1997 Game-by-Game Recaps May 28, vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State University The Cougars rallied once, but then suffered a heart-breaking loss as second-seeded Southeastern Oklahoma State (ranked #3 in the final NAIA poll) eliminated MVNC from the NAIA World Series with a 6-5 win in ten innings. Through the first eight innings, the Cougars managed just two hits (singles by Bob Hartless and Mike Sorbin) as the Savages built a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning. However, in the bottom of the ninth, Hartless drove in two runs and Sean Barrett, Chris Iceman, and Travis Gray each drove in a run to tie the score at 5-5. Then, in the top of the tenth, Southeastern Oklahoma State scored an unearned run on a throwing error and a passed ball. Starter Marty McLeary allowed eight hits, four walks, and four earned runs in seven innings of work. Dave Byard (9-2) suffered the loss in relief as he allowed three hits, three walks, and two runs in three innings of work. Hartless led the offense with two hits as MVNC finished the season with a school-best 47-8 record. May 24, vs. Dominican (NY) College MVNC rebounded from its first-round loss to eliminate the Chargers from the NAIA World Series with a 10-0 victory in loser's bracket action. Mike Patch (12-0) was outstanding on the mound for the Cougars as he tied the school record for pitching victories in a season by notching his 12th win. He worked all seven innings for his school-record ninth career shutout. He allowed just five hits and no walks while recording five strikeouts and throwing just 83 pitches. Meanwhile, Brad Nelson paced the offense with a double and two singles. Sean Barrett, Chris Iceman, and Scott Dapprich each added two hits apiece with Barrett driving in three runs. MVNC scored a run in the top of the second inning and plated two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take control of the game. The Cougars tied an NAIA World Series record by turning five double plays, while the two teams combined for a record-tying six double plays. May 23, vs. Cumberland (TN) University In their first-ever appearance in the NAIA World Series, the fifth-seeded Cougars fell to fourth-seeded Cumberland 8-4 in first round action. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 5 1/2 innings and held on for the win. MVNC finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning when Bob Hartless hit a solo homerun to leftfield and Travis Gray scored on Sean Barrett's RBI-single. The Cougars added single runs in both the seventh and the ninth as Mike Sorbin recorded a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single. Starter Marty McLeary (10-2) suffered his second career loss as he allowed seven hits, six walks, and seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. He also recorded five strikeouts. Jeremiah Armstrong worked the final 3 2/3 innings and allowed three hits, two walks, and one earned run. Brad Nelson paced the offense with a double and a single, while Hartless, Barrett, Sorbin, Gary Klingel, and Chris Iceman each recorded one hit. May 17, vs. College of St. Francis (IL) MVNC rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Fighting Saints in the championship game of the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament. With the win, the Cougars earn their first-ever trip to the NAIA World Series. St. Francis scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead, but MVNC tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Mike Sorbin scored on a double play ground- out and Gary Klingel hit a two-out RBI-single. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Klingel hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Bob Hartless with what would be the winning run. Jeremiah Armstrong (4-2) went the distance on the mound for the Cougars. He allowed just four hits, three walks, and two earned runs in nine innings of work. He also recorded three strikeouts. Travis Gray led MVNC with two hits, while Klingel, Hartless, Scott Dapprich, and Chris Iceman each recorded on hit apiece. May 17, vs. Madonna University The Cougars advanced to the championship game of the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament with a 13-1 victory over Madonna. MVNC got things going with eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Travis Gray drove in three runs in the inning with two singles, while Gary Klingel added a two-run double. Meanwhile, Dave Byard (9-1) earned the win with nine strong innings in which he allowed eight hits, two walks, and one unearned run. He also recorded three strikeouts. Gray led the Cougars with three hits and four runs batted in. His third-inning RBI-double was his 77th hit of the season, breaking the previous single-season school record for hits. Brad Nelson and J.K. Waers each added two hits to the winning attack. May 16, vs. Marian (IN) College MVNC set a new school record for wins in a season with 44 as the Cougars posted an exciting 11-9 come-from-behind victory over Marian in the winner's bracket finals of the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament. MVNC got on the scoreboard early with three runs in the top of the first inning, but the Knights answered with a run in the first and five runs in the third to take a 6-3 lead. Marian added single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to offset three runs that the Cougars scored in the top of the sixth. Trailing 9-6, MVNC scored a run in the eighth to close the gap to 9-7. In the top of the ninth, the first two Cougars were retired and MVNC was one out away from the loser's bracket. However, six consecutive hits later, the Cougars had pushed four runs across the plate and were on their way to the semi-finals as the lone undefeated team. Mike Waddell (2-0) earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of relief in which he allowed five hits, two walks, and two earned runs. Sean Barrett led the 16-hit MVNC attack with two doubles and two singles. Barrett now has 20 doubles on the season, eclipsing the previous single-season school record of 19. Brian Sheets and Bob Hartless each added three hits. May 16, vs. Aquinas (MI) College The Cougars tied the school record for wins in a season as they earned their 43rd victory of the season with an 8-1 win over Aquinas in the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament. MVNC built a 3-0 lead after five trips to the plate, but the Saints pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to trim the margin to 3-1. That would be as close as they would get as the Cougars scored two times in the seventh and then added three more runs in the ninth. Mike Patch (11-0) earned the win with a complete game performance. He scattered nine hits, three walks, and one earned run over nine innings with six strikeouts. Bob Hartless and Travis Gray led the MVNC offense with three hits each, while Chris Iceman and J.K. Waers added two hits apiece. May 14, vs. Bethel (IN) College MVNC opened play in the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament with a 5-2 victory over the Pilots, ranked #20 in the NAIA, at Bailey Park in Battle Creek, Michigan. After Bethel took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Cougars took control of the game with five runs in the bottom of the first and held on for the win. The big blow in the inning was a three-run homerun by Travis Gray. It was Gray's 18th homer of the season, tying the school record set by Mel Severns in 1985. Marty McLeary (10-1) earned the win with a complete game performance. He scattered seven hits, four walks, and two earned runs over nine innings while striking out three batters. MVNC managed just five hits in the game, but made the most of them. Gray led the way with two hits, while Bob Hartless, Brad Nelson, and Chris Iceman each added one hit. May 9, TIFFIN UNIVERSITY The Cougars were eliminated from the Mid-Ohio Conference Tournament as they dropped a 10-8 decision to Tiffin. The Dragons scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning and increased their lead to 10-3 after four innings. The Cougars tried to rally but came up just short as they stranded 13 runners on base for the game. Scott Dapprich, Bob Hartless, Brad Nelson, Sean Barrett, and Brian Sheets each recorded three hits apiece as MVNC pounded out 17 hits in the game. However, the Cougars' defense hurt them as six errors led to seven unearned Tiffin runs. Dave Byard (8-1) suffered the loss as he allowed 10 runs (only three earned) and nine hits over five innings. Kevin Stafford worked two scoreless innings and allowed one hit and one walk while recording one strikeout. Andy Newcomb worked one perfect inning and recorded a strikeout. Despite the loss, MVNC will receive an at-large berth in the NAIA Great Lakes Region Tournament.