Appleton, WI - COREY HAMMAN was all set up to enjoy a leisurely day at the ballpark yesterday at the NCAA Division 3 World Series.

The Montclair State sophomore was set to be the starting pitcher today (Sunday) if SCOTT ALLAN's pitching kept the baseball team alive in the tournament.

"I was just sitting on the bench, relaxing, watching Scottie throw," said Hamman, a Flanders native and former Roxbury High School standout. "I wasn't thinking about anything. It was my day off."

Not for long.

In the fourth inning of Montclair State's do-or-die losers bracket contest with Emory of Georgia. Allan came up with a blister on his middle finger. The team turned to Hamman, who came through with six innings of one-hit relief in Montclair State's 5-0 victory.

Allan, who has been battling blister problems all year, knew right away his day was done, throwing his glove high in the air in disgust.

"About a quarter of his finger just popped off," Montclair State head coach Norm Schoenig said.

The coach summoned Hamman with Montclair ahead, 1-0, but Emory threatening with runners on first and second. Hamman was given as much time as he needed to warm up, which is nothing like knowing ahead of time that he would be the starter.

"There was no time to mentally get prepared," he said. "I just had to get out there. I had no time to think about anything."

With the season hanging in the balance, Hamman gave the performance of his career. The only his he allowed was a meaningless ninth-inning single. He also struck out five and walked two in an impressive relief stint, picking two runners off first base and watching his defense turn sparkling plays behind him.

Montclair State maintains its title hope in the double-elimination tournament. It plays again today at 4:30 p.m. against the loser of the last game between Allegheny (Pa.) and Wartburg (Iowa).

The decision also gave MSU (38-7-1) a school record for victories in a season, snapping the mark of 37 set in 1987 and 1993, the latter time when Montclair State last captured the Division 3 national championship.

Schoenig couldn't say enough about Hamman's impromptu performance.

"Corey did an outstanding job," Schoenig said. "We needed someone to step up for us and Corey came up big and gave us what we needed. We were living on the edge there, but Corey threw strikes and get us to another day. What was really impressive to me was the way Corey was able to bounce back again from a tough outing. He was tremendous."

Last week, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional, Hamman was roughed up by Allentown for seven earned runs in four innings. Montclair State came back to win that game, 14-11, after trailing 10-0 in a contest that stretched over three days because of rain delays.