Gorloks Win Fourth Straight SLIAC Baseball Championship
HIGHLAND, Ill. - The 12th-ranked Webster University baseball
team won its fourth
straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Championship, defeating Spalding University, 3-1, on May 11 at Glik
Park in Highland, Ill. The Gorloks advance to the NCAA Division III
Tournament for the fourth straight year and the eighth time in
the last nine years. Steven Dooley threw a nine-innning
complete game for the win, and earned MVP honors for the
Tournament.
In 2012 the Gorloks won the NCAA DIII Millington Regional (TN) and
gained a berth in the World Series where they finished fith.
Webster, needing just one win in the SLIAC championship bracket for
a trip back, lost 4-3 to the Golden Eagles to start the day.
The Gorloks had defeated Spalding, 5-1, in a second round game the
previous day.
For the championship final, Dooley started the game on two days
rest, having started the 14-5 win for the Gorloks against Fontbonne
in the opener. Dooley literally sailed through the contest
that lasted only one hour and 49 minutes. He allowed three
hits and a run in the first inning and a third, then retired the
next 13 straight batters. Having thrown 109 pitches in the
game, and with closer Jason Gray warming up in the pen, Dooley took
the mound in the ninth and set the Golden Eagles down 1-2-3 for his
team-leading ninth win.
With Webser and Spalding tied at 1-1 in the third, the Gorloks
received a little help from the Golden Eagles to take the
lead. Taylor Stoulp singled and was at first with two outs
when
Mike Rainbolt lifted a wind-blown pop fly between the mound and
home plate. The ball was dropped by the Spalding pitcher
charging in off the mound, putting runners at first and
second. Alex Kazmierski followed with a double to score
Stoulp and Rainbolt and put Webster up, 3-1.
The Gorloks, with the aid of Dooley's stellar performance, held off
the Golden Eagles for the Championship. Rainbolt wound up two
for four with an RBI and a run scored. Stoulp was two for
four, with a run scored, and Kazmierski was one for four, with two
RBIs.
The Gorloks had captured the SLIAC regular season title, their
seventh straight, with a 20-1 record and are 32-9 overall on the
season. They will now wait to see what Regional they will land
in, and who its first round opponent will be. The NCAA will
release the tournament
field and brackets on Sunday, May 12, at 9;00 p.m.
Courtesy Webster University sports information
