Penn State DuBois Captures Fourth National Title
DUBOIS, Pa. - After a one-year hiatus the USCAA Baseball National Championship trophy is back in central Pennsylvania as Penn State DuBois captured its fourth Small College World Series title since 2018. The Lions beat Cincinnati-Clermont 17-3 on Thurdsay night at Showers Field in DuBois, putting on a show for a large hometown crowd.
DuBois put up three straight two-run innings to grab a quick 6-0 lead after three innings. Brandon Sicheri got the scoring started with a two-run single up the middle in the first. UC-Clermont scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-3, but it would never get closer. DuBois used three pitchers to get through a sixth inning threat unscathed, and Logan Wagner added a pinch-hit, two-run double to break it open at 8-3. Tanner LaBenne followed with a two-run, pinch-hit single to make it 10-3 as the four-spot broke a three inning scoreless streak. The floodgates were open, and another seven runs in the eighth made it 17-3 for the final tally.
Connor Cherry was the anchor of the DuBois staff, picking up the win in their first game and then getting eight outs for the champs in the sixth, seventh and eight innings. His final out came in the ninth before he was relieved and given a huge ovation for his nearly ten innings of work in the tournament.
Fresh off a PSUAC title, DuBois entereted the tournament with one of their lowest seeds since they became a tournament regular in 2017, earning the no. 9 seed and having to play in one of the two first round games. DuBois knocked off D'Youville 10-5 as Brett Beith carried the Lions with four RBIs and two stolen bases in the opening game.
Moving on to face top-seeded Miami-Hamilton, DuBois earned an early morning 5-4 win as Taylor Boland's complete game was supported by Logan Wagner's go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run single in the fifth inning. The Lions had to turn around a few hours later to face conference rival Penn State Mont Alto in the winner's bracket semifinals. A pitcher's duel was on the menu, as DuBois got the better of their division foe behind Zach Tiracorda's complete game, three-hit gem. Single runs in the fourth and fifth inning were all DuBois would need to advance to Wednesday's winner's bracket final and a potential spot in the championship game.
DuBois knocked off their eventual championship game opponent, UC Clermont, 9-3 to advance to the championship game for the fourth time in the last five iterations of the USCAA Small College World Series. Sicheri's two-run single made it 4-0 in the third inning, and despite a two-run rally from the Cougars, DuBois would ultimately extend their lead to 9-2 before Clermont pushed across a single run in the seventh.
DuBois' USCAA Small College World Series run began in 2018 and carried into 2019. After the COVID pandemic cancelled the 2020 version of the event, the Lions added a third title to the trophy case in 2021 before relinquishing the crown in 2022. After finishing second in their division in the PSUAC regular season, DuBois got hot at the right time to take both the PSUAC and USCAA titles in 2023.
Tournament MVP
Cody Bodtorf - Penn State Dubois
All-Tournament Team
Zach Garlin - Penn State Mont Alto
Daulton Miller - Miami Hamilton
William Stultz - Miami Hamilton
Dylan Thatcher - UC Clermont
Grant Gillespie - UC Clermont
Bubba Allen - UC Clermont
Zach Tiracorda - Penn State Dubois
Brandon Sicheri - Penn State Dubois
Cory Lehman - Penn State Dubois
Logan Wagner - Penn State Dubois