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The chance at possibly winning a fourth NJCAA Division III national championship since 2002 ended Tuesday for the Richland College baseball team, after the T-Ducks allowed Gloucester to score five runs in the final inning, which proved to be the difference in a tough 7-2 loss.

Richland, which finished the tournament in third place, put itself in a position to attempt a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning after Travis Latz, who finished the game 3-of-4 with one RBI, led off the frame with a single. Two outs later, Latz moved to the third base on a Jeff Sakowski single. However, the potential rally ended there.

Richland, which had an outstanding year, finished the season with a 47-16 record. In the regular season, the T-Ducks had a 24-5 home record and belted 105 home runs as a team.

The T-Ducks were making their seventh apperance at the national championship tournament under head coach Joe Wharton, who coached Richland to three national titles from 2002-2004.

A seven-run first inning in the NJCAA Division III national championship tournament semifinal round wasn’t enough runs for the Richland College baseball team to hold off Joliet Junior College, which outscored the T-Ducks 7-1 in the final eight innings en route to a 10-8 victory.

 The loss for the T-Ducks was their first in the double-elimination tornament. Richland, which is one game away from a rematch against Joliet, will face the winner of the Ridgewater-Gloucester matchup at 7 p.m. today.

Should Ridgewater win its game, Richland may have the psychological edge being that the T-Ducks have already beat Ridgewater, 14-3, in this tournament.  

If Richland wins its next game, the T-Ducks will play in the championship game Wednesday at 7 p.m. The T-Ducks would then have to beat Joliet twice to win the national championship.  

The Richland College baseball team moved one step closer to its fourth NJCAA Division III national championship since 2002 on Sunday after the T-Ducks overcame a two-run deficit to Ridgewater College by scoring 13 unanswered runs to end the game for a huge 14-3 victory.

The win advances the T-Ducks to the semifinal round where they will play Joliet Junior College today (May 19) at 7 p.m for a chance to advance to the championship game. 

Both teams enter today’s contest having won both of their games, and can still make the championship round with a loss.

Trailing 3-1 entering the top of the fourth inning against Ridgewater, Richland took a 5-3 lead after Josh Christenson hit a three-run double that was followed by an unearned run.

 T-Duck starting pitcher Phillip Clinard then held Ridgewater to a 1-2-3 inning before Sean Ablett’s two-run double highlighted a four-run fifth inning for Richland.

The T-Ducks, who added five runs in the sixth and final inning of the called game because of the 10-run rule, has now won eight games in a row.

Christenson and KC Pfister led the T-Ducks’ explosive hitting attack with 3-for-3, along with five and four RBI hiting performances, respectively.  Ablett also had three RBIs and Clinard pitched five innings and struck out five batters.  

Ignited by a four-run third inning and two home runs from Jeff Sakowski, the Richland College baseball team took care of buisnesss in its openeing game of the NJCAA Division III national tournament, beating Manchester, 10-5, on Saturday, May 17.

Richland, which finished with eight hits and recieved a strong pitching performance from Casey Mayfield, advances to the second round where the T-Ducks will play Ridgewater College  at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 18.

Peaking at the right time, Richland has now won seven games in a row - its fourth longest streak of the season.

Congratulations are in order for Joe Wharton and his Richland College baseball team as his squad will have a chance to play for its fourth NJCAA Division III national championship since 2002 on May 17-22 in Tyler after the T-Ducks won its district tournament over the weekend.

Richland opened the tournament with a 12-3 win over North Arkansas College, which entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division III poll.

The T-Ducks, who didn’t drop a game during the double-elimination tournament, then beat Eastfield, 6-4, and Tyler, 12-3, in the championship game.

Tyler was ranked No. 4 and Eastfield No. 6. The T-Ducks entered the weekend ranked No. 4.

Richland, which won its first Metro-Athletic Conference championship since 2004, will enter the national tournament with a 45-14 record and on a six-game winning streak.

Richland College’s baseball team ended its regular season over the weekend on a winning note as the T-Ducks swept a three-game series against North Lake College to be crowned co-champions of the Metro-Athletic Conference.

The sweep, in which Richland outscored North Lake 34-13, provides a dose of momentum as the T-Ducks prepare to play in a NJCAA Division III regional tournament this weekend at the The Ballfields at Crag Ranch in McKinney.

This weekend’s regional tournament features three other teams (Eastfield College, Tyler Junior College and North Arkansas College) and will be played in a double-elimination format. 

The T-Ducks open the tournament at 3 p.m. on Friday against North Arkansas College.

“We still can be doing a lot of things better but right now we have secured our bid to regionals, which was our goal when the season started,” T-Duck coach Joe Wharton said after Game 2 of the weekend series against North Lake College. “Now we have to make sure we continue to do the little things right like playing defense, pitching and hitting. Regardless of what our seed is at the regional tournament, as long as we play up to our capabilities we will be fine.”

Swinging a hot bat for Richland are sophomores Travis Latz and Jon Masch. Entering the final game of the season, both of them had totaled at least 18 home runs, which broke the single-season home run record of 16 set in 2000.

Their bats, along with the rest of rest of a team that has batted above or around .400 for majority of the season, will be needed this weekend and should the T-Ducks advance to the NJCAA Division III Baseball Championship in Tyler. 

If Richland makes it to the national tournament, which will take place from May 17-23, the T-Ducks will be gunning for their fourth national title since 2002. 

Richland finished the regular season with 42 wins. 

For continued coverage throughout the postseason, log-on to www.rlc8.dcccd.edu/thundersports .

The Richland College baseball team, which is currently ranked No. 3 the latest National Junior College Athletic Association Division III poll, is playing arguably its best baseball as the end of the regular season nears.

With just six Metro Athletic Conference games left in the season, the T-Ducks entered their weekend in first place in the MAC and have won 18 of their last 22 games overall.

Included in the victories were wins in which Richland scored 10 or more runs 10 times.Of the four losses during this impressive stretch, three were to NJCAA Division I teams with two coming from Grayson County College, including Saturday’s 6-4 loss at home. Navarro College also beat Richland.

The T-Ducks are 37-11 on the season.

Richland College baseball team’s winning streak ended Monday after the T-Ducks lost, 12-5, to Navarro College at home.

Monday’s defeat was the second loss of the season to Navarro. It also ended Richland’s eight-game winning streak.

Navarro, which beat the T-Ducks, 10-8, last month, opened up a 12-0 lead before Richland’s late game rally was cut short in the eighth inning when Richland scored all five of its runs.

In the 11 years since Joe Wharton has been the Richland College baseball coach, he has coached some great teams.

Wharton, who this season won his 400^th game as the T-Ducks’ coach, guided Richland to back-to-back-back National Junior College Athletic Association Division III championships from 2002-2004 and two second place finishes in 1999 and 2000.

But as great as those teams were, Wharton said hands down that this year’s team has been the most enjoyable squad he’s coached since taking over the helm.

“They have class [and] play the right way,” he said. “You would be proud [of] how they represent Richland College.”

Currently, the T-Ducks are on an eight-game winning streak – their second longest of the season – and they are coming off an important series sweep this weekend over Cedar Valley College, the Metro Athletic Conference leader.

The weekend three-game sweep is another indication of how good the T-Ducks are playing right now.

Richland has won 11 of its last 12 conference games to gain sole possession of second place in conference play, just a ½ game behind Cedar Valley.

Included in the T-Ducks’ sweep over Cedar Valley was a 29-1 thrashing. The T-Ducks, who earlier in the season won 12 games in a row and was off to their best start in Richland College history, is 30-9 on the season and are chasing a number of team records.

As a team Richland is hitting way over the current school record of .344 set in 1999 with a .404 average.

Additionally, the T-Ducks are also chasing the team home run record of 70 that was also set in 1999. Richland currently has 62 home runs through 39 games.

“With this being my 11th season to coach here at Richland, this team has shown a lot of courage, heart, maturity, guts and sportsmanship,” Wharton said. “It’s not just because we are winning, but we have faced a lot of adversity this year and the guys are responding the way men are supposed to do.”

The T-Ducks hosted Navarro College on Monday and will play home game in a series opener on Friday, April 11 at 2 p.m. against Mountain View College. The series concludes with back-to-back games starting at noon on Saturday.

According to the schedule, Richland’s final home games of the regular season include the following games: 1 p.m. on Monday, April 14 against Northeast; 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 against Grayson; and a three-game series against North Lake College beginning with one game at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 2 back-to-back games starting at noon on Saturday, May 3.

Richland College’s baseball team combined to score a whopping 64 runs in its three-game series road sweep over Cedar Valley College over the weekend.

The T-Ducks, who as a team had a .391 hitting average entering the weekend, opened the series with a 17-16 win on Friday before taking 29-1 and 18-13 victories on Saturday.

The three victories give Richland an eight-game winning streak – the T-Ducks’ second longest of the season. Richland had a 12-game winning streak earlier in the season.

As of Wednesday, April 2, Josh Christenson and Sean Ablett led the T-Ducks in hitting average, home runs and RBIs. Christenson is hitting .450 with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs while Ablett is hitting .417 to go along with nine home runs and 48 RBIs.On the mound, Casey Mayfield and Phillip Clinard leads Richland in wins with seven and six, respectively.