May 14, 2015 4 min read

Washington and Jefferson picked up its 14th home win of the season and seventh NCAA regional win in school history Thursday, but few have felt more special.

The No. 6 Presidents (29-16) eliminated the second-seeded Adrian College from the NCAA Division III Mideast Region baseball tournament with a 9-3 win at Ross Memorial Park Thursday.

“The opportunity to play at home in the NCAA tournament is a special thing,” Presidents head coach Jeff Mountain said. “Obviously, our first regional win was unique and special but today was definitely a highlight.

“We were very confident coming in. We were confident with the guy we had on the mound today. We came out ready to play. Baseball is a unique sport. One day one thing happens and the next something else happens. We were victimized by two out runs yesterday and today we scored four runs with two outs in the second inning. Big innings are difficult to come by at this stage.”

W&J will play LaRoche, a 4-3 winner over rop-seeded Frostburg Thursday, at 3:15 p.m. today.

The Presidents jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the Bulldogs in the second inning. All the runs were unearned off of Bulldogs starter Jordan Frayer.

Freshman Gannon Rooney delivered the big blow with a towering two run homer over the left field fence.

“It felt really great,” Rooney said. “You can feel the momentum changing to our side. I knew he (Frayer) would come to me and try to get a quick out. I was just looking for a good pitch to hit, and I had enough power and wind behind it. It loosened everybody up. With the way Jared (Baird) has been throwing, we knew we only needed a couple of runs to back him up. We have been able to rely on him.”

The five runs would have proven to be enough for Baird, a senior who was starting his third game in the last seven days.

Baird pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits and struck out seven.

“It is the postseason, so I knew I just had to go out there and get it done,” said Baird, who started games on back-to-back days Saturday and Sunday in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference touranment.

“I think what Baird has done for the last week is just unbelievable,” Mountain said. “It is one of the most amazing things that I have been a part of. I think he is inspiring the rest of the guys as well.”

With a 6-1 lead, the Presidents received their second two-run home run of the game, this time off the bat of Nick Vento. It was the fourth of the season for Vento.

The Bulldogs (33-12) struggled offensively in the tournament, scoring four runs in two games.

“Obviously, not the way we want to end the season,” Adrian coach Craig Rainey said. “I thought our guys did a good job of battling hard. Things didn’t fall our way the last couple of days.”

The lone bright spot for the Bulldogs was centerfielder Jeff Gertley. Gertley belted his second home run of the regional in the eighth inning to chase Baird from the game.

“I struggled the whole day at the plate and I was looking for a pitch I could drive and was able to do so,” Gertley said.

Frayer lasted just two innings, allowing six runs (one earned) on six hits.

LaRoche 4, Frostburg State 3: Colin Feikles hit an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning as No. 4 seed LaRoche defeated top-seeded Frostburg State, 4-3, which will play Shenendoah in an elimination game at noon today.

Heidelberg 5, Shenandoah 0: Adam Manner took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and No. 3 Heidelberg defeated No. 5 Shenendoah, 5-0.

Nolan Overby’s one-out single in the eighth ended the no-hit bid for the Heidelberg (33-12) senior.

Alex Grove homered for the winners, who will play the winner of an elimination game between Frostburg and Shenandoah at 6:30 p.m. today.