Quincy Silences Eagles, 5-3, in First Round of NCAA Baseball Regional
May 18, 2006

Complete Box Score

For years, children have played the game asking which is the stronger element – rock, paper or scissors.

In the last several years, NCAA Division II baseball teams in the North Central region have had a debate along those same lines. Wood or aluminum?

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) teams use aluminum bats all season. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) teams use wood all year and then go to aluminum in the postseason. The debate rages every year. How do the teams scout each other and what’s the best way to go? Is the adjustment too hard for GLVC teams in the postseason?

Quincy pitcher Nick Dunning put all those arguments aside Thursday (May 18) in the first round of the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament as he led third-seeded Quincy to a 5-3 triumph over fourth-seeded Ashland in a first-round game at Grand Valley State.

Dunning was like a rock in going 8.2 innings for the win. He didn’t use scissors, but his right arm worked just fine to cut up the Eagles. On paper, maybe Dunning, now 8-5, didn’t look all that impressive. But NCAA Tournament games aren’t played on paper.

“You have to give him credit,” said AU head coach John Schaly. “He threw strikes and he was mixing his pitches.”

When the lineup cards were exchanged there may have been some onlookers who thought there was a mixup. Why weren’t the Hawks (40-18) going with righthander Brad Stone, the owner of a 10-2 record?

“Matchup-wise, we thought this was the best thing,” explained Quincy head coach Greg McVey. “We weren’t trying to look past anyone. We just thought Nick was the best matchup for Ashland.”

Dunning kept the Eagles (42-15) off balance until he began to run out of gas in the seventh inning. In the early innings, he was constantly ahead in the count. Over the first seven innings, Dunning allowed four hits. The Hawks turned a pair of double plays behind him and first baseman Travis Cooley made several fine plays on hard-hit grounders.

It didn’t hurt that the Hawks got the early lead and made the Eagles play from behind all afternoon. In the first, leadoff hitter Mark Taylor reached on an error by shortstop Jim Barry and after a sacrifice bunt, scored on a Chris Scoggins single to left.

Quincy made it 2-0 in the second inning when Terrence Whittler dropped a single into left field and later came home on a suicide squeeze bunt by third baseman Cole Koester. AU had another costly infield error in the frame that advanced Whittler to third base.

The Hawks’ lead moved to 3-0 in the fourth when Whittler slapped a single to right off of Josh Davidson (13-5) and with two outs, came home on an infield single by Andrew O’Donnell. O’Donnell’s hit went 25 feet up the third base line before settling down in the grass. No matter, in the boxscore it will look like a line drive to center.

Pecking away like sparrows, getting one run at a time, didn’t bother the Hawks at all.

“That’s how we’ve played all year,” reported McVey. “We believe we have good defense and pitching. We try to get an early lead.”

That strategy hasn’t always been successful against an AU team that’s shown a propensity for battling back. But against Quincy, the Eagles didn’t look like the same team that finished second in the GLIAC and had teams on edge even when they were behind. AU finished the game with eight hits and committed three errors. Schaly believes some of those numbers can be traced to rust. AU didn’t play at all last week when the GLIAC Tournament was lost to rain. Yesterday’s game was Ashland’s first since May 7.

“I think the layoff hurt offensively and defensively,” said the AU coach. “We had some chances and our guys didn’t quit, but I think it hurt us.”

Quincy upped the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Whittler’s triple to right that barely eluded rightfielder Bryan Thrasher on the warning track brought in Matt Nichols, who had singled. Whittler later scored on a wild pitch.

AU had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth, but Dunning struck out Barry and got second baseman Justin Randall, the GLIAC player of the year, to ground out to first base.

The Eagles finally scored in the ninth, pushing across three runs. Casey Jirsa opened the inning with a double to right field and Dunning walked a pair of batters. Throw in a Quincy error, and the Eagles were back in the game. McVey finally went to his bullpen after Dunning had thrown 133 pitches. He summoned Brad Shaeffer, who was greeted by a Barry single to bring the Eagles to within, 5-3. That also loaded the bases and brought Randall to the plate.

But that’s where the Eagles’ hopes died. The junior grounded into a fielder’s choice and Shaeffer had his eighth save.

Jirsa and left fielder David Waters had two hits each for the Eagles. Whittler was 3-for-4 for Quincy and O’Donnell was 2-for-4. The Hawks had nine hits off of Davidson and reliever Thom Abbott. Davidson went 7.1 innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on nine hits. He walked four and struck out two. Dunning gave up three runs, on earned, on seven hits. He had one walk and fanned five.

To stay alive in this double-elimination tournament, the Eagles must beat host Grand Valley State in Friday’s (May 19) 1 p.m. game. The top-seeded Lakers won Thursday’s opening game, 2-0 over sixth-seeded Rockhurst. In Thursday’s other game, SIU-Edwardsville, knocked off second-seeded Northern Kentucky, 2-0.

The tournament runs through Sunday. The North Central Regional champ will advance to the NCAA Championships in Montgomery, AL.