When the 2002 college baseball season started, Eastern Connecticut State head coach Bill Holowaty made a prophetic statement.

Holowaty, whose program was on the verge of breaking the 1,000-win plateau, said his team shouldn't be remembered as the squad that provided the program's 1,000th victory. Sure enough, in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship game May 28, his players made sure they would be in the annals for more than one benchmark victory.

In a matchup of two of Division III baseball's most storied programs, Eastern Connecticut State defeated Marietta, 8-0, to claim its fourth national championship -- the most by any school. The tournament finals were held in Appleton, Wisconsin, at Fox Cities Stadium.

"I knew before the season started that these kids were special," Holowaty said. "I told our sports information director that early in the year, and I don't know why I said it. I just knew that these kids had something in them."

Eastern Connecticut State plated all the runs it needed in the top half of the second inning.

Senior first baseman John Kubacha led off with a single to center. With one out, Jared Holowaty lined a fastball from Marietta starter Trey Lamb up the middle for a base hit. Third baseman Inaki Ormaecha's single loaded the bases. After a strikeout, Marietta was almost out of the inning.

But a fielding error by second baseman Dusty Childress allowed Matt Funaro to reach base, and scored Holowaty and Kubachka. Morgan Thompson followed with a single, driving in Ormaecha to give Eastern Connecticut State a 3-0 lead.

Justin Waz of Eastern Connecticut State turned in a stellar performance in the designated hitter role. Waz nearly hit for the cycle -- he lacked a round-tripper -- and finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

The Warriors took a winding road to the championship. After a sluggish start, Eastern Connecticut State was eliminated from the Little East Conference Tournament in two games, placing them on the NCAA tournament bubble.

The Warriors made the field, advanced in regional play and played their best baseball of the season in Appleton.

In the opener, Bill Holowaty, elated that his team was taking a second-inning lead, leapt from the bench in the dugout to cheer. In the process, he injured his surgically repaired hip. After a 29-minute delay, the game continued and the Warriors outlasted Concordia-Austin, 5-4, in 10 innings.

The Warriors won their second game in thrilling fashion, using Inaki Ormaechea's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth to beat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 10-9.

The Warriors then handed Marietta its first loss in the finals, a 4-2 decision that earned a spot in the championship game.

The tournament was a success, setting a new record for total attendance at the championship (19,575).

Game No. 1

Justin Papania, Trey Lamb (9) and Jay Coakley; Brad Downs, Julius Jenkins (7); Nick Maddalena (9) and Sergio Sencion, Terry Brennan. W -- Papania. L -- Downs. S -- Lamb. T -- 2:35. A -- 837.

Game No. 2

Dan Grybash, Brandon Roth (7), Todd Walther (7), Dan Gassner (8) and Mike Giddings, Ryan Polcyn; Rob Dye and Scotty George. W -- Dye. L -- Roth. T -- 2:36. A -- 1,179.

Game No. 3

Scott Berkman, Christopher Razook (9) and Jake Decker; Joey Serfass, Matt Schumey (7), Thomas Spirito (9) and Jeff Funaro. W -- Spirito. L -- Razook. T -- 3:31. A -- 1,069.

Game No. 4

Steve Plucinski and Matt Frelich; Travis Teeter and Seth Shuket. W -- Teeter. L -- Plucinski. T -- 1:53. A -- 1,592.

Game No. 5

Bryan Shaffer, Jared Kolodziejzyk (9) and Sergio Sencion; Dan Lorum, Jason Wiertel (5), Chris Perrino (7), Jared Anderson (9) and Mike Giddings, Ryan Polcyn. W -- Shaffer. L -- Lorum. HR -- Pat Goin (C). T -- 2:43. A -- 1,161.

Game No. 6

Bo Heinemeyer and Matt Frelich; Chem Chavez, Adam Unnasch (8) and Jake Decker. W -- Heinemeyer. L -- Chavez. HR -- Frelich (L). T -- 2:30. A -- 1,096.

Game No. 7

Cliff Wester, Jason Brown (9) and Scotty George; Trey Lamb and Jay Coakley. W -- Lamb. L -- Wester. HR -- Matt Turner (CN), Coakley (M). T -- 2:10. A -- 1,008.

Game No. 8

Max Miller, Aaron Seibert (5), Brian Rickert (6), Brian Brzek (8), Eric Thunell (9) and Brian Marine; Matt Fortin, Matt Schumey (8), Thomas Spirito (8), Jeremy Hall (9) and Jeff Funaro. W -- Hall. L -- Thunell. HR -- Dan Quinn (RI). T -- 2:51. A -- 1,050.

Game No. 9

Mike Cosby, Matt Tignor (9) and Scotty George; Chris Thousand, Dan Rauwerdink (7), Lance Ratcliff (9) and Matt Frelich. W -- Cosby. L -- Thousand. T -- 2:20. A -- 1,173.

Game No. 10

Nate CasaGrande, Nick Maddalena (7) and Sergio Sencion; Pat Hughes, Eric Thunell (4), Ryan McGough (4), Eric Holden (8), Aaron Seibert (8) and Seth Shuket. W -- CasaGrande. L -- Thunell. S -- Maddalena. T -- 3:19. A -- 916.

Game No. 11

Adam Czerwinski, Jeremy Hall (8) and Jeff Funaro; Scott Stocker, Dan May (7) and Jay Coakley. W -- Czerwinski. L -- Stocker. S -- Hall. T -- 2:43. A -- 1,052.

Game No. 12

Justin Papania and Jay Coakley; Matt Szustowicz, Nick Maddalena (7) and Sergio Sencion. W -- Papania. L -- Szustowicz. T -- 2:18. A -- 1,048.

Game No. 13

David Meeker, Tim Fagan (6), Thomas Spirito (8) and Jeff Funaro; Brandon Haywood, Jason Brown (7), Rob Dye (7) and Scotty George. W -- Dye. L -- Spirito. HR -- John Kubachka (EC), Chris Phaup 2 (CN). T -- 2:59. A -- 920.

Game No. 14

Dan May, Scott Stocker (2) and Jay Coakley; Rob Dye, Cliff Wester (5) and Scotty George; W -- Stocker. L -- Dye. HR -- Chris Phaup (CN). T -- 2:37. A -- 961.

Championship game

E -- Thompson, Childress. DP -- Eastern Conn. St. 1. LOB -- Eastern Conn. St. 6, Marietta 8. 2B -- Waz 2, Pauley. 3B -- Waz. CS -- Koch.

W -- Serfass. L -- Lamb. HBP -- Curtin (by Serfass). Umpires -- HP, George Drouches; 1B, John Ramsey; 2B, Jim Jackson; 3B, Rod Murphy. T -- 1:57. Attendance -- 927.