by Vince Wetzel
Sports Writer
Sometimes momentum shifts can change the outcome of a sporting event. In baseball, those shifts can come from one swing of the bat.
For Eastern Connecticut University, Joe Funaro took a momentum shift in the ninth inning and parlayed it into a two-run home run, giving ECU the 4-2 victory and the University of La Verne Tournament title over the ULV Leopards.
This momentum shift occurred in the bottom of the eighth inning, when senior Leopard Jeff Polinsky tried to stretch a long hit into a double, but was thrown out at second to end the inning.
“If Jeff had not have been thrown out at second by the right fielder, who would have had the momentum?” asked La Verne Head Coach Owen Wright. “Baseball is a game of momentum and we lost the momentum.”
This third of four games for the Leopards turned into a pitching duel between the aces for both teams. ECU pitcher Scott Clesmen threw a four-hit complete game for the win, while Leo pitcher J.D. Romero also went the distance with seven strikeouts.
“The pitcher hit his spots,” said sophomore outfielder Seth Marrs. “They scouted us well. We did well until the last inning. It is the best team we will play all year and we could play with that team. There isn’t a team in Division III we can’t play with. It just came to one at bat,” he said.
Though ULV did not win its first invitational, it had a strong tournament by dominating its opponents in the other games, defeating Occidental, 7-2, and Menlo, 9-2, on Saturday and Claremont-Mudd, 17-2, on Sunday. La Verne’s overall record is 16-7.
Against Occidental, a six-run eighth inning capped a come-from-behind victory for the Leos. The Tigers led 2-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, before Romero had a pinch-hit double, scoring Marrs. This momentum carried into the eighth inning, when the first six players in the batting order scored, sealing the victory for the Leos.
“The hits starting dropping for us in that inning,” said Polinsky, who earned all-tournament honors with Marrs and pitcher Greg Vargas. “We were hitting the ball hard all day and we strung hits together and got some runs.”
Jerry Whitaker got the win despite a shaky start when he allowed two runs and five hits in two innings. He then settled down and got into his groove, allowing only one hit and no runs in the final seven innings of play.
In the Leos’ second game, they dominated the Oaks, scoring in all but two innings. ULV was paced by Marrs, who had two home runs and a triple and finished the tournament with three more triples. There were some close calls for the Leos when Menlo pitcher Carey Ryan went after La Verne batters. He brushed back Marrs before Marrs hit his second home run, accompanied by a satisfying grunt.
“The pitch before the home run was thrown at my head,” said Marrs. “[The grunt] was a little adrenaline coming out.”
On the next pitch, Ryan almost hit Leo third baseman Ken Miller. The following pitch hit Miller and it was not until Ryan yelled at the umpire that he was thrown out of the game. Wright thought that Ryan’s ejection was too late.
“I think their pitcher was tossed out three pitches too late,” said Wright. “He had brushed back Marrs with one pitch. Then he hit Ken Miller. He wasn’t even thrown out at that point. It wasn’t until he cursed out the umpire that he was ejected. It was a mistake by the umpire.”
Vargas got the win after pitching a full game without allowing an earned run.
After the loss to Eastern Connecticut, La Verne came back against Claremont and scored 17 runs off of 14 hits. Brock Whobrey and Jeff Polinsky both homered, while Marrs tripled twice in the game.
Jeff Doen picked up the win, striking out eight and giving up only one hit in seven innings.
With this tournament, the Leos are able to play more games. The NCAA restricts each team to only 36 games during the season. This gives some players, primarily pitchers, only three or four starts. There is an exception to the rule stating a tournament with a doubleheader can be considered one game. Wright organized this tournament so that his team and the others in the tournament would have the opportunity to play more games.
The Leos reaped more benefits than just playing more games, though. Two of the teams they faced in the tournament, Claremont and Occidental, have yet to face the Leos in conference play.
“This tournament benefits the team very well,” said Polinsky. “They know that we will be coming out swinging and that they will have to play real well to beat us.”
Wright agrees with that statement, knowing that his team is in the driver’s seat in the SCIAC.
“It is good that we beat Claremont and Oxy. It sends a message that beating us is not going to be that easy. We have solid pitching and baseball is often a game of pitching.”
The Leos travel to the University of Redlands today at 2:30 p.m. and host a doubleheader tomorrow at 11 a.m.
Vince Wetzel
