2010 World Series in Appleton...

[ECSUalum]

IWU story is similar to the 2008 Fresno State D-I CWS Championship win where FS finished 47-31 and were near a .500 W/L % toward end of the regular season.

Just goes to show if you get juiced before tournaments start, anything can happen.

Congrats to IWU!!

IWU and Fresno stories are very similar. Wow College Baseball has so many great stories.

Did anyone hear the great stories of IWU with the Rally Monkey and the Pink Disneyland Cindrella backpack in the IWU dugout told during the game by the announcers of the web video broadcast

In 2010 IWU 21 loses are the most by a DIII baseball champion
In 2008 Fresno State's 31 losses are the most by a DI baseball champion
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/baseball/recap?gameId=2817700611
•

Crash,

Great article on 2008 Fresno State team!!!!+k

[BigPoppa]

Kind of puts it all in perspective, huh? Great article about a true hero in the College World Series.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100530/APC0206/5300625

[BigPoppa]

Let's hope it stays in Appleton. Great host and some of the highest attendance numbers. The article below talks about the 2010 event.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100602/APC0206/6020612/NCAA-event-draws-near-record-attendance

[Pat Coleman]

IWU story is similar to the 2008 Fresno State D-I CWS Championship win where FS finished 47-31 and were near a .500 W/L % toward end of the regular season.

Just goes to show if you get juiced before tournaments start, anything can happen.

Congrats to IWU!!

IWU and Fresno stories are very similar. Wow College Baseball has so many great stories.

Did anyone hear the great stories of IWU with the Rally Monkey and the Pink Disneyland Cindrella backpack in the IWU dugout told during the game by the announcers of the web video broadcast

In 2010 IWU 21 loses are the most by a DIII baseball champion
In 2008 Fresno State's 31 losses are the most by a DI baseball champion
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/baseball/recap?gameId=2817700611
•

They don't call it a rally monkey, but yes, we were aware. Monkey was on the front page of D3baseball.com the week before the championships and we wrote about it yesterday.

http://www.d3baseball.com/notables/2010/06/01/7488/titans-weren-t-monkeying-around.html

[infielddad]

Kind of puts it all in perspective, huh? Great article about a true hero in the College World Series.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100530/APC0206/5300625

Thank you for sharing the article.
Boy, does that put a lump in my throat and baseball in perspective.
One amazing young man!

[OshDude]

Besides the stuff in the stands, like talking with parents and fans, dancing a bit with Bobby Beacon, watching the IWU fan section grow each day, enjoying beautiful weather, seeing some amazing dance moves by the over-50 set and witnessing the joy/nervousness of the parents and families (not giving names, but I'm surprised some didn't need medical attention for blood pressure, anxiety, etc.), here are my top 10 (in the tradition of the Big Ten as it turns out) memories from this year's tourney.

