VERONA, Wis. (April 13, 2006) – The top two teams in the Lake Michigan Conference and two of the league’s top pitchers went head-to-head at Stampfl Field on Thursday. In the end, it was Dominican University prevailing 4-2 over Edgewood College.
Bret Dvorak, the Stars’ (14-10, 8-1 LMC) right-handed ace who entered Thursday’s game with a miniscule 0.64 ERA in six previous appearances, pitched eight complete innings. He allowed one earned run with four walks and six strikeouts while improving to 5-1 on the mound.
The Eagles (17-7, 7-2 LMC) were able to get into Dominican’s bullpen when Dvorak was removed in the bottom of the ninth inning after issuing a leadoff walk to Tyler Dahmen (Madison, Wis.). Dahmen was putout at second base, however, after Zachary Schrader forced Karl Reynolds (Dodgeville, Wis.) to ground into a fielder’s choice.
Shawn Burcum (DeForest, Wis.) singled and a few pitches later Burcum and Reynolds moved up a base on a passed ball. Andrew Handorf (DeForest, Wis.) then walked on four pitches to give Edgewood bases loaded with one out.
Right-hander Brian Herman was brought in to face cleanup batter Nick Wilz (Appleton, Wis.), who fouled out to the territory along first base. John Fish (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) then dribbled a ground ball the Stars’ shortstop who flipped it cleanly to second base for the final out of the game.
Fish went 0-for-5 on the day and left eight runners stranded on the base paths. As a team, the Eagles left 12 on base. Burcum was 3-for-5 with a run scored. Jesse Anderson (Rochester, Minn.) and Alex Berta (Normal, Ill.) had two hits apiece. Dahmen and Wilz each drove in a run.
Edgewood starting pitcher Cody Flynn (Eureka, Calif.) picked up his third loss of the season to fall to 2-3 (1.75 ERA). Flynn went the distance with a total of 147 pitches thrown. He surrendered eight hits and one earned run, including five walks and three strikeouts. The Eagles defense also committed four errors. In fact, the Stars left more runners on base (11) than they had hits (8).
Dominican, a newcomer to the LMC this season, now controls sole possession of first place in the league standings with the Eagles sitting a game back in second place. The two teams will square off again on Saturday in a doubleheader at Dominican. First pitch is at noon in River Forest, Ill.
