Boyertown, PA - While his Montclair State teammates were boarding the bus Wednesday morning for the NCAA Division 3 Mid-Atlantic Regional, senior second baseman
DAVE WURST remained in bed at his Randolph hme, suffering from a severe stomach virus.
"It was pretty base," Wurst said. "I was pretty sick. I stayed home, stayed in bed and got some rest. I didn't want any of my teammates to get what I had."
Yesterday, Wurst slept in the car as his father drove to Bear Stadium, where they arrived just 90 minutes before that start of the game, but in time for pre-game warmups.
Wurst decided to give it a shot.
"I figured I could try to contribute in some way," Wurst said.
He contributed in no small way. Wurst had three hits, including a two-run homer in the seventh inning that snapped a tie, and a two-run triple in the eighth that put the game away as Montclair State recorded a 9-3 victory over Elizabethtown in the opening round of the regional.
Top-seeded Montclair State (32-9), the 2000 NCAA Division 3 World Series champion, moved on to the second round of the six-team, double-elimination tournament. Today at 3 p.m., Montclair State, ranked No 4 nationally will face DeSales University. Last year, the Red Hawks erased a 10-0 deficit against the Bulldogs for a 14-11 victory during the Mid-Atlantic Regional at Yogi Berra Stadium. The game was halted in the seventh inning and did not resume until three days later.
Montclair battled to a 3-3 with sixth-seeded Elizabethtown (18-18) for six innings before breaking the game open in the home seventh. First baseman
GEORGE BECKER, batting ninth in the lineup, started the rally by beating out an infield single. Wurst then turned on a fastball and knocked his fourth homer of the season over the right-field fence, giving Montclair the lead for good at 5-3.
Montclair State has been through the Mid-Atlantic regional in each of the last four years, so it knows the importance of winning the opener.
"The first game is the most important one, because it sets the tone for the rest of the tournament," Wurst said. "Now we're able to do so many other things."
