La Verne Drops Region Opener to Whitworth
The University of La Verne fell 5-0 to the Whitworth Pirates in the Leopards' opening game of the 2012 NCAA West Region Baseball Championships at Roy Helser Field/Jim Write Stadium in McMinnville, Oregon.
Whitworth starting pitcher Dan Scheibe pitched a complete-game shutout against the Leopards, allowing six hits while striking out nine batters.
Both teams were held without a run through the first four innings. In the top of the fourth La Verne was in scoring position when Albert Ramos singled and Cody Hazel was hit by a pitch to put runners on first a second. Michael Stewart then singled through the right side to load the bases with just one out on the board, but a foul out and a pop up ended the inning leaving the Leopards scoreless.
Whitworth, seeded No. 3 in the regional, got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Joshua Davis singled through the right side and then stole second. Kevin Valerio followed with a single, putting runners on first and third. An RBI groundout by Nick Motsinger scored the first run of the inning. Gerhard Muelheims followed with an RBI double down the left field line for a 2-0 Whitworth lead.
The Pirates struck again in the seventh inning. A single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Muelheims drew another walk to score the third run of the game for Whitworth. Tyler Pfeffer singled to second base scoring one more run. With just one out on the board, Ross Hebert came into pitch, retiring the last two batters to close out the inning.
A Leopard error in the eighth inning allowed Whitworth to increase their lead to 5-0 to close the scoring
Jacob Ludvik and Ramos both went 2-for-4 at the plate. Starting pitcher, Phil Schick went 6.1 innings, allowing nine hits, striking out one. Tyler Pfeffer led the way for Whitworth, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a double. Muelheims had two hits, including a double while driving in two runs.
La Verne will meet No. 1 seed Concordia (Tex.) on Thursday at 3:30 pm. Concordia topped St. John's (Minn.) 6-3 on Wednesday.
