When Linfield shortstop Corey VanDomelen gathered in a slow roller and fired to first baseman Clayton Truex for the final out of the 2013 NCAA Division III National Championship game, the Wildcats had accomplished much more than the program’s first national title since 1971. For head coach Scott Brosius, it was far from the first ring of his storied baseball career. The ex-Major Leaguer claimed that the one he nabbed last Tuesday is right up there with the three he collected as a member of the New York Yankees.
The road was not an easy one for the players, and by the final game, the lineup was not at 100 percent physically. Just ask third baseman Jordan Harlow, who had developed flu-like symptoms the night before or Kyle Chamberlain, who had caught every game of the tournament and had pulled a quad the day before. Ask junior first-team All-American Jake Wylie, who rolled his ankle and sported a Kirk Gibson-like limp when he ran the bases. Ask senior Michael Hopp, who was the proud owner of nine stitches above his left eye after fouling a bunt into his face in game one of the tournament.
When a championship is on the line, however, there is no time to dwell on injuries or second-guess one’s ability to perform. Considering the caliber of the team the 2013 Wildcats is, it came as no surprise that when the lineup was announced right before first pitch, it was the banged up but indescribably persistent group that took the field.
Linfield was slated to take on Southern Maine, which was playing its second game of the day after defeating Ithaca in a 13 inning marathon that determined who would face Linfield for the ultimate title. While the Wildcats were counting on some clutch performances from their hardly well-rested lineup, another gutsy move took place on the other side. Andrew Richards threw 12 innings in relief in the Huskies’ first game of the day, and in an unlikely and shocking move, the sophomore right-hander started the game against Linfield and threw an additional 3 1/3 innings.
Southern Maine took the early lead off of Linfield by jumping on Division III Pitcher of the Year Chris Haddeland for one run in the first inning. Richards shut down Linfield’s offense through the first three frames, until the ‘Cats got down to business in the fourth. Truex put together the at-bat of the game and lined a 3-2 pitch to center for the Wildcats’ first run. Chamberlain followed with a textbook suicide squeeze bunt, Hopp took a pitch in the shoulder to drive in another, and when all was said and done, Linfield had all it would need in a 4-1 advantage.
The Wildcats flew back to McMinnville the next day, arriving just before 1 a.m. As the team bus turned the corner of Lever Street on its way to the baseball field, 100 or so Linfield students and faculty burst into wild applause and greeted the weary yet jubilant players and coaches one by one as they filed out.
Hopp, Chamberlain, Harlow and Tim Wilson all graduated on Sunday as the group finished its Linfield career in the best way imaginable. While the ‘Cats lose a special group of seniors who embody perseverance, determination and everything it means to be a champion, the players who remain have Linfield focused on another championship run in 2014. All three starting pitchers return and Linfield’s trio of productive outfielders will continue to make their presence known in the middle of the order. The 2013 title means the world to the team, and it is just the beginning of a string of sustained success for years to come.
Evan O'Kelly is on Twitter. Follow him at @evo5giants
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