VERONA, Wis. (April 30, 2005) – The long wait is finally over for the Edgewood College baseball program and its fans. With a doubleheader sweep over Marian College (15-19, 10-4 LMC) on Saturday, the Eagles (24-13, 16-2 LMC) clinched their first-ever Lake Michigan Conference championship, ending a 14-year drought that began when the program was born in 1992. The Eagles defeated Marian by scores of 6-0 and 9-1, and it only seemed right that they secured the title in front of their home crowd at Stampfl Field.
For the second straight weekend Edgewood pitchers Cody Flynn (Eureka, Calif.) and Jeff Potts (Kirkland, Wash.) were nearly untouchable on the mound. Flynn hurled his third consecutive complete game in shutting out the Sabres in game one, while Potts improved his record to 4-0 after allowing just four hits in nine innings of work in the nightcap.
Edgewood held a narrow 2-0 lead in game one until the offense erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, which was highlighted by a three-run homerun by Joe Feistel (Appleton, Wis.) to right-center field. The outburst provided more than enough insurance runs for Flynn, who surrendered six hits and struck out seven.
There was no letting up for the Eagles in game two, as the offense built a 6-0 advantage by putting at least one run on the scoreboard in each of the first five innings. Edgewood then added three runs in the bottom of the eighth on three hits and two Sabre errors to help seal the victory.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by Feistel, Jon Adair (Prairie du Sac, Wis.), and Derek Jew (Homewood, Ill.), who each finished the day 4-for-7 at the plate. The trio also combined for seven runs and seven RBI.
As the LMC’s regular-season champion, Edgewood will receive the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament that gets underway Monday, May 9. But first the Eagles will conclude the regular season next Saturday, May 7 with a non-conference doubleheader against the University of Chicago. Edgewood and the Maroons will hit the field at 1 p.m.
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