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Edited: May 5, 2008 The first game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The second game will start at 2:00 p.m. Friday, followed by the third game, if necessary, which will begin no earlier than 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two. All games are nine innings. In the first round of this year's tournament, Denison swept Kenyon (8-8, 19-19), 15-3 and 6-5, to advance to the finals. Ohio Wesleyan advanced after taking two of three games from Wooster (14-2, 34-9). The Fighting Scots opened the three-game series with a 14-7 victory, but then the Battling Bishops rebounded for back-to-back wins by scores of 6-3 and 14-6. Last spring, Ohio Wesleyan overcame a one-game deficit in the championship series by beating the Scots in games two and three to win its ninth overall title. Wooster can boast a league-leading 11 championships overall; Allegheny has claimed four. The Gators and Scots shared the league's first championship in 1985. The winner of the NCAC tournament automatically qualifies for the NCAA Tournament, in addition to claiming the NCAC championship. The runner-up finishes second in the final standings. Kenyon and Wooster will share third place. Places 5-10 are determined by division DENISON defeated Kenyon, 15-3 and 6-5, to advance to the NCAC Tournament championship series. Senior right fielder Tony Christopher (Moreland Hills, OH/Chagrin Falls) finished a home run short of a cycle in the first game. In the two-game series, he was 6-for-9 (.667) with two triples, one double, five runs scored and three stolen bases. Senior pitcher James Clear (Hamilton, OH/Badin) allowed one earned run in a complete-game victory over the Lords in game one. He struck out six and recorded his 15th victory of the season, fifth-best all time at DU. It will be the Big Red's fourth appearance in the conference finals and first since 2005 ... HIRAM finished the season with four wins in five games. The Terriers knocked off Baldwin-Wallace, 15-9, then split with Westminster, winning the first game, 3-2, then dropping the nightcap, 9-2. Hiram capped its 2008 campaign with a doubleheader sweep of Oberlin, 5-1 and 12-1. Mark Reifsnyder (Tallmadge, OH/Tallmadge) hit 10-for-17 (.588) with four doubles and seven runs scored ... KENYON split with Wittenberg to end the regular season, then fell in two games to Denison in the first round of the NCAC tournament. The Big Red defeated the Lords 15-3 in game one then sent Kenyon home after winning game two, 6-5. Junior first baseman Will Smith (New York, NY/Collegiate) went 8-for-11 at the plate (.727) in the four games, with a double and a home run. He scored three times, drew four walks and racked up six RPI. He finished 2008 with a school single-season record 48 RBI ... OBERLIN went 2-2 in the final week, with wins over John Carroll and Lake Erie before being swept by Hiram. Brandon Cantrill (Collins, OH/Western Reserve) hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th against the Blue Streaks to lift the Yeomen over JCU, 12-11. It was Oberlin's third walk-off hit of the season ... OHIO WESLEYAN senior outfielder Joey McDaniel (Dublin, OH/Scioto) finished the week hitting 9-for-22 (.409) with seven runs scored, and three RBI to lead the Battling Bishops. OWU lost twice to Otterbein to end the regular season, then faced Wooster in the first round of the NCAC Tournament. After dropping the first game, 14-7, the Bishops battled back to win both game two, 6-3, and game three, 14-6, to advance to next week's championship series against Denison. McDaniel hit 5-for-14 in the three-game series and picked up the save in game one after throwing 2.1 innings of hitless relief ... WITTENBERG freshman Zach Spring (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty) picked up the second win of the season against Kenyon with a five-inning outing. He allowed two runs on six hits. The Tigers finished 2008 with a non-conference split with Kenyon, winning the first game, 7-4, then dropping the second, 7-2. In the final game of the regular season, they fell, 2-0 to Heidelberg. Freshman Ray Noe (Dublin, OH/Jerome) hit 5-for-11 with one RBI and a double in the leadoff spot. He stole four bases in four attempts and led the team with a .545 slugging percentage ... WOOSTER finished the regular season with wins over John Carroll, (0-7, and Ohio Northern, 7-4, before beginning the first round NCAC Tournament series against Ohio Wesleyan. The Fighting Scots won the opener on Saturday, 14-7, but fell in both games on Sunday, 6-3 and 14-6, to end the season with a 34-9 mark. Senior right fielder Pat Christensen (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) homered four times and now has a league-best 11 on year and 38 in his career. He hit 6-for-18 with six runs, five RBI and four walks. Senior southpaw Adam Samson (Orrville, OH/Orrville) won game one of the first-round series. After giving up four runs (three earned) in the first two innings, he settled down to retire 13 in a row. He went seven innings with three earned runs, one walk and struck out four. In the Scots' 7-4 defeat of Ohio Northern, Mark Miller (Convoy, OH/Crestview) recorded his NCAC-record 13th save of the season. |