May 12, 2007

Loper Baseball...2007 RMAC Tournament Champions

Schleifer Has Amazing Effort as UNK Beats Highlands Twice for Crown

      Kearney, Neb. –   In one of the biggest days in Nebraska-Kearney baseball history, the Lopers beat New Mexico Highlands twice, 9-8 and 14-4, to win the 2007 RMAC Tournament Saturday in Grand Junction, Colo.

      The Lopers (32-22) earn the automatic bid to the NCAA’s and will play in the West Regional next Thursday-Sunday at a site to be announced. The 64-team NCAA field will be announced late Sunday night.

      Before this weekend, UNK has won only three games in the RMAC Tournament and never more then one in a single season. Over the last three days, UNK went 4-0.

      After hanging onto win the first game today, UNK jumped out to a 5-0 lead and then outscored Highlands 9-1 over the final four innings.

      Senior southpaw Paul Schleifer (Grossmont, Calif.), on just two days rest, threw a complete game seven hitter with a season-high10 strikeouts. In throwing 139 pitches, he gave up just two earned runs to improve to 5-6.

      Highlands, who beat UNK to begin the tournament, started their No. 1 starter in Evan White. He was 2-0 against the Lopers this year but he gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings.  

      UNK, which hit .364 for the tournament, pounded out 21 hits, 17 of them singles. Five different players had at least three hits in the game, led by Grenta junior Joe Nowaczyk (4 for 6, two runs, two RBI’s).

      Registering three hits were seniors Ryan Bucher (Littleton, Colo.) and Cody Lusero (Omaha), junior Chris Gillaspy (Henderson, Nev.) and Tyler Keeble (Mesa, Ariz.)    

      Lusero would be named tourney MVP with sophomore outfielders Brad Hull and Nate Swearer of Lincoln, and relief pitcher Cody Hovdestad (Swift Current, Sask.).

      Lusero, the 2007 RMAC Player of the Year, capped a great weekend by breaking the school record for hits in a season (86, Rich Piper, 1981). The Papillion-LaVista grad is now at 88 hits.

     Also putting his name into the record books was Keeble, who easily could've been on the all-tourney team. His seven assists on Saturday give him 138 for the year, breaking the UNK season mark of 134 (Mike Radcliff, 1996 & Derek Fleshman, 2003).

     Lusero could join Keeble in breaking this record as he is at 126 assists.