George Fox entered this year's Division III Baseball Championship unranked and largely unknown to most of the country, but the Oregon-based team remedied that situation in a hurry.

The Bruins, after emerging undefeated from a tough regional on the home field of last year's champion, swept through its first four games in the May 28-June 1 finals at Appleton, Wisconsin, then held off top-ranked Eastern Connecticut State to claim the school's first team championship in any NCAA sport.

The title game matched first-team all-American pitchers Scott Hyde of George Fox and Ryan DiPietro of Eastern Connecticut State, who both recorded complete-game victories in the first round of the finals and then appeared in relief roles the day before the championship game.

Hyde put together another complete game and held the Warriors to three runs on five hits, while the Bruins chased DiPietro and took the lead for good with a two-run fourth inning. Right fielder Derrick Jones' seventh-inning homer put the game out of Eastern Connecticut State's reach, while Hyde retired 11 of the final 12 batters in the game.

"God touched his arm tonight," George Fox coach Pat Bailey said of Hyde, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

The Bruins were seeded third in their regional, hosted by defending champion Chapman, and were unranked in the Division III baseball coaches' poll. But George Fox beat the host team in the opener, then swept through Linfield and La Verne before beating nationally No. 3-ranked Trinity (Texas) in the regional final.

Then, George Fox kept rolling in Appleton, first riding Hyde's arm to an 8-3 opening win over Salisbury, then getting another complete game from Cory Dixon in a 6-2 win over Rowan. The Bruins advanced to the championship game with a 9-8, three-hour victory over the tourney's only other remaining unbeaten team, Eastern Connecticut State, sending the Warriors into an elimination game against Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The Warriors won that game, 2-1, on Dwight Wildman's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, then rallied again in its first rematch against George Fox, coming from six runs down to hand the Bruins their first postseason loss, 12-7.

With that, everything came down to the Hyde vs. DiPietro matchup, and George Fox finally found the Division III baseball spotlight that had eluded the Bruins all season.

Four other Bruins joined Hyde on the all-tournament team: second baseman C. R. Braniff, shortstop David Peterson, third baseman Tye Tinner and catcher Greg Dombek.

Eastern Connecticut State, which suffered its first loss in five championship-game appearances, also placed four players on the team, including DiPietro and right fielder Wildman, who hit four home runs in the tourney. Other Warriors named to the squad were outfielder Randy Re and pitcher Joey Serfass.

Aurora outfielders John Hopkins and Jay Lavender also were named to the team.

George Fox ended the season with a 40-10 record, while Eastern Connecticut State closed out play with a 43-11 mark.

Regionals

At Troy, New York -- Brockport St. 9, Cortland St. 4; Ithaca 18, Rensselaer 6; Brockport St. 8, Ithaca 3; Cortland St. 11, Rensselaer 2; Ithaca 8, Cortland St. 5; Brockport St. 8, Ithaca 2. (Brockport St. advances.)

At Whitewater, Wisconsin -- Ripon 12, St. Thomas (Minn.) 11; Wis.-Whitewater 22, Concordia (Wis.) 7; St. Thomas (Minn.) 13, Concordia (Wis.) 1; Wis.-Whitewater 5, Ripon 3; St. Thomas (Minn.) 6, Ripon 4; Wis.-Whitewater 7, St. Thomas (Minn.) 4. (Wis.-Whitewater advances.)

At Wooster, Ohio -- Manchester 5, Heidelberg 1; Wooster 4, Albion 3; Heidelberg 8, Albion 4; Manchester 5, Wooster 2; Wooster 10, Heidelberg 7; Manchester 7, Wooster 6. (Manchester advances.)

At Boyertown, Pennsylvania -- Johns Hopkins 6, Juniata 0; Rowan 3, Arcadia 2; DeSales 5, St. Joseph's (L.I.) 2; Arcadia 8, Juniata 7; Johns Hopkins 7, St. Joseph's (L.I.) 2; Rowan 8, DeSales 2; Rowan 6, Johns Hopkins 0; Arcadia 10, DeSales 9; Johns Hopkins 7, Arcadia 3; Rowan 4, Johns Hopkins 2. (Rowan advances.)

