Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260082
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The NCAA Division III baseball College World Series was in town and pilgrims from such diverse addresses as New Jersey, California, Ohio and Wisconsin had filed into Salem Municipal Field.
Many of the strangers in town were not difficult to spot. They were the ones glowing like overworked nuclear reactors after prolonged exposure to Southwest Virginia sunshine and high humidity during Thursday's four games.
``It always this hot around here?'' one of the followers of defending Series champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh wanted to know.
When informed that Thursday's high temperature of 94 degrees was indeed rather warm by local standards, the gentleman said, ``We haven't had a day like this in northern Wisconsin in 20 years.''
Carthage and Oshkosh, the contestants in the game that was played in the hottest part of the day, are Wisconsin schools. Wisconsin-Oshkosh won 7-2 in 2 hours, 25 minutes. The snappy pace may have saved at least three of the Oshkosh followers from being baked within an inch of their lives in the concrete bleachers on the first-base side.
Jamie Hasse, Brent Pattridge and Tim Wendler all are1995 graduates. The three spectators also were pushing the envelope of gratuitous solar exposure.
``I majored in criminal justice, but I wish I were a nurse,'' Wendler said. ``That way, I could treat some of these burns.''
It wasn't as though they hadn't been warned. Don Garvey, a Titans assistant coach, had toiled on the payroll of the Salem Buccaneers a while back. He provided an advance report on the Salem climate.
Carthage coach Augie Schmidt could have done the same for his troops.
``The first pro game I ever played was right here,'' he said. ``I was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in June and was told to meet [their former Carolina League affiliate] Kinston, my new team, here.
``I'm having some real flashbacks. I drove all the way from Kenosha, Wis., then just like we did this time. I had a pretty good series. I thought I was on my way.''
Schmidt was the second player chosen in the 1982 draft and was picked ahead of Jose Canseco, Jimmy Key and Dwight Gooden, among others. And although he thought he was on his way in that series in Salem long ago, it didn't quite work out.
By contrast, Owen Wright, the coach of Series contestant LaVerne (Calif.), pretty much had things work out just as he'd hoped. Wright, a 33-year veteran of college coaching, is from the Harrisonburg area and attended Bridgewater College.
``I kept telling these guys [the players], just take me back home to old Virginny,'' he said.
Wright and LaVerne will be staying at least two games longer after whacking William Paterson (N.J.) 8-3 in their opener.
For those inclined toward such practices, the victory might have prompted an urge to pop the top on a cold brew, but there was none to be had at this ballpark.
Because of NCAA law, all the beer taps in the concession stands were discreetly covered with plastic cups and all references to beer were removed from the premises, right down to the sign on the concession stand window that usually reads ``beer only.'' That was covered with tape and paper.
The Lite sign atop the scoreboard had been obscured by a ``Welcome to Salem, Virginia'' banner and the beer signs on the outfield fence had been covered. Even the huge Marlboro man cowboy that stands astride the left center field wall, had been taken down and packed away.
The Marlboro man won't be moved to the new Salem Memorial Stadium.
``But we're going to put it back up here for the last seven games,'' said Dennis Robarge, the assistant general manager of the Salem Avalanche.
Crowds were bigger than expected, and 17 professional scouts made themselves comfortable with their array of stopwatches, radar guns and notebooks.
Scouts see games in all conditions, so they have to be tough. As for everybody else, sympathy went out to the Northerners who were getting their first real taste of summer weather.
Stan Macko, the Avalanche groundskeeper, said Cortland State representatives might have trouble with the hot weather. He ought to know. He's an alumnus of the New York school.
``They come from a league of doubleheaders,'' he said. ``Always you were hearing, `Game canceled and will be made up today as part of a doubleheader.'''
Not that Macko was much of an authority on the twinbills themselves.
``I went to only one game when I was in college,'' he said.
In Thursday's games:
Methodist (N.C.) 7, Eastern Connecticut State 4: The Monarchs (33-17-1) opened a seven-run lead and coasted to the opening round victory behind Bryan Steinhagen's ninth home run and the complete-game pitching of Brian Ford. Ford struck out 11 and walked two while scattering 12 hits. Eastern Connecticut (28-11) outhit Methodist 12-6, but left 10 on base.
The Monarchs advanced to a winners' bracket game against Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which beat Carthage 7-2, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Eastern Connecticut will play Carthage at 3:30 p.m. today.
Methodist coach Tom Austin showed that he has the hang of coaching in Municipal Field already. Asked if hr felt secure with a 7-0 lead, he said, ``Not at all.''
Methodist scored five runs in the fourth inning, three of them unearned. Third baseman Neil Barwick, a freshman, had a two-run single during the frame and finished 3-for-4.
The Monarchs had runs batted in from six different players. Mike Kopczuk drove in a pair for Eastern Connecticut.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh 7, Carthage (Wis.) 2: Jarrod Washburn and Kevin Mlodik combined on a three-hitter, Tim Jorgensen and Craig Lieder swatted home runs and the Titans beat the Redmen for the fourth consecutive year in either the College World Series or the Central Region playoffs.
The score was tied 2-2 going into the fourth inning, but the Titans went on to score five unanswered runs to win going away.
``Our whole philosophy is to wear the other team down,'' Titans coach Tom Lechnir said.
Jorgensen crushed his 38th home run, an opposite field two run shot in the first inning. Jorgensen has 198 total bases, a Division III record.
The Titans won their 24th straight overall and 37th in a row against D-III competition.
La Verne (Calif.) 8, William Paterson (N.J.) 3: Playing in the Series for the first time since 1984, the Leopards mauled the Pioneers. First baseman Jeff Polinsky had four hits, including a home run, and three RBI.
``I didn't want to come in here from the West Coast and have people say, "Where did they come from?''' Leopards coach Owen Wright said.
``Our game plan was not to let him hurt us and he killed us,'' Paterson coach Jeff Albies said.
The Pioneers couldn't do much with third baseman Jeff Polinsky (five RBI) or pitcher Jeff Doen, either. Doen scattered seven hits for the complete game victory.
LaVerne plays Marietta (Ohio), which beat Cortland State (N.Y.) in a winners' bracket game at 7 p.m. Saturday. Paterson takes on Cortland at 7 p.m. today.
Marietta (Ohio) 11, Cortland State (N.Y.) 10: Jason Gandee's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth pushed the Pioneers past the Red Dragons in a game that featured 29 hits, 10 walks, two men hit by pitches, a wild pitch, a passed ball and five errors.
by CNB