ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - The Apprentice School opened play in the
2007 United States Collegiate Athletic Association National
Baseball Championship with a pair of wins in pool play on Monday at
Progress Energy Park.
By defeating Florida College 7-5 and Penn State-Beaver 4-3, the
Builders won its pool and will play one game on Tuesday at 2 pm as
the double-elimination round begins. They will face the winner of
the 9 am game on Tuesday morning with those teams to be determined
after pool play concludes on Monday night.
"Two solid performances today allowed us to be in a
good spot in the bracket for championship play tomorrow," said
Apprentice School Head Coach Bryan Cave. "We didn't play the best
defense in the opener, but got outstanding pitching in both games
to get us two wins."
Apprentice School 7, Florida College 5
In the opener, the Builders jumped on board scoring three runs in
the first inning on run producing singles from Kyle Center, Cato
Dixon and a sacrifice fly from Ryan Scott. Apprentice School pushed
two more across in the bottom of the second to take a 5-0 lead
after two.
The host Falcons scored a run in the third on a double from Eric
Williams and two more in the fourth on a Brent Wilson single and a
sacrifice fly from Mike Stinson to cut the lead to 5-3.
Apprentice School scored a run in the fourth on a Bryce Beale
groundout and one in the fifth on a wild pitch to take a 7-3
advantage. Florida made it interesting in the seventh scoring two
runs and Scott came in to earn his fourth save of the year striking
out two and leaving the bases loaded with a fly ball to end the
game.
Matt Marshall was 3-for-3 and tied a school record with three
doubles to lead a 10-hit Builder attack. Junior Joe Tugwell raised
his record to 8-0 throwing six innings and allowing eight hits
while striking out eight.
Apprentice School 4, Penn State-Beaver 3
In the first-ever meeting between these schools, the Builders
scored a run in the first as Bryce Beale singled and advanced to
third on a Ryan Scott double. A ground out from Jonathan Dehoux
plated Beale for a 1-0 Apprentice School lead.
The Builders pushed two more across in their half of the third
inning as Beale singled in Eric Polk who started the inning with a
single and Scott had a sacrifice fly to score James Denny who also
singled for a 3-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions followed with a run in their half of the
fourth on a Drew Rodenbaugh double that scored Ian Thomson who
started the inning with a triple. They added two more in the sixth
on a Jimmy Howell single to score Thomson and a RBI groundout from
Ryan Raraigh.
In the seventh inning the Builders scored a run without a hit.
Polk started with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt
from Denny. After a fly out which advanced Polk to third, Scott was
intentionally walked. A wild pitch plated Polk with the eventual
winning run.
Scott came in with one on in the seventh and slammed the door
earning his school record tying fifth save. Beale was 2-for-4 with
a RBI to lead the Apprentice hitting attack as Mike Nelson took the
win pitching 1.1 innings allowing two hits and striking out one.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL 7, FLORIDA COLLEGE 5
Florida College 001 202 0 - 5 8 5
Apprentice School 320 110 x - 7 11 3
WP: Tugwell (8-0); LP: Osteen; S: R. Scott (4). Standouts:
Florida, Wilson 2-4 (RBI, double); Apprentice, Denny 2-4 (3 runs,
double); Marshall 3-3 (3 doubles), R. Scott 1-2 (2RBIs). Records:
Apprentice 26-15; Florida College 18-30
APPRENTICE SCHOOL 4, PENN STATE-BEAVER 3
Apprentice 102 000 1 - 4 7 0
PS-Beaver 000 102 0 - 3 11 1
WP: Nelson (3-0); LP: Parasida; S: R. Scott (5). Standouts:
Apprentice, Beale 2-4; PS-Beaver, Ringel 3-4, Thomson 2-4 (2 runs,
triple); Rodenbaugh 2-3. Records: Apprentice 27-15; PS-Beaver
36-16.
2007 USCAA TOURNAMENT
Progress Energy Park; St. Petersburg, FLA
MONDAY'S RESULTS
Florida College 12, Penn State-Beaver 2
Apprentice School 7, Florida College 5
Apprentice School 4, Penn State-Beaver 3
Columbia Union 5, Briarcliffe 3
Presentation 2, Briarcliffe 1
Presentation 14, Columbia Union 11
TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE
Game 1: Penn State-Beaver vs. Columbia Union, 9 am
Game 2: Briarcliffe vs. Florida College, 11:30 am
Game 3: Apprentice vs. Game 1 winner, 2 pm
Game 4: Presentation vs. Game 2 winner, 4:30 pm
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4, 9 am
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, 11:30 am
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 2 pm
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4:30 pm
THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE
Game 9: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 10, 9 am
Game 10: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 7, 12:30 pm
Game 11: If necessary, 4:30 pm
