NCAA Division III Baseball Championships Web Site

Illinois Wesleyan 17, SUNY Cortland 5 - Box Score

GRAND CHUTE, Wis. - Only four days after the women's track team won the national outdoor title, the 2010 Illinois Wesleyan baseball team became the school's fifth national champion with a 17-5 win over SUNY Cortland on June 1 in Grand Chute, Wis.

Junior third baseman Jeff Grodecki was named the tournament “Most Outstanding Player” as he hit two home runs in the championship game. He was joined on the all-tournament team by senior first baseman Casey McIntosh, sophomore catcher Mark McDermott and junior pitcher Jason Pankau.

The Titans' season ends with a 31-21 record and the team won 11 of its last 12 and 17 of its last 21 games to close out the Cinderella championship season. With 21 losses, Illinois Wesleyan is the Division III champion with the most losses in a season. In 1976 (the first D-III championships), Cal St.-Stanislaus was the champion with a 33-20-2 record. In 20 of the 34 previous championship seasons, title teams have had fewer than 10 losses.

The 17 runs is the second most scored in a Division III title game - Marietta beat Otterbein 36-8 in 1983.

Pankau, the third team American Baseball Coaches Association All-American, improved to 11-2 as he started on three days rest. He tied a school record with his 11th win as he went 7 1/3 innings and allowed only one earned run on six hits while striking out nine, including six in a row. Nathan Knuffman went 11-1 in 1998.

Trailing 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, Grodecki, who had hit one home run prior to the College World Series, hit his first homer of the day off his photo on the scoreboard in deep left centerfield to put IWU on the board.

IWU put up three runs in the third, four in the fourth and nine in the fifth to put the game out of reach. In the bottom of the third, McDermott singled to left, Senior leftfielder Kraig Ladd reached on an error by the Red Dragons shortstop Shawn Bailey, mishandling a popup to short left. Senior second baseman Brett Moore walked on four pitches and senior designated hitter Mike Morrissey tied the score at 2-2 as he drove in McDermott with a ground ball to first baseman John Zilnicki. After a strikeout, sophomore rightfielder Kevin Sullivan delivered a two-run triple to put the Titans ahead, 4-2.

Illinois Wesleyan scored four more in the fourth, going ahead 8-2. Grodecki launched his second home run of the game, this one to straightaway centerfield, to lead off the fourth and chased Cortland starter Mike Assmann. Freshman shortstop Zach Scott was hit by a pitch, McDermott singled to left and Ladd laid down a perfect bunt that slipped between the first and second basemen and rolled into the outfield to allow Scott to score from second base.
Moore put the runners to second and third with a sacrifice before Morrissey's single to left collected McDermott to make the score 7-2. After a ground out, the bases filled up after Sullivan was hit in the helmet by a pitch from reliever Adam Brown, who then delivered a wild pitch that scored Ladd.

In the Titans' nine-run, eight-hit fifth, Grodecki led off with a single to left. With one out, McDermott bunted for a hit to put runners at first and second before Ladd one-hopped the left field wall for a double and scored Grodecki and McDermott to put IWU ahead, 10-2. Moore drew a walk from new Cortland pitcher Michael Mahay and Morrissey sacrificed the runners to second and third. McIntosh then cracked a home run over the left centerfield fence to give the Titans a 13-2 advantage. Sullivan singled up the middle and junior centerfielder Ryan Hopp walked before Grodecki got his second single of the inning to bring in Sullivan. Scott's double to deep rightcenter plated Hopp and Grodecki. McDermott doubled down the leftfield line and Scott scored. 

The Titan baseball team is the school's fifth national NCAA Division III team champion, joining the women's outdoor track teams of 2010 and 2008, the women's indoor track team of 2008 and the men's basketball team of 1997. IWU head coach Dennis Martel was an assistant on the 1997 men's basketball team.

Including baseball, 10 Illinois Wesleyan teams were involved in NCAA postseason competition in 2009-10: football and women's soccer advanced to the second round; men's basketball went to the final eight and women's basketball to the final 16; softball won three games in the regional; men's golf tied for 15th and women's golf placed 13th in their national tournaments; women's indoor track tied for fourth and the women's outdoor track team won the Division III championship last weekend. In addition, IWU has sent individuals to the NCAA championships in women's cross country, women's swimming and men's swimming.