• IWU RP Joe Froelich throwing the kitchen sink at Linfield for seven innings, propelling IWU to the finals. Jason Pankau and Brent Kuvalic were amazing as well – Pankau was my Most Outstanding Player and Kuvalic worked quickly and effectively – but I don't think IWU would be champs without Froelich. That can be said about many Titans, but if I had to pick one, it's Froelich. IWU coach Dennis Martel had a permasmile for the rest of the weekend after Froelich's Jaime Moyer impersonation.
• In the bottom of the sixth of the Linfield/IWU winner's bracket final, the plate ump warns the IWU bench, "Another word and someone's gone." Linfield SS Kelson Brown had hit an absolute bomb to LF in the top half to put his team up 3-1. Momentum was definitely on the Wildcats' side. I can't be sure if the ump's warning had anything to do with it, but the Titans were all kinds of fired up after that and went on to score three runs in the sixth and held on to win, 4-3.
• IWU 3B Jeff Grodecki's home run off the scoreboard – nearly off his own projected face on the video screen – in the fourth that demoralized Cortland in the final.
• Linfield CF Tyson Smith's defense and baserunning. If you hit it anywhere from gap to gap, Smith caught it. If he got a single, you may as well put him on 2B (except for that bogus CS call when his face was practically on 2B before his ankle was tagged).
• Linfield 1B Rhett Fenton's grand slam for obvious reasons.
• UWSP coach Pat Bloom trying to rally his team by arguing a tag-up play noncall on a trail runner when his team was down six to Heidelberg in the fifth.
• Cortland C/DH Andersen Gardner's bombs. Nearly all of his at-bats were anticipated by all.
• Questionable umpiring throughout. Plenty of restraint shown for only one person to be ejected this year.
• JHU coach Bob Babb going out to the mound in the ninth against Heidelberg in a 2-2 game with runners on 1B and 3B and seeing the reliever come in from the CF bullpen ... to trot into the dugout apparently. JHU SP Alex Eliopoulos promptly gave up a single up the middle. Ballgame, as it turned out.
• The multiple substitutions at the end the championship game. Never saw it done like that in baseball before. Both teams gave nice recognition to all players, too.
• IWU hype man Cat Adams. He probably whipped up the crowd with his towel wave about nine times during the tournament. Damned if the Titans didn't put up a crooked number nearly every time. Not sure how much screen time he got on the webcast, but if you were there, he was hard to miss – #35 strutting and leading the high-fives. One of the IWU girls even paid tribute with a "We (heart) Cat" sign at the final.

So, those are my favorite moments. Anyone else have some?

[Jim Dixon]

• IWU RP Joe Froelich throwing the kitchen sink at Linfield for seven innings, propelling IWU to the finals. Jason Pankau and Brent Kuvalic were amazing as well – Pankau was my Most Outstanding Player and Kuvalic worked quickly and effectively – but I don't think IWU would be champs without Froelich. That can be said about many Titans, but if I had to pick one, it's Froelich. IWU coach Dennis Martel had a permasmile for the rest of the weekend after Froelich's Jaime Moyer impersonation.

Froelich was on my all-tournament ballot.  In a series that had so few great pitching performances, his was one of the best.

I am a firm believer that a team should be the best position in each position.  I used the DH slot to get two first baseman since I wanted either Fenton or Richter there if there was no field position available.

Here is how D3baseball.com would have presented an All-Tournament team

P Jason Pankau, Illinois Wesleyan, Junior - MVP
RP: Tim Foelich, Illinois Wesleyan, Senior
C: Andersen Gardner, Cortland, Senior
1B: Rhett Fenton, Linfield, Senior
1B: Jeremy Richter, UW-Stevens Point, Senior
2B: Matt June, Cortland, Sophomore
3B: Jeff Grodecki, Illinois Wesleyan, Senior
SS: Kelson Brown, Linfield, Senior
OF: Khyle Dimino, Cortland,  Senior
OF: Tyson Smith, Linfield,  Senior
OF: Zach Boskovich, Linfield, Sophomore

[D O.C.]

From my HPOV, Joe Froelich gave the most outstanding performance at the right time. A grand slam into the next round is hard to beat but his time in the light was outstanding considering the rest of his season. Totally helped the team effort.

[Gramps]

Gramps here to tell you what a wonderful time we had in our first WS.  Our host families couldn't have been more gracious and we deeply thank them for their hospitality and friendship.  The stadium was fantastic and the media was fair and balanced.

The competition was the best that we have faced and we were very glad to have come out with two victories. Congratulations to IWU on winning the championship, they are a very deserving team.

It was nice to see other fans come up to our players and compliment them on their skills.  One fan in particular walked over to our ss, Jason Lash, and said that he had played ss in college 40 years ago.  He than preceded to tell him how impressed he was with his abilities in the field.  I was impressed by the fan.

There were so many young kids there, who when they got a foul ball would go up to the players, both before and after the game, and have them autograph the ball.

The good Lord willing, it'll be fun to come back.