Hall of Fame
The 2003 baseball team becomes the fifth team to be recognized by the DeSales University Hall of Fame Committee as the first team to win an NCAA Regional Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III College World Series.
The Bulldogs won their fifth (fourth straight) MAC/Freedom Conference Championship, earning the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. In the Mid-Atlantic Regional DSU breezed through four games averaging 10 runs in the four games and winning their first-ever NCAA Regional Championship.
The Regional title advanced DeSales to the NCAA Division III College World Series in which they were matched up with defending national champion, Eastern Connecticut State University. DSU fell behind early vs. ECSU, 6-0, but snapped Warrior starter Joey Serfass 47.1 inning scoreless streak with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning before a fourth run was thrown out at the plate ending the rally.
The Bulldogs were unable to mount another rally off Serfass and on day two of the World Series DeSales was eliminated by Emory University, 7-0, leaving 14 men on-base and making five errors in the field.
DeSales finished the year with a 30-14 record, its third straight season with 30+ wins and was ranked as high as fifth in the country during the season.
Freshman Matt Reppert and sophomore Ian Hauze led the Bulldogs as Reppert earned Freedom Conference Rookie and Pitcher of the Year honors and Hauze was named the Freedom Conference Co-MVP. Hauze was also named to the Mid-Atlantic Region First-Team and ABCA All-American First-Team, DSU’s first First-Team All-American in baseball. Reppert also earned All-Region Second-Team honors.
Hauze finished the season batting a team-high .418 with 69 hits and 51 RBIs, while Reppert was .9-3 on the mound with a team-low 2.82 ERA and a team-high 79.2 innings pitched.
Nine other Bulldogs were named to the All-Freedom Conference Team including four others on the First-Team; senior Kevin Coyle who batted .359 with 40 RBIs, junior Mike Cohan who hit .383 with a team-high 21 doubles and 37 RBIs, sophomore Dan Fratantoro who hit .401 with 43 runs scored and 37 RBIs, and senior Brett Vargo who hit .317 with seven home runs, a team-high 53 runs scored and was named the Mid-Atlantic Regional Most Valuable Player.
Five others were named to the All-Conference Second-Team including senior Chris Ross who posted a 5-1 record with a 3.28 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched, sophomore Nolan Neiman who hit .333 and had an on-base percentage of .469, senior Lew Campanaro who .348 with 45 runs scored and a team-high 22 stolen bases, junior Tim Gombar who posted a 6-0 record with a .402 ERA in 53.2 innings pitched, and senior Julio Acosta who batted .345 with 16 RBIs.
Other key contributors included sophomore Chris Peters who was the starting catcher and batted .330 and sophomore Kyle Hoffman who was the starting first baseman and batted .278 with 29 RBIs. Junior Jeff Hurley was the closer, recording three saves and a 3.29 ERA in 27.1 innings pitched, while freshman Jon Pallone finished the year 3-2 with a 3.45 ERA and was the winning pitcher in the Mid-Atlantic Regional clinching game.
Other team members included: Dedan Brozino, Matt Burkhart, John Cooper, Sam Courtright, Derek Miller, Kyle Peters, Brian Podolak, Tony Pomanti, and Pete Quarracino.
Coach Neiman had this to say about the 2003 team, “The 2003 season was a magical journey engineered by a very special group of young men. There resiliency and determination led to a memorable season that the DeSales community will never forget. More importantly, we are most proud of what they are now accomplishing off the field. The team is a credit to DeSales University in all they do, setting an example every day in their personal and professional lives.”