At Orange, California -- La Verne 7, Trinity (Tex.) 5; Linfield 5, Cal St. Hayward 4; George Fox 3, Chapman 1; Trinity (Tex.) 9, Cal St. Hayward 3; Chapman 6, La Verne 2; George Fox 10, Linfield 5; La Verne 11, Linfield 4; Trinity (Tex.) 7, Chapman 2 (10 inn.); George Fox 6, La Verne 1; George Fox 6, Trinity (Tex.) 2. (George Fox advances.)

At Martinsville, Virginia -- Emory 10, York (Pa.) 4; Salisbury 13, Methodist 12; Mary Washington 6, Va. Wesleyan 1; Methodist 7, York (Pa.) 6; Emory 3, Va. Wesleyan 2; Salisbury 21, Mary Washington 11; Salisbury 11, Emory 10 (10 inn.); Methodist 9, Mary Washington 0; Methodist 8, Emory 5; Salisbury 6, Methodist 1. (Salisbury advances.)

At Bloomington, Illinois -- Carthage 6, Blackburn 4; Simpson 9, McMurry 4; Aurora 14, Ill. Wesleyan 7; Blackburn 6, Ill. Wesleyan 3; Aurora 16, McMurry 4; Simpson 15, Carthage 9; Aurora 7, Simpson 5; Carthage 14, Blackburn 10; Carthage 14, Simpson 7; Aurora 21, Carthage 4. (Aurora advances.)

At Willimantic, Connecticut -- Eastern Conn. St. 5, Amherst 2; Western New Eng. 3, Endicott 1; Bridgewater St. 4, Babson 3; Endicott 12, Amherst 10; Eastern Conn. St. 8, Babson 0; Bridgewater St. 4, Western New Eng. 3; Eastern Conn. St. 19, Bridgewater St. 3; Western New. Eng. 3, Endicott 1; Bridgewater St. 10, Western New Eng. 4; Eastern Conn. St. 9, Bridgewater St. 3. (Eastern Conn. St. advances.)

Championship

Game No. 1

Aurora -- 100 -- 000 -- 010 -- 2 -- 10 -- 0

Brockport St. -- 200 -- 000 -- 30x -- 5 -- 8 -- 1

Jeff Salzmann, Ryan Baird (8) and Chris Forbes; Ben Kimball, Shawn Mahoney (9) and Jeff Schwegler, Joe Lux. W -- Kimball. L -- Salzmann. S -- Mahoney. T -- 2:19. A -- 1,107.

Game No. 2

Manchester -- 000 -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 3 -- 1

Eastern Conn. St. -- 100 -- 040 -- 05x --10 -- 9 -- 0

Tyler Wolfe, Travis Sluss (8) and Jared Kurtz; Ryan DiPietro and Adam Hevenor. HR -- Eugene Julien (Eastern Conn. St.), Dwight Wildman (Eastern Conn. St.). W -- DiPietro. L -- Wolfe. T -- 2:08. A -- 1,431.

Game No. 3

Rowan -- 000 -- 010 -- 250 -- 8 -- 12 -- 0

Wis.-Whitewater -- 010 -- 000 -- 001 -- 2 -- 7 -- 3

Josh Schwartz and Michael Rucci; Brady Endl, Greg Reinhard (7) and Aaron Guilbault. HR -- Bryan Ciconte (Rowan), Brent Dempsey (Rowan), Eric Baldwin (Wis.-Whitewater). W -- Schwartz. L -- Endl. T -- 2:19. A -- 1,961.

Game No. 4

Salisbury -- 000 -- 100 -- 110 -- 3 -- 5 -- 2

George Fox -- 101 -- 004 -- 02x -- 8 -- 14 -- 3

Greg Lasinski, Brian Shipe (6), Eric Bush (8) and Matt Johnson, B. J. Kittle; Scott Hyde and Greg Dombek. W -- Hyde. L -- Lasinski. T -- 2:33. A -- 2,059.

