COLUMBUS STATE BASEBALL WINS SOUTH ATLANTIC REGIONAL

Story Courtesy, Mount Olive Sports Information

Kinston, NC - Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kurt McKee's two-out RBI-single in the fourth inning capped a two-run rally and put Columbus State ahead to stay as the second-seeded Cougars defeated No. 1 seed and tournament host Mount Olive 4-1 in the title game of the South Atlantic Regional in the 2007 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Saturday at Grainger Stadium. The win advances Columbus State to the Division II Baseball Championship, which gets underway Friday in Montgomery, AL

Earlier in the day, Jarrett Coker recorded a tournament-high 12 strikeouts and tossed a complete game four-hit shutout to lead Columbus State to a 5-0 win over Mount Olive and force a winner-takes-all championship game. The Cougars won five consecutive games after losing in the first round Thursday. Mount Olive, which entered Sunday's play as the lone unbeaten team after winning its first three games in the regional, set a school record for wins and finished with a 49-13 mark. Game One Box Score Game Two Box Score

Mount Olive took a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the championship game as Dustin Richardson drove a two-out double to the center field wall and came home on Scott Houin's single to left field.Columbus State left five runners stranded through the first three innings before Brad Bowen keyed a two-out rally with a triple to right-center field.

Jonnie Geiger drew a walk to put runners on the corners and both runners advanced on a balk by Trojan starter Darrell Ellis (7-2). McKee then lined a 2-2 pitch to center to score Geiger and give the Cougars the lead for good.

Mount Olive had a chance to tie the game or regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Eric Lovett lined a double to right with one out and Jason Sherrer drew a walk. But Columbus State starter Bryan Kilgore got out of the inning on a 6-4-3 double play.

After Trojan reliever Ted Pelech retired the side in order in the top of the fifth, Anthony Williams beat out an infield single to lead off the bottom half of the inning. But reliever Johnny Floyd (5-2) retired the side in order and would go on to set down the first 11 batters he faced.

Columbus State added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the sixth as Trent Bianco's single and two walks loaded the bases. Billy Howard followed with a two-out, two-run single to give the Cougars a three-run lead. Patrick Ball took over on the mound for Mount Olive and pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit.

Mount Olive, which rallied from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning in its second round win over Armstrong Atlantic State, had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Lovett lined a one-out single to left, the first hit allowed by Floyd. Sherrer drove the first pitch he saw deep to center field, but Geiger made the running catch on the warning track just in front of the 390-foot sign for the second out.

Graham Wooten, a late-game substitution, kept the Trojans' season alive with a single through the left side. But Columbus State first baseman Howard caught Williams' foul ball against the barrier just beyond the first base dugout to seal the championship for the Cougars.

In Sunday's first game, Rodney Rutherford's one-out solo home run in the bottom of the second broke a scoreless tie and McKee's two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth extended Columbus State's lead to 2-0. The Cougars broke the game open in the seventh as Bowen's RBI-double and McKee's RBI-single highlighted a three-run rally.

Coker (10-3) retired 11 consecutive batters after allowing a one-out walk in the top of the first and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before giving up consecutive one-out singles to Houin and Sherrer. But Coker struck out the next two batters and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced.

Mount Olive third baseman Stephen Nordan doubled in the sixth inning to finish his senior year with a school record 29 doubles on the season.

The shutout ended Mount Olive's streak of 116 consecutive games of scoring at least one run. The last time the Trojans were shut out was April 22, 2005 in a 3-0 loss to Limestone at the 2005 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Tournament.

Columbus State, which won the 2002 National Championship, is making its third appearance in the national finals in the last six years. The Cougars begin play on day two of the national finals, taking on North Central Region champion Southern Indiana Saturday.

South Atlantic Regional - All-Tournament Team

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER: Kurt McKee, Columbus State
CATCHER: Trent Bianco, Columbus State

FIRST BASE: Billy Howard, Columbus State

SECOND BASE: Anthony Williams, Mount Olive

SHORTSTOP: Kurt McKee, Columbus State

THIRD BASE: Stephen Nordan, Mount Olive

OUTFIELD: Jonnie Geiger, Columbus State

OUTFIELD: Brad Bowen, Columbus State

OUTFIELD: Scott Houin, Mount Olive

DESIGNATED HITTER: Rodney Rutherford, Columbus State

PITCHER: Casey Hodges, Mount Olive

PITCHER: Jarrett Coker, Columbus State

Post-Game Comments

"We're just fortunate to come out and beat a very, very good team. It seems like we had the ball bouncing our way. We had some tremendous performances by a lot of guys on our team, and we're happy to be going back to Montgomery."

Columbus State head coach Greg Appleton.

"The seniors got together after Thursday's loss. Four of us were starters in 2004 when we went to the World Series and we didn't want our season to end. We just started playing loose baseball again like we did in the beginning of the season. And our pitching this weekend was the best I've ever seen."

Columbus State shortstop and tournament Most Outstanding Player Kurt McKee.

"I'd like to make sure the people of Kinston understand how much we appreciate them having us here. And we really appreciate the fan support we've gotten all season. I couldn't be prouder of this team. Good boys, good players, good students, good people."

Mount Olive head coach Carl Lancaster.

"At last year's regional, we knew coming in that we were the underdog. Being in Kinston was a great opportunity and it helped out a lot being at home and having the fans here. We just got beat. Columbus State was better than us today...maybe not tomorrow or yesterday, but today, they were better than us."

Mount Olive third baseman Stephen Nordan.

Additional coverage: Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer