Dates: May 16-22, 2009
Tyler, Texas
Tournament Director: 
Tim Drain
Tyler Junior College
P.O. Box 9020
Tyler, TX 75711
Ph: 903-510-2458
Fax: 903-510-2434
Tournament Website
NJCAA Representative: David Santesteban

Tournament Qualifiers
District A (Region 3) - Niagara County Community College (34-6) 
District B (Region 4) - Joliet Junior College, Ill. (39-14) 
District C (Region 5) - Richland College, Texas (43-13) 
District D (Region 20) - Montgomery College-Germantown, Md. (28-17) 
District E (Region 13) - Riverland Community College, Minn. (37-8) 
District F (Region 15) - Suffolk County Community College-Grant, N.Y. (32-13)
District G (Region 19) - Brookdale Community College, N.J. (39-8)  
District H (Region 21) - Manchester Community College, Conn. (26-17)

Records above are prior to tournament play

Richland Downs Montgomery-Germantown 7-5 to Win DIII Baseball Title

TYLER, Texas -- Richland (Texas) won its fourth NJCAA Division III Championship in seven years, and first since 2004, Wednesday night (May 20) in Tyler, Texas, as the Thunderducks handed Montgomery-Germantown (Md.) a 7-5 defeat in the DIII title game at Mike Carter Field. 

Richland jumped out to a 3-0 lead through three innings of play thanks to a two-run first inning and a solid start from tournament MVP Kirk Pritchett. The Thunderducks went up 4-0 in the fourth with a RBI single by Chris Castillo. 

Montgomery-Germantown, which suffered a 17-2 loss to Richland in the semi-finals on Monday (May 18), threatened Richland in the fifth after scoring one run and advancing runners to first and third with no outs. Richland would get out of the jam thanks to a double-play that allowed an additional run to score and a strikeout by Pritchett, which kept the Thunderducks in the lead at 4-2. 

Both teams came alive in the sixth frame as Richland got another RBI single from Castillo along with an unearned run to increase their lead to 6-2. The Gryphons responded in the bottom of the inning with a RBI double by Ross Sweeny, followed by a RBI single by John Wagner to cut Richland's lead to 6-4. 

The Thunderducks were able to stretch their lead to 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh when Gryphons pushed a run home on a single by Tim Riley. Montgomery-Germantown then had runners at first and third with one out, but Pritchett was able to strikeout the next two batters and shut the door on the Gryphons. 

Pritchett then closed out the game for Richland allowing just one more hit in the final two innings. He went nine innings, allowing 14 hits, five earned runs and striking out 11. Jose Sanchez took the loss for Montgomery-Germantown. He also went all nine innings, giving up eight hits and six earned runs while also striking out 11 batters. However, he also issued nine walks. 

Richland head coach Joe Wharton and his Thunderducks finish the season with a 47-13 record, while Montgomery-Germantown closes out 2009 with a 32-19 mark.