Game No. 5

Manchester -- 000 -- 200 -- 040 -- 6 -- 10 -- 2

Aurora -- 013 -- 102 -- 00x -- 7 -- 10 -- 2

Adam Augustine, Jared Kurtz (5) and Kurtz, Greg Hollenbaugh; Robbie Fontana, George Creviston (8), Ryan Baird (9) and Chris Forbes. HR -- Hollenbaugh (Manchester). W -- Fontana. L -- Augustine. S -- Baird. T -- 2:35. A -- 1,481.

Game No. 6

Wis.-Whitewater -- 420 -- 002 -- 000 -- 8 -- 13 -- 0

Salisbury -- 000 -- 010 -- 000 -- 1 -- 6 -- 2

Ryan Callahan, Andrew Bergholz (9) and Aaron Guilbault; Mac Mollet, Nick Dunk (6) and Matt Johnson. HR -- Brady Endl (Wis.-Whitewater). W -- Callahan. L -- Mollet. T -- 2:19. A -- 1,724.

Game No. 7

Brockport St. -- 000 -- 001 -- 000 -- 1 -- 2 -- 2

Eastern Conn. St. -- 000 -- 100 -- 01x -- 2 -- 8 -- 2

Jeff Wilson and Joe Lux; Joey Serfass and Randy Re. HR -- Tim Wilson (Brockport St.). W -- Serfass. L -- Wilson. T -- 1:55. A -- 1,750.

Game No. 8

George Fox -- 101 -- 110 -- 020 -- 6 -- 14 -- 1

Rowan -- 000 -- 001 -- 010 -- 2 -- 7 -- 2

Cory Dixon and Greg Dombek; Tom McCullen, Tyler Dempsey (7), Jim Gendaszek (8) and Michael Rucci. HR -- Irvin McFarland (Rowan). W -- Dixon. L -- McCullen. T -- 2:11. A -- 1,772.

Game No. 9

Brockport St. -- 000 -- 003 -- 000 -- 3 -- 9 -- 2

Wis.-Whitewater -- 011 -- 000 -- 11x -- 4 -- 12 -- 2

Shawn Mahoney, Jason Waite (8), Jeff Miterko (8) and Joe Lux; Kevin Tomasiewicz, Andrew Bergholz (6), Collin Kuecker (9) and Aaron Guilbault. HR -- Andy Petersen (Brockport St.). W -- Bergholz. L -- Mahoney. S -- Kuecker. T -- 2:30. A -- 1,523.

Game No. 10

Rowan -- 100 -- 000 -- 300 -- 4 -- 6 -- 1

Aurora -- 111 -- 110 -- 02x -- 7 -- 11 -- 1

Brian McLaughlin, Jim Gendaszek (4), Michael Sclafani (5) and Michael Rucci; Adam Hutten, Ryan Baird (7), George Creviston (8) and Chris Forbes. HR -- Irvin McFarland (Rowan). W -- Hutten. L -- McLaughlin. S -- Creviston. T -- 2:29. A -- 1,567.

Game No. 11

Eastern Conn. St. -- 020 -- 230 -- 010 -- 8 -- 9 -- 5

George Fox -- 210 -- 310 -- 02x -- 9 -- 12 -- 1

Jeremy Hall, Ben O'Brien (4), Joey Serfass (8) and Adam Hevenor; Mike Beck, Peder Rauen (4), Jordan Purdy (6), Scott Hyde (8) and Greg Dombek. HR -- Dwight Wildman (Eastern Conn. St.), David Peterson (George Fox). W -- Hyde. L -- Serfass. T -- 3:01. A -- 1,571.

Game No. 12

Wis.-Whitewater -- 000 -- 100 -- 000 -- 1 -- 7 -- 1

Eastern Conn. St. -- 000 -- 000 -- 002 -- 2 -- 5 -- 1

Greg Reinhard, Colin Kuecker (9) and Aaron Guilbault; Ty Bongiovanni, Ryan DiPietro (8) and Adam Hevenor. HR -- Dwight Wildman (Eastern Conn. St.). W -- DiPietro. L -- Kuecker. T -- 2:12. A -- 1,636.

