Boyertown, PA – Once you have earned the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Division 3 World Series like COREY HAMMAN did last year, you have proven that you can perform in pressure situations.

"If you can pitch there," said Hamman, the Montclair State junior left-hander "then you can pitch anywhere. Ever since I won that last game in the nation championship, I've had all the confidence in the world."

Hamman oozed with confidence yesterday, pitching Montclair State to within one victory of making a return trip to the World Series. The Roxbury native scattered eight hits, struck out eight and walked two in going the distance, giving Montclair State a 4-2 victory over Johns Hopkins in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Division 3 Mid-Atlantic Regional at Bear Stadium.

Montclair State (34-9), which has won 20 of its last 21 games, needs one victory against Gwynedd-Mercy to return to the NCAA Division 3 World Series next weekend in Appleton, Wisc., Montclair State captured the national title in Appleton last year.

If Montclair loses the first game today at noon, then a second game at 3 p.m. against the same opponent would decide the regional champion.

Montclair State head coach Norm Schoenig knows one thing. If he needs a big win in a crucial situation, he just gives the ball to Hamman (10-5).

"When Corey goes to the mound, we're a very confident team," Schoenig said. "He did a tremendous job today. He's proven that he's a big game pitcher."

"I felt I had command of every pitch I throw," Hamman said. "After the first couple of innings, I felt I was getting stronger and throwing harder."

After allowing a solo homer to Joe Urban to lead off the sixth inning, Hamman breezed through the next three innings, getting seven outs via ground balls and striking out three, one of which reached by a wild pitch.

Hamman then seemed to run into trouble in the ninth, allowing two hard-hit singles to lead off the inning. But he got out of the jam, keyed by catcher JEFF SCHRIBER, who picked off Ben Taylor at second base. Hamman then got two more outs to clinch the victory.

"He kept the ball down all day and he's not going to get beat down there," said Schriber, who also contributed with two hits and an RBI. " With Corey, I can always tell early on if he has it. If he's throwing strikes early, it's going to be a tough day for the other team."

Montclair State again struck first, giving Hamman a lead before he took the mound. DAVE WURST led off the game with a single and the school's all-time leader in stolen bases quickly stole second. SEAN MORRISON bunted Wurst to third and he scored on CRAIG CONWAY's sacrifice fly to short center.

Johns Hopkins (33-13), which was the only team in the past month to defeat Montclair with a 10-9 victory on May 2, tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single from Taylor, but Montclair State responded with two runs in the fifth. Schriber and GEORGE BECKER had back-to-back singles and freshman P.J. BACCARELLA, subbing for the injured BRIAN ELLERSON at shortstop, dropped a bloop double down the right field line to deliver Schriber. Morrison's sacrifice fly made the score, 3-1.

Urban's solo homer cur the lead to 3-2, but Montclair State responded with a run in the sixth on an BI ground out by Schriber.