Dreams of Division II World Series berth dashed as soft-tossing lefties befuddle Hawks in super regional

QUINCY — That’s just baseball.

Those three words were the only way the Quincy University baseball team could make sense of an unlikely finish to an incredible season.

The Hawks were ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball. However, they saw their dreams of a trip to the Division II World Series dashed Saturday at QU Stadium in a 5-2 loss to the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds (39-19) won the first two games of the best-of-three super-regional series.

QU (47-11) was one of the most prolific offensive teams in Division II. The Hawks led the nation in home runs (131) and home runs per game (2.26 per game) and ranked in the top 10 in slugging percentage, runs, runs per game and batting average.

However, soft-tossing left-hander Seth Spencer and sidearmer E.J. White shackled the Hawks on seven hits Saturday. A day earlier, soft-tossing left-hander Brandon DeWitt struck out 10 Hawks and allowed eight hits in a complete game 4-3 victory.

“I’ve had three outings against them and done pretty well,” said DeWitt, who had two hits while playing center field on Saturday. “Maybe you’ve just got to throw your junk ball pitcher against them.”

The Hawks were hitting .333 as a team entering the weekend, but they hit just .234 (15 for 64) against Indianapolis with just four extra-base hits — three doubles and a home run by Dustin DuPont in the sixth inning Saturday. The top five hitters in Quincy’s lineup Saturday went a combined 3 for 19 in the second game.

“That’s just baseball,” senior first baseman Lance Logsdon said. “We’ve kind of got in a funk there, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes. There’s not much to say about it right now. Their staff did a good job of, I guess, keeping us off balance. We made good swings, but some were right at people.

“That’s just … it’s baseball. There’s no other way to say it. And, you know, it really sucks. It could have happened during the regular season, but happening in the two biggest games of the year? That’s just the way it goes.”

For all of their offensive struggles, the Hawks still had a chance in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Zach Parks singled to lead off the inning. After Brock Boynton grounded out and Gino D’Alessio flew out to the warning track in left, Logsdon walked.

That brought to the plate Midwest Region Player of the Year Luke Napleton. The senior catcher is the most prolific home run hitter in QU history and the leading home run hitter in Division II this season with 29. However, Napleton swung at the first offering from White and got jammed, flying out to DeWitt for the final out.

“We had our best up at the time,” Hawks coach Matt Schissel said. “Props to them. They beat him.”

“We had our guy, and he’s been our guy all year,” Logsdon said. “I’ll take him up in that situation again any time.”

Joe Huffman put the Hawks on top in the second inning with an RBI double. Left-hander Griffin Kirn retired the first nine Greyhounds in order and shut them out through four innings, but Elijah Good, the ninth-place hitter for Indianapolis, singled to right in the fifth to drive in two runs.

DuPont’s opposite field homer around the left-field foul pole tied the score in the sixth. Indianapolis pushed the go-ahead run across in the seventh. Adam Rakestraw’s bloop double landed just inside the left-field line, driving in Nick Lukac.

Reliever Roman Harrison replaced Kirn and walked Good, and DeWitt’s bunt into the area between the pitcher’s mound and first and second base loaded the bases. Reliever Chase Gockel then walked Drew Donaldson, forcing in a run.

The Hawks stranded two runners in the top of the eighth. Indianapolis scored an insurance run in the bottom of the frame when Lukac walked and Mook Shepler’s double hit chalk down the right-field line.

“That’s why this sport is so hard,” senior center fielder Brock Boynton said. “It’s the hardest sport in the world. Guys are out here getting paid to fail seven out of 10 times. We got a tough call last night (a third strike call that didn’t go QU’s way), and today, we get beat on a duck snort and a ball down the line. That’s just baseball, man.”

Indianapolis, which lost nine consecutive games during the regular season, is the first No. 7 seed to earn a spot in the Division II World Series.

“We got off the tracks a bit there, but we knew we had talent, and we knew we were capable of doing something like this,” DeWitt said. “We had those conversations with the seniors after the (Great Lakes Valley Conference) tournament ended. We didn’t even think we were getting in the regionals. Once we did, we knew we had nothing to lose.”

Losing in the super-regional never was a season-ending scenario the Hawks ever envisioned.

“It’s tough to think about, because you don’t want it to end like that,” Logsdon said. “It was just a tough weekend to get things rolling.”

“I didn’t have a lot to say. I didn’t know what to say,” Schissel said about meeting with his team for the final time. “Tough day.”

Boynton walked to center field by himself after the hugs and goodbyes with teammates. He then sat forlornly in the dugout for several minutes and was one of the last Hawks to leave.

“That spot (in center field) means so much to me, because you’ve had studs come through here in that spot,” he said. “I wanted to keep that tradition going, Man, I want to be that leader out in the field. I know that’s my spot.

“It’s still kind of a shock right now. I’m not going to lie. This fall, we talked about how sweet it was going to be when we go the World Series. We knew we had the potential. We knew the type of talent this team had. It’s just a gut shot, because you just feel like you got short two games.”