 Sweet
swinging Conor Gillaspie led the
Wichita State Shockers to the 2008 Missouri Valley
Conference Tournament title and was named the Most
Valuable Player. In the three games, he went 9-for-13
(.692) with seven runs, one double, three home runs
and 12 RBI. In the championship game, he went 4-for-5
with three runs, two home runs and tied his career-high
with five RBI.
However the biggest beneficiary of Gillaspie’s
offensive onslaught wasn’t the Shockers, but
the Oklahoma Sooners. Had the junior third baseman
not led WSU to the conference title, one less at-large
bid would have been available, thus ending the Sooners’
season.
|
|
 The
Towson Tigers were foiled in their upset bid to win
the Colonial Athletic Association baseball crown thanks
in large part to James Madison hurler Kurt Houck.
The junior right hander tossed a complete game, four
hitter in the title game of the CAA Baseball Championship
to help the Diamond Dukes win their first championship
in the 23-year history of CAA baseball.
The tournament had been dominated by
the offense through with teams scoring a combined 175
runs through the first nine games. However Houck, was
humbling as he threw the first complete game of his
career, allowing only a single unearned run in the eighth,
while striking out six and walking just one.
|
|
In the winner take all final game of the NCAA Division
II North Central Region, Ashland's Ben Minard
led the Eagles to victory and into the NCAA Division
II World Series.
Minard out dueled Wayne State ace
Anthony Bass, the GLIAC pitcher of the year, by pitching
a complete game shutout to improve to 9-6 on the year.
Minard scattered six hits, walked one and struck out
four, including an eight inning K of Ryan LaPensee,
the hottest hitter in the tournament which put the
kibosh a potential Warrior rally. Minard, who also
plays first base when he's not pitching, also went
1-3 at the plate as the Eagles' cleanup hitter for
the game and was named the
|
