When the Misericordia baseball team arrived at Classic Park late last week, Coach Pete Egbert issued a directive to his team.
Shock the world.
With a 10-5 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater in the winner-take-all deciding game in the Division III college baseball world series, the Cougars did just that.
Bouncing back from a 16-10 loss earlier in the day, Misericordia scored seven runs in the first inning of the final game and never looked back. The Division III World Series win is not only the first in program history for the Cougars. It’s also the first such title from a Division III school in Pennsylvania.
Ballgame! @MUCougBaseball beats @UWWBaseball 10-5 and is the D3 national champions. pic.twitter.com/TcqNr6dO1p
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 6, 2024
Using a fast-paced — perhaps frantic — style of play that calls for base hits, aggressive baserunning, hit-and-runs and solid defense, Misericordia pounded out 33 hits in the two-game affair on June 6. Couple that with the win it posted on June 4, and the Cougars won the best-of-three World Series, 2-1.
And shocked the world, just like their coach asked.
“Not many people like the style of baseball that we play,” said tournament MVP Garrett McIlhenney. “Not many people believe in the style of baseball we play. I think people should start to understand what ‘Coug Ball’ is all about because it works. It plays at the highest level and if you can’t believe it, you better open your eyes because this program is not going away.”
Wisconsin-Whitewater coach John Vodenlich, calling Misericordia, “the scrappiest young men I’ve ever played against” and that he has “never seen a team like this.”
The Warhawks (45-12), who were looking to win their first national title since 2014, looked as if they were well on their way to doing so when they blasted five home runs en route to a 16-10 win earlier in the day to even the best-of-three series at 1-1. But Misericordia planted the seeds for what was to come by scoring nine runs in the final three innings to make what was a 12-1 deficit much more manageable.
“The layoff was too long for them,” Egbert said of the 45 minutes between games. They wanted to get back on the field right away. They felt they had the chance to put some runs on the board early.”
They did just that, putting seven runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning to take a touchdown lead on the Warhawks. Brock Bollinger had an RBI double to start the onslaught, followed by a Jason Sanfilippo RBI single and a three-run double by Gabe Dunn.
The @MUCougBaseball Championship game post game press conference. Part 1 pic.twitter.com/QQ2nj0tBDK
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 7, 2024
Even when Vondenlich changed pitchers not once, but twice, Misericordia continued undaunted with RBI doubles on back-to-back pitches by Owen Cordner and McIlhenney.
“I think in hindsight, that was the difference,” Vonderlich said. “In the moment, you’re trying to figure out how to stop the flood and we didn’t do a very good job of that, including myself.”
The lead grew to 9-0 in the third when Dunn singled and scored on an error and when McIlhenney scored on a double-steal.
The @MUCougBaseball championship game, postgame press conference. Part 2. pic.twitter.com/dm6gaqMAOA
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 7, 2024
The Warhawks got on the board with two runs in the fourth via Andy Thies’ double to score Eli Frank and Sam Paden’s grounder that plated Danny Hopper, but Misericordia got one of those runs back in the fifth when Bunn singled, was sacrificed to second and came around on two balks to make it 10-2.
Wisconsin-Whitewater scored three times in the eighth, including an RBI double from Paden, but the damage had already been done. When Matt Lanzendorf struck out the final batter as part of a 1-2-3 ninth inning, Misericordia players threw their gloves and hats into the air and celebrated wildly just beyond the mound.
Garrett McIlhenney with THE quote of the tournament about @MUCougBaseball Coug Ball. pic.twitter.com/gmpRF2La06
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 7, 2024
The win was the 600th career win for Egbert, who shrugged off the milestone win.
“Those things are garbage,” he said with a laugh. “It just mean I’m old and been around for a long time. This (the trophy) is what it’s worth.”
Coach Pete Egbert of @MUCougBaseball won his 600th career game today, but is not that excited about it. Winning a national championship pretends to do that. pic.twitter.com/jt2xr0O2bA
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 7, 2024
Vodenlich said the loss was tough, but said, “We might not be America’s team, but we’re Wisconsin’s team.” He said there are 400 teams in the nation and “somebody has to lose on this day.”
As the Cougars gazed at their new championship trophy, the admitted the dream they had worked for was a reality well worth it.
“I’m not gonna like, I did dream about the celebration,” Bollinger said. “This moment is surreal, I mean look at that (trophy). We brought home the hardware.”
Just like their coach asked them to do when they arrived in Lake County — by shocking the world.
THE SCORE
Misericordia 10, Whitewater 5
