Toccoa Falls College Baseball Team Wins National Championship
Toccoa Falls, GA -- The Toccoa Falls College Eagle Baseball season started with what Coach Justin Pollock felt was a talented team. More importantly, he felt the team had strong leadership potential. Two of the leaders he would draw on were seniors Pete Ervin and Russ Pullen.
The pair lived up to their leadership potential during NCCAA Division II National Championship Tournament. In three days, Pullen pitched in three games earning two wins and a save. He threw 17-1/3 innings, gave up eleven hits, four earned runs, and struck out twelve. Pullen was named MVP of the tournament, selected NCCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year, and was named All-American. Ervin pitched 12 1/3 innings in two games giving up fifteen hits and only one earned run. He won two games including a shutout against Cincinnati Christian University. In the tournament, Ervin also hit two homeruns, drove in eight runs, and was named to the All-Tournament team.
The Eagles were selected to the tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, as an at-large team after coming in second in the South Region of the NCCAA Division II tournament. They entered the national tournament as the sixth seed of eight teams. In three days, the Eagles played five games, all against the number one, two, or three seeded teams.
In the first round of the tournament TFC played third seed Manhattan Christian College. Coach Pollock started Russ Pullen on the mound, giving his team their best chance of a victory. Pullen had led the nation in wins and starting him in the first game might enable him to pitch later in the tournament. The Eagles’ bats came alive as they dominated Manhattan Christian in an eleven to two victory. Pullen pitched a three hitter, giving up one earned run and striking out seven. Pete Ervin led the offense with two home runs and five RBI’s.
The Eagles’ next opponent was the number two seed, Cincinnati Christian University. Ervin had been the team’s homerun leader as well as the second best pitcher during the season. Coach Pollock had remarked, “[He felt] the Eagles could beat any NCCAA team with either Ervin or Pullen on the mound.” He proved to be right as Ervin pitched a six hit shutout against Cincinnati Christian and the Eagles squeezed in 3 runs to bring home their second win of the tourney.
The next opponent for the Eagles was top-seeded Southeastern University of Lakeland, Fla. Southeastern possessed a nineteen game winning streak in the NCCAA National Tournament and had won the championship the last four years. Southeastern’s one loss in the regular season was to the Eagles when Pullen pitched earlier in the year. With less than forty-eight hours of rest, Pullen took the mound again. After four innings, the score was tied at four apiece. Pullen shut down Southeastern for the last five innings of the game, allowing only one hit and no runs. In the top of the ninth inning, Cody Davison led off with a single for the Eagles and was moved to second with a sacrifice by Pullen. Jody Hyde hit a home run on the next pitch to give the Eagles a two run lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Hyde made a diving catch in the outfield with two men on base to secure the 6-4 win for the Eagles.
Southeastern fought their way through the loser’s bracket to face Toccoa Falls in championship. They needed to beat Toccoa Falls College twice to win the championship. After a big win over the Eagles, 13-5, the championship came down to a single game.
Pete Ervin took the mound for the Eagles in the championship game. In the fifth inning, Ervin doubled in Pullen and Chris Jackson and Ryan Kirby scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the score at 3-3. In the top of the sixth, the Eagles took the lead as Ryan Kirby drove in Pullen with a two out single. In the bottom of the sixth, Southeastern had two men on base and one out. Russ Pullen, who had pitched nine innings just a few hours earlier, came on in relief and quickly recorded two outs with a strikeout and pop-up to the second baseman. In the top of the seventh and final inning, the Eagles’ Matt Denney led off with a triple and was driven in by Matt Sprewell. In the bottom of the seventh, Southeastern’s lead-off hitter reached on a walk. The next batter grounded into a double-play. The next hitter grounded out to the second baseman and the Eagles were the NCCAA Division II National Champions.
Coach Justin Pollock, who was named NCCAA Division II Coach of the Year, said that, “The Lord prepared us for a tournament run like as this. Looking back on all the close calls and the great leadership from our players, I felt good about our chances.” He remarked that, “There have probably been Eagle teams with more talent, but none with such strong character.”
In addition to the accolades received by Pullen, Ervin, and Pollock mentioned above, Matt Sprewell was named to the All-Tournament team and Ryan Kirby was named to the All-American team.
Toccoa Falls College is a four-year, private Christian college in northeast Georgia that uniquely integrates Biblical truth with academic excellence. For information on any of the majors offered at Toccoa Falls College, contact the Office of Admissions at 706-886-6831, or visit www.tfc.edu.
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