May 24, 2003

Box Score

MANTEO, N.C. - Senior outfielder Bruce Baldwin's (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Flanagan) RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning gave George Mason University a 13-12 victory over UNC Wilmington and advanced the Patriots to the title game of the OBX/CAA Baseball Championship Saturday night at Coy Tillett Field.

GMU (31-19), which will be making its first trip to the tournament championship game since 1993, will face top-seeded VCU (44-11) at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Patriots, who defeated William & Mary 14-8 earlier on Saturday, will need two wins over the Rams to claim the crown.

In the 11th, sophomore Matt Cooksey's (Bowie, Md./St. John's) hard grounder went through the legs of Seahawks' first baseman Matt Wright with one out. An intentional walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, setting the stage for Baldwin's line drive that found the gap in right-center, plating Cooksey with the winning run. Baldwin finished the game 5-for-7, tying the Patriots' record for hits in a game. GMU improved to 3-0 this season in extra innings, with all three victories coming in 11 innings.

The Seahawks (38-21) forced extra innings with a dramatic four-run rally in the ninth. Junior Chip Grawey (Vienna, Va./Paul VI) opened the frame with a single and senior Matt Wright (Fletcher, N.C./T.C. Roberson) followed with his eighth homer of the season to make it 10-8. After a walk and an infield single, senior Jason Schindler (Grapevine, Tex./Grapevine) cut the gap to one with an RBI single. Pinch runner John Raynor (Benson, N.C./South Johnston) tied the game at 10-10 by scoring from third on Mitch Williams' (Autryville, N.C./Midway) ground out to first.

UNCW took a 12-10 lead in the top of the 10th on a two-run homer from senior outfielder Jamie Hemingway (Summerfield, N.C./N.W. Guilford), but the Patriots responded with three consecutive hits to start the bottom of the 10th, including an RBI double from sophomore first baseman Chris Looze (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) that cut the margin to 12-11. The Patriots loaded the bases with no outs, but UNCW reliever Matt Carter (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mt. Tabor) was able to work out of the jam only allowing Baldwin's game-tying run on a double play.

UNCW jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Grawey led off the game with a single, advanced to second on a walk and then raced around to score from second on a ground out. GMU answered with four runs in the bottom of the first, getting three of them on Looze's 15th home run of the season. Sophomore Adam Innerst (York, Pa./York Suburban) accounted for the other run after walking and later scoring on a UNCW error.

The Seahawks cut the gap to 4-2 in the second as Grawey's sacrifice fly plated Russ Simmerman (Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover), and then took the lead with a three-run fourth. Schindler opened the frame with his third home run of the year. Freshman Jon Davis (Snow Hill, N.C./Greene Central) followed with a bunt single, stole second and came around to tie the contest after a pair of ground outs. A solo homer by third baseman Brad Denson (Rockingham, N.C./Richmond Co.) gave UNCW a 5-4 edge.

The Patriots regained the lead with a six-run fifth. GMU scored its first three runs without a hit, taking advantage of an error, a walk, a hit batsman, two wild pitches and a passed ball. After back-to-back singles from Jimmy Freund (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) and Cooksey, junior shortstop Jeff Palumbo (Bowie, Md./St. John's) made it 10-5 with his fifth home run of the season and third of the tournament. UNCW picked up a run in the sixth when Denson singled and scored on a throwing error following Grawey's double.

Palumbo finished 3-for-6 at the plate and tied the CAA Tournament record with 11 RBI for GMU, while Looze was 2-for-4 with four runs driven in. Grawey was 4-for-5 with three runs scored to pace UNCW, while Schindler was 3-for-6 with a pair of RBI.

Sophomore Stacen Gant (Herndon, Va./Oakton) (3-0) picked up the win after giving up a pair of runs over the final three innings.

UNCW      110 301 004 20 - 12 16 3
GMU       400 060 000 21 - 13 15 1

Sutton, Overton (2), Cross (5), Mullis (10), Carter (10) and Eichhorn, Murphy (6). Hardman, Sterling (5), Gant (9) and Prosise, Jacobsen (11). WP - Gant (3-0). LP - Carter (3-1).