work, and the aforementioned double plays helped the right-hander navigate around six free passes.

Carter Hunt kept Wooster in check for 5⅔ innings, allowing one run on two hits and five strikeouts. Kowalski finished the game with three runs on four hits in 2⅔ innings.

Junior first baseman Dane Camphausen was the lone player on either side with multiple hits in the elimination game.

Of note, Wooster is in the championship round of the regional for the third straight time the Scots have made the tournament. Wooster won the 2018 Mideast Regional and advanced to the NCAA Div. III “World Series” that year, in what was the final season of eight-team regionals. Wooster won the four-team 2019 Wooster Regional, coming all the way back after dropping the opener, a feat this year’s team will be aiming to replicate on Monday.

Wooster 19, Crown College 3 

Earlier in the day Sunday, The College of Wooster baseball team belted eight home runs, as the Fighting Scots lived to play another game with a 19-3 rout of Crown College (Minnesota). 

Wooster (31-15) senior center fielder Ben Gbur set the tone, hammering the second pitch of the game from Crown (30-15) ace Eric Newman out to left field for his team-leading 11th round-tripper of the year. However, the power surge really started in the sixth inning, with Wooster drilling six of its dingers from that inning on. 

A back-to-back spot headlined Wooster’s six-run sixth inning, during which the Scots opened an 8-1 lead. Impressively, all six runs scored with two outs, including three on senior catcher Michael Thomas’ first home run of the afternoon. Gbur followed suit with his second longball of the game. Prior to the home runs, sophomore second baseman Eli Westrick reached on an infield single and later scored on a wild pitch, then senior left fielder Dominic Stilliana plated junior first baseman Dane Camphausen on a single to left center. 

Westrick went opposite field for his second home run of the regional in the seventh inning, then the flood gates were opened. Camphausen blasted a solo home run next, then junior designated hitter Dean Brown capped a remarkable back-to-back-to-back home run stretch, with his solo shot upping the lead to 11-3. Next, first-year third baseman Nick Pett and Stilliana drew back-to-back walks, then Thomas mashed his second three-run homer of the game, which capped the Scots’ second straight six-run inning. 

In the eighth inning, senior right fielder Ben Hines drilled Wooster’s eighth home run of the day, with that total tied for the third-most in single-game program history. The two-run blast capped a five-spot, as Wooster’s lead ballooned to 19-3. 

Wooster matched its single-game NCAA postseason record with 21 runs, thanks to two more in the ninth. Sophomore first baseman Bryn Langley and sophomore pitcher Grant Mitchell laced back-to-back singles, then Pett had an RBI base knock. Run 21 of the day came in via an error. 

Junior Owen Barnard’s signature outing sparked Wooster, as the right-hander held Crown’s potent offense to a run on four hits in five innings of work. Barnard, who improved to 2-0 struck out four. Brown, Mitchell, and senior right-hander Alex Gasper each worked a scoreless inning of relief. 

Newman struck out 10 in his 6⅓ innings of work, but Wooster got to the Crown ace for nine runs on 10 hits. The Polars’ bullpen imploded once Newman excited, as Wooster tagged that group for 12 runs in 2⅔ innings. 

Gbur and Thomas combined to go 5-for-8 with eight RBI and four home runs. The duo matched the program’s single-game home run record for NCAA postseason play and their two-homer games marked the first by a Scot in NCAA play since Sean Karpen went deep twice against Carthage College at the 2009 Div. III “World Series.” Thomas’ six RBI tied Matt Jackson’s single-game program record for NCAA play, and Jackson’s six-RBI game came at the 1997 Div. III “World Series.” 

With his four runs scored, Gbur now has 75 on the year, the fourth-most in single-season program history. The four-year star is now three hits shy of joining Karpen (2009), Trevor Urban (1997), and Michael Wielansky (2018) with 75 hits and 75 runs in a single season. 

Other key Scots in the win included Pett and Stilliana, who combined to go 5-for-8 with six runs scored and four RBI out of the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup. 

Seth Betts went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to lead Crown.  

Wooster previously scored 21 runs in a NCAA postseason game against the University of Rochester in 2019. Wooster’s old high for NCAA postseason home runs was four against North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan University in 1987. 

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: College of Wooster beats Webster behind Hines' homer