May 21, 2008

Pioneers Open Play At NCCAA National Tournament With 7-5 Victory Over Oakland City

 
Malone junior catcher Jon Lutton (Louisville H.S.) clubbed a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday evening to lead the Pioneer baseball team to a come-from-behind 7-5 win over Oakland City (IN) University on day one of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament at Bob Cene Park in Struthers, Ohio.  Senior centerfielder Troy Richeson (Minerva H.S.) tied the game at 5-5 with a solo blast in the bottom of the fourth and Lutton put Malone ahead in the sixth with a clutch two-run drive over the outfield wall.  The win vaulted top-seeded Malone into a day two tournament match-up with fifth-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University, who advanced to the winner’s bracket after defeating fourth seed Bluefield (VA) College on Wednesday afternoon by a final score of 4-3.  The Pioneers’ triumph on Wednesday improved Malone’s overall record to 40-14 on the year which ties the 2006 squad’s single-season record of 40 victories (The Pioneers won the NCCAA National Title in 2006 with a final record of 40-20).
 
Eighth-seeded Oakland City (11-28 overall), who had moved on to face Malone after defeating ninth-seeded Cedarville University 9-7 in an earlier contest on Wednesday, scored three times in the top of the second inning and once in the top of the third to take a 4-1 advantage.  Malone answered back in the bottom of the third, however, as the squad scored three times to knot the contest at 4-4.  The Mighty Oaks reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth with a two-out, RBI double before Richeson pulled the contest back to even with his solo home run in the bottom of the frame.  Lutton then stepped to the plate with one out and one runner on base in the bottom of the sixth and ripped his first home run of the season to put Malone ahead for good at 7-5.  Freshman Bryan Bayer (Fairless H.S.) entered the game in the top of the fifth and tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn his sixth win of the season (6-1).  Junior Sam Campitella (Jackson H.S.) started the game for the Pioneers and worked the first four innings, giving up five runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking two.  Malone posted ten hits in the contest as Richeson led the way from the leadoff spot, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored.  Junior shortstop Scott McIlvain (Marlington H.S.) also made significant contributions with two hits in four at-bats.
 
Malone will look to pick up its 41st win of 2008 on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. when it takes on Indiana Wesleyan.  The winner of Thursday’s contest will play in another winner’s bracket game on Friday while the loser will participate in an elimination game on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
 
Pioneer Notes: In addition to threatening the record for most wins in a season, Malone is approaching several other marks in the Pioneer baseball record book.  Team records that are in jeopardy include hits in a season (the squad needs just eight more hits to tie the 2006 record of 553), doubles in a season (Malone needs three more doubles to tie the 2006 record of 88), and batting average (the Pioneers are currently batting .349 which would smash the 2001 record of .332).  Individual records that are currently being threatened include doubles in a season (Chris Mandeville needs one more double to break Bob Dubovec’s mark of 19), hits in a career (Troy Richeson is just five base hits shy of tying Rob Roberts’ career record of 206 hits), and triples in a career (Richeson needs two more triples to match Steve Buso’s mark of 13 career triples).
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