Shayne Moody drove in the game-high five runs to earn Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Tournament |
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Niners Baseball Clinches NCAA Berth with 18-6 Win Over Fordham
May 26, 2007
Dayton, Ohio - Second basemen Cory Lane's second home run in as many days fueled a nine-run second inning and sophomore Aaron Bray collected four extra-base hits as top-seeded Charlotte earned its first-ever Atlantic 10 crown after turning aside No. 2 Fordham on Saturday, 18-6, at Fifth Third Field.
The 20th ranked 49ers (47-10) pounded out a season high and Championship-record 25 hits on the afternoon and outscored their three opponents by a 44-9 margin. Their 44 runs marked the highest three-game total in Championship history, with the previous record of 42 runs set by Massachusetts in 1980. Charlotte earned the league's NCAA automatic bid and will learn its seed at 12:30pm on Monday, May 28, when the 64-team field is announced on ESPN. Charlotte also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1993 and 1998.
"We have a great group of seniors and they have been through a whole lot off the field but they just tried to get better everyday and I'm real proud of them," said Charlotte head coach Loren Hibbs, the 2007 A-10 Coach of the Year.
Bray opened the game with a triple and scored on a single by shortstop Shayne Moody off Fordham starter Chris Kaible (0-1). Moody would come around to score on a RBI hit by senior Spencer Steedley to give the 49ers a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Zach Rosenbaum then kept the Rams off the scoreboard in the top of the second despite a one-out double by Bobby DiNardo, one of three hits on the afternoon by the sophomore first baseman. Lane then stroked his 10th career homer to open the nine-run second, which featured a pair of RBI doubles by Bray and leftfielder Brad McElroy's two-run double.
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"The ball was really jumping today and Aaron [Bray] had a great afternoon. I have a lot of respect for Fordham's program and the season they had. I just wanted to keep scoring because they are so dangerous offensively."
All nine starters collected at least one hit for the 49ers, with Bray and Lane recording five hits apiece on the afternoon, tying a Championship record. Following a 4-for-6 performance on Friday, Moody went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a game-high five RBI en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship.
"We knew we had a pretty good team this year but to see it play out here today was just real special," said Moody, who had seven RBI and six runs scored in the 49ers' three victories.
"I was just seeing the ball well all weekend and tried to put good swings on the ball. It seems like Aaron [Bray] is always on base so it's fun hitting behind him."
Rosenbaum improved to 9-1 on the year after allowing two runs on seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Charlotte's three starters in the Championship allowed four earned runs in 20 innings pitched, while the team boasted a Championship-record .456 batting average (57-for-125).
Leftfielder Brian Keeney had a pair of hits and three RBI, while senior Jordan Lert cracked his fourth home run of the season for Fordham (35-22), which was vying for its first league crown since 1998.
"All the credit in to Charlotte. They are very deserving and should represent our league well at the NCAA Regionals," said Fordham head coach Nick Restaino.
"You hope that the younger guys learn from the work ethic and effort that the seniors put in. Not only how they go about playing the game but how they prepare for the game, and that's what it's all about when you go about building a program."
Joining Moody on the All-Championship team were teammates Brad McElroy, Adam Mills, Kris Rochelle and Chris Taylor; Eric Reese and Cory Riordan of Fordham; Xavier's Adam Lipski, Michael Lucas and Adam Pasono; and Alex Hale and Alex Wotring of Richmond.
