BALTIMORE, Md. – Stellar pitching performances and timely hitting led the Ursinus baseball team to victories over Washington College and McDaniel College, sending the Bears to their first Centennial Conference championship game since 2017.
Ursinus opened the day by defeating third-seeded Washington College, 9-1, before earning a 6-4 win over McDaniel College to advance to the championship final. With the two wins, the Bears improve to 25-17-1 on the season and will need to repeat the feat to capture their fourth conference crown—and first since 2000—and secure the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
First pitch is scheduled for noon. If Ursinus wins, a winner-take-all Game 7 will begin 30 minutes after the completion of Game 6.
Game 4: Ursinus 9, Washington College 1
Senior pitcher
Dan Bass highlighted the Bears' first game, tossing his fifth career complete game and second of the season. Bass went nine innings, allowing one earned run and one walk while striking out five.
It was a milestone performance for Bass, who now ranks second all-time in program history with 230.2 innings pitched. He also surpassed the 200-career strikeout mark and ranks fourth all-time with 203.
At the plate, first-year
Brett Barrett led Ursinus, finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Sophomores
Matthew Callahan and
Isaac Gesford each added two hits, while senior
George Nestor drove in a team-high two runs.
The Bears' offense broke through in the third inning, scoring two runs on three hits to take an early lead. Junior
Brandon Sullivan sparked the rally with a one-out walk, a single by Callahan, and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. After a walk by sophomore
Luke Kopec loaded the bases, Barrett and Gesford delivered RBI singles to give Ursinus a 2-0 advantage.
Bass worked a clean bottom of the third, recording two pop outs and a strikeout. Ursinus added another run in the fourth to extend its lead to 3-0. Nestor led off with a hit-by-pitch, and senior
Kyle Rosenfeld reached on a throwing error during a sacrifice bunt. Sullivan followed with a bunt single to load the bases before Nestor scored on a 6-4-3 double play.
Washington College answered with a run in the fourth to cut the deficit to 3-1, but both pitching staffs settled in over the middle innings. Ursinus added to its lead in the sixth when Beaver doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Rosenfeld, making it 4-1.
Bass retired the Shoremen in order in the seventh and eighth innings. Ursinus then broke the game open with five runs on three hits in the ninth. Kopec and Beaver each recorded sacrifice flies, while junior
Marco Maiuolo drove in a run after being hit by a pitch, and Nestor added an RBI single.
Bass closed out the game with three consecutive flyouts in the ninth to secure the 9-1 victory and his second complete game of the season.
Game 6: Ursinus 6, McDaniel 4
Strong outings on the mound by senior
Max Shilstone and sophomore
Alex Grehawick powered the Bears past McDaniel. Shilstone improved to 5-1 after pitching seven innings and allowing three runs, marking his second straight quality start. Grehawick earned his first career save, throwing the final two innings, allowing one earned run, and striking out four.
Ursinus seized early momentum in the third inning, scoring four runs as Gesford launched his second grand slam of the season to give the Bears a 4-0 lead. Sullivan and Barrett were both hit by pitches, and a walk by Callahan loaded the bases with one out. Gesford then jumped on the first pitch he saw and cleared the bases. The home run pushed his season RBI total to 49, ranking second all-time in program history.
McDaniel responded with two runs in the third, but Shilstone limited further damage and stranded the tying run on base. He faced the minimum in the fourth, and a 5-3 lineout double play in the fifth helped preserve the 4-2 lead.
Ursinus threatened in the sixth but left the bases loaded. Shilstone continued to deal, retiring the side in order in the sixth before McDaniel added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cut the deficit to 4-3.
In the eighth, Sullivan and Callahan led off with singles. After a flyout, Barrett delivered an RBI single to left, scoring Sullivan and extending the lead to 5-3.
Grehawick entered in the eighth and struck out the first two batters he faced. McDaniel then loaded the bases with two hits and a walk, but Grehawick induced a groundout to strand the go-ahead run.
In the ninth, Beaver added an insurance run with a solo home run to left, pushing the lead to 6-3. Grehawick allowed a run in the bottom half but finished the game to send Ursinus to the championship.
The Bears will return to action at noon Sunday against No. 8 and top-seeded Johns Hopkins at Babb Field.
