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Baseball wins national title

Towering over home plate at ULV’s Ben Hines Field is one of the NCAA Division III Championship trophies, the product of a great deal of hard work, determination, and camaraderie that was boldly displayed this past spring by ULV’s victorious baseball team led by Owen Wright. / photo by Brian Murphy
Towering over home plate at ULV’s Ben Hines Field is one of the NCAA Division III Championship trophies, the product of a great deal of hard work, determination, and camaraderie that was boldly displayed this past spring by ULV’s victorious baseball team led by Owen Wright. / photo by Brian Murphy

by Monica Schwarze
Staff Writer

It was a year of glory for ULV baseball. Not only was the team the first SCIAC team to go 21-0 in conference play, they are the first baseball team from the University of La Verne to win the NCAA Division III World Series Championship in Salem, Va.

“It has been a fantasy year,” said Leos Head Baseball Coach Owen Wright. “I still can’t believe this has all happened.”

The Leos got off to a slow pre-league start with 11 wins and seven losses, but caught fire in league play, going undefeated 21-0 for the first time in SCIAC history.

That impressive record took the Leos to the Division III West Regional Playoffs, where they defeated Cal Lutheran in three straight games and qualified for the 1995 Division III World Series—their first in 12 years.

Even with an undefeated season under its belt, the team did not expect to win the series.

“A lot of teams didn’t expect us to get past the second round,” said junior right fielder Seth Marrs. “We were never intimidated.”

By the time La Verne made it to the final game against Methodist College of North Carolina, the confidence level was high. The Leos were winning 5-0, but the game took an unexpected turn when Methodist scored three runs in the final inning.

“I didn’t know we were going to win until the very end of that game,” said Wright. “When I watch the final game on TV, I still get stressed at the ninth inning. Five to three is no blowout event. Even though we were winning five to nothing, Methodist College still didn’t give up.”

Wright and assistant coaches Ray Bundy and Jerry Kettle led the team to victory by focusing on defense and pitching techniques.

Wright has only accolades for his assistant coaches, both in their first year at ULV.

“We were on the same page and understood each other and agreed with each other,” he said.

Wright also credits the Leos’ victory to their attitude toward the series.

“I can’t say enough about these guys,” he said. “This team dedicated itself permanently to winning the championship. It was a commitment.”

Marrs agrees that the Leos had a winning attitude.

“We played well when we needed to play well. We stuck together,” he said. “The right players got hot at the right time.”

Adding to the excitement of the Leos’ World Series victory were the achievements of several individual players.

Junior pitcher Jeff Doen was named Most Valuable Player for the final game and senior first baseman Jeff Polinsky was named MVP for the entire tournament.

“He just had a super tournament,” coach Wright said of Polinsky. “In eight playoff games, he had 19 hits for 34 at bats, six home runs and 21 runs-batted-in.”

La Verne’s win was heightened by the fact that the each of the five tournament games was a challenge.

“There were some tense, tight moments in a number of those ball games, but we always found a way to win,” said Wright.

In its run to the championship the team not only defeated Methodist twice, but also beat other nationally recognized schools such as Marietta College from Ohio and William Patterson from New Jersey. ULV won 24 of its last 27 games and at one point during the season had a 15 game winning streak.

Even though the championship was played from May 25-30, after school was over for the summer, the Leos have received a fair share of recognition for their victory. The team has received commendations from the state senate, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and La Verne Mayor Jon Blickenstaff.

“Accolades just keep pouring in,” said Wright. “It was just a super situation for us.”

Even with school back in session, the Leos are still receiving recognition for their victory.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Marrs. “It starts to sink in when school starts because school was out when we won. It’s a great feeling.”

Wright doesn’t expect the team to stop at just one championship. He already has high hopes for the 1996 ULV baseball season.

Although Wright’s tournament strategy was to play the more experienced junior and seniors, a number of series champions will be returning to the Leos for the 1996 season.

“We have a good camp of new freshman and transfer players that mix well with our expert players,” he said. “We hope that bunch will give us another trip.”

ULV’s last national championship was the 1972 team which won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) title.

Monica Schwarze, Features Editor
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