The Journal

Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Max Gersh Senior Clint Tomer dives safely into third base April 28 as the Principia third baseman misses the throw.

Media Credit: Max Gersh Kurt Garner (left) gives his hat to Ryan Hoffman's son April 28. Hoffman's son accompanied him onto the field for the Senior Day presentations.

The conference title was on the line, the tying run was at the plate, and the Gorloks were in the tightest spot they had been in all season.


One line drive double play later, the Gorloks were champions of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in their final conference game April 29 against Blackburn College.


With Webster leading 4-2 and Blackburn threatening, junior pitcher Joe Malat threw a bullet to the plate, only to have the ball come right back at him a split second later. Malat snagged the line drive, turned and quickly fired to first base to double up the runner. With the final two outs recorded, the Gorloks had their second SLIAC championship in school history.


"That would have made it 4-3 if Joe didn't catch it," Head Coach Bill Kurich said. "It was a shot, and he didn't do anything but defend himself and it stuck in his glove."


Malat's dramatic play was the happy ending the Gorloks were hoping for. It was looking like the Gorloks would finish in a first place tie with Blackburn, and would be the No. 2 seed in the SLIAC tournament.


The Gorloks clinched the tie April 28, embarrassing Principia College 26-3 and 16-4 and ensuring Blackburn could not overtake them.


But after the Gorloks lost the first game against Blackburn April 29, it came down to one game to decide whether the Gorloks would have to share the title and lose their top seed in the tournament.


Fortunately, the Gorloks aren't into charity.


The team wrapped up SLIAC regular season play with a conference record of 15-3 and 26-11 overall. The team is all over the leaderboards both offensively and defensively. Junior outfielder Dave Umfleet won the SLIAC batting title with an astonishing .447 average. Senior Clint Tomer and sophomore Alex Raetzloff finished second and third in the conference with averages of .442 and .417.


After the blowout against Principia, the Gorloks improved their team batting average to .346, a whopping 35 points ahead of Fontbonne University, the next in line with .311.


Kurich said he was pleased with the way his hitters dominated, as the Gorloks belted six home runs in the two Principia games.


"We swung the bat really well all day long," Kurich said. "It's hard to point out one guy who had a really great day. They left some pitches up, and with the wind blowing out, we got the ball up into the jet stream and it carried out of there pretty good."


The offense took a dramatic turn the next day against Blackburn. The Gorloks could manage only two runs, as the Battlin' Beavers held off the Gorloks to win 4-2.


In the second conference game, Blackburn took a 2-1 fifth inning lead, leaving the Gorloks with little time to mount a comeback. But in the eighth inning, Raetzloff belted a game-tying home run to keep the Gorloks alive.


The score stayed knotted at two as the game pushed into the tenth inning. A two-out, two-RBI single by Tomer gave the Gorloks the lead. All it took was some good pitching and a little luck for Malat to secure the title.


"We ran out there, piled on the mound and had a good time with it," Kurich said. "They deserve that experience; they worked their butts off and I'm happy for them."


The Gorloks' pulled out an 11-1 win over Illinois College May 1 before rain scratched the second game, improving their overall record to 27-11. The team will take on Washington University May 5. The SLIAC tournament begins May 10. The rest of the teams haven't been determined yet. The winner will represent the conference in the NCAA Division III Tournament.


Even though the Gorloks have the top seed, Kurich is stressing to the team that the conference championship doesn't mean the season is over.


"There's nothing that anybody can do that can take away that day, and we're going to remember that," Kurich said. "But we're a team that's about hard work and getting better every time we step on the field. We've got to continue to get better because there are more big games ahead of us."

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