Game No. 13

George Fox -- 024 -- 000 -- 024 -- 12 -- 15 -- 1

Aurora -- 101 -- 200 -- 011 -- 6 -- 12 -- 2

Brady Rhodes, Sean Hammon (4), Peder Rauen (9) and Tom Morris; George Creviston, Chris Olson (3), Jonathan Turek (4), Ryan Fair (8), Mike Gunter (9), Robbie Fontana (9) and Chris Forbes. HR -- Greg Dombek (George Fox). W -- Hammon. L -- Creviston. T -- 3:07. A -- 1,641.

Game No. 14

Eastern Conn. St. -- 001 -- 722 -- 000 -- 12 -- 14 -- 2

George Fox -- 240 -- 010 -- 000 -- 7 -- 9 -- 3

Sam Iverson, Ben O'Brien (1), Michael Maruska (2) and Adam Hevenor; Cory Dixon, Mike Beck (4), Jordan Purdy (5) and Greg Dombek. HR -- Randy Re (Eastern Conn. St.). W -- Maruska. L -- Beck. T -- 2:40. A -- 1,409.

Championship game

George Fox -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI -- BB -- SO -- PO -- A

Stephen Donohue dh -- 5 -- 1 -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

C.R. Braniff 2b -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 2 -- 2 -- 1

David Peterson ss -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 1 -- 2 -- 1 -- 3

Joshua Sargent 1b -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0 -- 6 -- 0

Greg Dombek c -- 5 -- 1 -- 3 -- 1 -- 0 -- 1 -- 12 -- 2

Scott Hunter lf -- 4 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0

Evan Hagen lf -- 1 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Derrick Jones rf -- 5 -- 3 -- 4 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0

Tye Tinner 3b -- 4 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 2

Drew Johnson cf -- 5 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Scott Hyde p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Totals -- 40 -- 6 -- 14 -- 4 -- 3 -- 8 -- 27 -- 8

Eastern Conn. St. -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI -- BB -- SO -- PO -- A

Jason Pekrul lf -- 4 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 2 -- 0

Eugene Julien 2b -- 4 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 5 -- 1

Dwight Wildman rf -- 3 -- 1 -- 2 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0

Leon Galemba dh -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0

Chris DeSantis p -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0

Marc Garofalo 3b -- 4 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 2

Randy Re cf -- 4 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0

Zach Mehrbach 1b -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 2 -- 10 -- 0

Adam Hevenor c -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 2 -- 8 -- 1

Tom Koch ss -- 3 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 2

Ryan DiPietro p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1

Jeremy Hall p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1

Thomas Spirito p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1

Totals -- 30 -- 3 -- 5 -- 3 -- 2 -- 13 -- 27 -- 9

George Fox -- 021 -- 200 -- 100 -- 6 -- 14 -- 0

Eastern Conn. St. -- 021 -- 000 -- 000 -- 3 -- 5 -- 2

E -- Mehrbach, Koch. LOB -- George Fox 12, Eastern Conn. St. 3. 2B -- Jones, Koch. 3B -- Re. HR -- Jones, Wildman. SB -- Jones. CS -- Donohue, Wildman. SH -- Braniff, Tinner. SF -- Mehrbach.

George Fox -- IP -- H -- R -- ER -- BB -- SO -- AB -- BF

Scott Hyde -- 9.0 -- 5 -- 3 -- 3 -- 2 -- 13 -- 30 -- 33

Eastern Conn. St. -- IP -- H -- R -- ER -- BB -- SO -- AB -- BF

Ryan DiPietro -- 3.2 -- 8 -- 5 -- 2 -- 2 -- 3 -- 18 -- 22

Jeremy Hall -- 4.2 -- 5 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 5 -- 19 -- 20

Thomas Spirito -- 0.2 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 3 -- 3

W -- Hyde. L -- DiPietro 11-1. WP -- Hyde. PB -- Hevenor. Umpires -- Home: Gary Kalkopf; 1B: Michael Rosen; 2B: Ralph Minard; 3B: Dan Eversole. T -- 2:37. A -- 1,409.