DUBOIS, Pa.--For the second time in as many days, the Adrian College club baseball team blanked New Hampshire at the 2018 National Club Baseball Association World Series at Showers Field. But Adrian's 4-0 victory on Sunday morning meant a little more because the Bulldogs captured the NCBA Division III championship in their first year of existence.
"We arrived here in Dubois not really knowing anything about our competition," says Adrian coach Brent Greenwood '14, "but I am ecstatic that we won a national title. I am very proud of the guys who deserve all the credit."
Freshman Spencer Furlich and senior Scott Suminski combined on a three-hitter. Furlich got the win after pitching 4-1/3 innings with two strikeouts. Suminksi threw the final 2-2/3 frames to pick up the save.
"We showed up and competed for 21 innings. I want to give a shout-out to our pitching staff for not giving up a single run in three games," Greenwood said.
"In addition, our defense was outstanding the entire weekend. We only committed two errors on the weekend. The offense scratched across just enough runs in the final two games to get the final 'W.'"
Freshman Evan Gugnacki had a game-high three hits and sophomore Hunter Hamm added two for Adrian. Senior Tyler Kyro and Hamm provided the offensive support with two runs batted in apiece.
""(We) definitely were not expecting this championship in our first year as a program, but there's not a better group of guys to go to battle with," stated Adrian junior pitcher Kyle Stratton, who was selected the tournament's most outstanding player. "Glad to be bringing home the hardware."
On Saturday, the Bulldogs nipped the Wildcats 1-0.
At 3-0, Adrian was the only undefeated team in the four-school field and outscored the opposition 17-0. The Bulldogs finish the year at 22-5 overall, which also included an 11-0 NCBA District II West Conference mark. Adrian beat Edinboro two-games-to-one in the district championship series as part of a 5-1 postseason.
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