Wooster wins opener, but eliminated from NCAC baseball tournament
brian questel
May 3, 2011
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050911 Scot BB
Promo: Scot baseball teams bows out of North Coast tournament
Wooster wins opener, but eliminated from NCAC baseball tournament
By Brian Questel
It wasnt what Tim Pettorini envisioned.
First the incredible comeback from a 10-1 deficit to stun Wittenberg and emerge with a 17-13 victory over Wittenberg in the opening game of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament. Then it was a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to eventual champion Wabash for the NCAC automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. And then elimination with a 10-2 setback to Ohio Wesleyan.
That definitely wasnt what Pettorini envisioned from the top-seeded Scots, even in a wild NCAC spring. From the high hopes in mid-March, the Scots postseason hopes have been reduced to a glimmer. Wooster has five more games to make an impression on the NCAA selection committee, but it will take those five must-win games and luck for the 20-15 Scots to make an impression on the selectors.
Young or not, this wasnt what anyone associated with the Black and Old Gold envisioned when the 2011 campaign began.
Weve been in lots of tournaments and the second game is the key, said Pettorini, who is in his 30th campaign at Wooster. We didnt get it done in the second game and thats the bottom line. We had lots of opportunities. I dont know how many we left on base, but it was plenty (14). When we needed to play defense at the end of the game, they scored runs.
We didnt get it done. We have no one to blame but ourselves. It is what it is.
Wooster took a combination of veteran pitching and youth into the campaign and, ultimately, never found its sea legs. In part, the regions waterlogged spring has had an impact on every team, young or old, as did the timing of the NCAC tournament, which is two weeks before other conference tournaments.
Its not an excuse, but it was a factor, said Pettorini of the weather. Its something you cant control, but with a young club, there is no substitute for being able to practice and that hurt us this year. We didnt get as much time in the fall – we had a week less than in the past.
Last year we had a crazy long period of time we couldnt play – we had 19 days off (after earning its NCAA bid). This year we scheduled more games between the conference tournament and (the NCAA) regionals – we still have five games to play. We had to start practices in January earlier and we took one week less in the fall because were only allowed 19 weeks.
In hindsight, we probably could have used the extra time in the fall to practice and get better, he added. Maybe more key things would have showed up. We werent as good defensively all year long and its disappointing we didnt get better. We hit them a lot of groundballs, but its one thing to hit them on the gym floor because there are no bad bounces in the gym. Its different when youre outside and the wind is blowing, and (senior Derek) Wymans injury hurt us. He started at second base and he got hurt in our third or fourth game and was out for 20 games with a hamstring. We really scuffled while he was out and that has a way of snowballing.
Wooster was ranked seventh in the region heading into the NCAC tournament. From a realistic standpoint, Pettorini knows his teams chances of advancing are slim, but he isnt throwing in the towel.
A few years ago, Marietta sent its team home and they ended up making (the NCAA regionals). They had to call their team back and they came back and won the national championship, said Pettorini. We have five games left we have some younger guys we need to see and were going to play some of them and get them some at-bats. But, we have older guys who have paid their dues and done a lot for us over the past four years and were going to reward them by letting them continue to play.
Plus, we have some injuries. (Shortstop Greg) Van Horn is in a walking boot and I dont k now if he will play. He rolled his ankle in infield practice and played both games Friday (in the NCAC tournament). Its a mess – its really sore and really swollen. And, Ed Reese is another in a walking boot, so we have some injury concerns we have to deal with.
While the season hasnt gone as Pettorini would have hoped, he remains positive about his teams future.
I really like this group. Im disappointed in a sense because I thought we didnt get to the point where we were getting better, he said. I think team does have lot potential. We have some kids on the team that have chance be really good players. You always want the timetable to be sped up with younger guys. We want to get to where they are not playing like young guys and playing with more experience, and that doesnt always happen. A couple years from now well see really good players.
Its always frustrating when you dont get the results you want, but its a good group. The young guys have a lot of enthusiasm and thats fun. I wish wed had a few more wins along the way and it would have been more fun, but overall its a good group. Theyve done everything weve asked.
Wooster had games slated this week at John Carroll (May 3) and then home doubleheaders against Heidelberg (May 4) and Ohio Wesleyan (May 7). The regional tournament will be played May 18-22 in Marietta.
