May 23, 2017 5 min read

For the first time in program history, Washington & Jefferson’s baseball team will be competing in the NCAA Division III College World Series.

The fourth-seeded Presidents punched their ticket to Appleton, Wis., the site of the wordl series, with a come-from-behind 6-3 win against second-seeded SUNY Cortland in the winner-take-all championship game of the Mideast Regional Monday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park.

The eight-team College World Series begins Friday at Fox Cities Stadium.

“What can you say? I don’t think there are any opening remarks that will do justice to what just happened,” Washington & Jefferson coach Jeff Mountain said. “I am really happy for our guys. They just scrapped and clawed and battled.

“Obviously, Cortland’s tradition speaks for itself. They are going to make you beat them. They will capitalize on your mistakes. If you are going to be a champion, then you need to beat them and I thought we did that. I am just so happy for our players.”

After squandering a two-run lead late in the first game of the championship round, W&J fell behind 3-0 in in the “if necessary” game before scoring the final six runs.

“Our seniors are tremendous leaders,” W&J junior Mark Merlino said. “(Nick) Vento came up to everyone when we were down three and said we are down three not 10. We have played through worse games and come back from bigger deficits, so we knew we could do it.”

The Presidents’ comeback started in the bottom of the fifth, when they scored three runs to tie the score. Seniors Derek Helbing and Nick Vento hit back-to-back RBI singles to cut the deficit to 3-2. Senior Nick Gatins tied it one batter later on a sacrifice fly.

W&J (38-11) took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth on a single by senior Kevin Begley that scored Ryan Sciullo.

Once the Presidents took the lead, senior pitcher Riley Groves took care of the rest. In the final three innings, Groves didn’t allow a runner to reach second base. he threw a complete game – his 10th win of the season and second of the regional. He allowed only one earned run. Groves finished the tournament 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, earning a spot on the all-tournament team.

“In all honesty, it just comes down to doing what Coach Mountain preaches,” Groves said. “You have to be able to locate two or three pitches. I was able to get ahead on guys and make them hit my pitch. This offense has taken a lot of pressure off the pitching staff this year. They have been hitting all season. I knew they would support me and they did.”

Joining Groves on the all-tournament team for W&J were Adam LaRue and Mark Merlino. LaRue batted .500 (12-for-24) with three doubles, five RBI and six runs. Merlino hit .429 with two home runs, three doubles, five RBI and seven runs.

The Most Outstanding Player award went to Vento. He led the Presidents with a .560 (14-for-25) batting average. He had four doubles, a home run, 11 RBI and seven runs.

“It means a lot, but it is a team sport,” Vento said. “Riley pitched a great game.”

Cortland finished its season with a 38-9 record, failing to make the College World Series field for the first time since 2013. After losing their first game of the tournament, the Red Dragons won five straight elimination games to force the if-necessary game.

Cortland scored three unearned runs in the top of the eighth to win the day’s opening game, 7-6.

W&J had taken a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, two-run homer by Merlino.

Reliever Will Bowser retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth before allowing a single and hit-by-pitch to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Paul Dondero reached second base on an error, allowing both runners to score and tie the game. After a wild pitch advanced Dondero to third, he scored the go-ahead run on the second error of the inning.

“It is because we are Cortland,” head coach Joe Brown said. “There is no other option. These guys compete. These guys define resiliency. They might not see the value in this, but they accomplished incredible things.”

Mountain is excited for his team to experience what he did as a player at Allegheny, when he competed in the College World Series.

“The planets aligned here and I am just really happy for what these guys are about to experience,” Mountain said. “I was in their shoes, about 16 years ago, as a participant. We will enjoy this and celebrate it, but we have a chance.”

The other teams in the world series are Roanoke (Va.), Oswego State, North Central (Ill.), California Lutheran, UMass-Boston, Wheaton (Mass.) and Concordia-Chicago. The NCAA will seed the eight teams and then announce the first-round matchups and start times.