(box score)
Widener's run at the Commonwealth Conference Tournament ended with a 9-1 loss to eighth-ranked Alvernia.
The story was Crusaders starter Andrew Kirk (8-1), who notched 16 strikeouts in about as dominant a performance as one could expect. He allowed one run and four hits over nine innings with just three walks.
Alvernia struck first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Eric Domitrovits dropped down a sacrifice bunt that was misplayed by sophomore catcher Dennis Hocker (Coral Springs, FL), allowing Reid Martin to score. Tim Ahlquist followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Aaron Carman.
The Crusaders tacked on three more runs in the third for a 5-0 lead. Carman rapped an RBI single through the left side and Domitrovits followed with a two-run triple to left field.
Alvernia made it 6-0 in the fifth when Travis Wrambel homered to right center. Widener scored its lone run in the seventh when senior Tom DeAngelis (Pottstown, PA) crossed home on a wild pitch.
The Crusaders (33-6) scored three times in the eighth, keyed by Leon Stimpson's two-run double, for the final.
Stimpson and Domitrovits had two hits and two RBI each as part of the Crusaders' 14-hit attack.
DeAngelis closed with two hits and West Chester, PA junior Rick Kazigian (4-5) gave up five runs – three earned – and four hits over 2 2/3 innings for the Pride.
Widener (24-15) closes another strong year in which it reached at least 20 victories for a school-record seventh consecutive season. The Pride, who won the conference title last season and competed in the NCAA Tournament, this year had seven players named to the all-league team.
