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the final out here
FLORENCE, S.C. – Senior righty Martin Dewald
(Mannheim, Germany) said in a post-game press conference
that he doesn't like giving up the ball and it showed Sunday
afternoon, as No. 3-seed and No. 9-ranked Georgia College &
State University (39-15) blanked No. 1-seed and No. 6-ranked
Francis Marion University (40-14) 9-0 in the championship game of
the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament. The Bobcats will advance to
the World Series Saturday, May 22 in Cary, N.C.
“The guys played great baseball for four days, good team
baseball,” said head coach Tom Carty in just
his third season as Bobcat skipper. “We knew we were capable
of this back in August, and we just kept working toward getting at
this level. Having a chance to get to the World Series has been a
goal, and now we have the opportunity to win a National
Championship.”
Region Tournament Most Valuable Player Dewald couldn't have
picked a better time for his third shutout of the year, scattering
six hits, not walking a single batter and fanning eight.
“I wanted the ball today, that's why I wanted to pitch in
the first game so I could go again on Sunday,” said Dewald of
the two complete games in the regional. “I want to go for as
long as I can every time out there. I don't like giving the ball
away.”
Catcher Richard Pirkle
(Norcross, Ga.) ripped two home runs on the day, including
a big grand slam to put the game out of reach 7-0. Georgia College
had plated one run each in the second, third and fourth innings,
and Pirkle put up a four-run big blast on the first pitch he saw in
the fifth.
“The reliever had given (Shawn) Ward three straight
sliders, so I was looking breaking pitch up there,” said
Pirkle of the grand slam. “To be honest I didn't know where
it went after I hit it, I just heard the roar from everybody and
saw the leftfielder going back to the fence.”
Pirkle added a solo shot in the seventh to cap the scoring,
finishing 2-for-4 with five RBI and two runs. Joining Pirkle on the
all-tournament team was second baseman Jason Veyna (Lamar,
Colo.) with a 2-for-4 effort and a run, while rightfielder
and all-tourney selection Shawn Ward (Martinez,
Ga.) hit 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Centerfielder Sean Harrell
(Martinez, Ga.) added a 2-for-5 effort, scoring once, with
a double. Leftfielder Kyle Allen (Conyers,
Ga.) managed three runs scored without the benefit of a
hit.
Joining Veyna, Ward, Pirkle and Dewald on the all-tournament
team was shortstop Chandler Snell
(Loganville, Ga.). Snell provided numerous highlight-reel
defensive plays at short over the four days.
The Bobcats will advance to the Division II World Series for the
first time since 1995, and take on national No. 1 UC-San Diego
Saturday at 5 p.m., but for now, Carty's 'Cats can celebrate the
second Region Championship in school history.
The GCSU Department of Athletics, winners of the 2008-09 PBC
Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the
NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Georgia College
prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete,
evidenced by the Bobcats' multiple appearances in post-season
competition as well as documented academic success and
community-service involvement. Sign up at Twitter.com
username GCSUSID for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit
www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and
Colonials to the GCSU Athletics Hall of
Fame.
