Butler leads Briarcliffe to title defense

Starting a season 0-5 is no way to begin defending a national championship.

But on Feb. 20, after a weekend-long tournament in Virginia, that is exactly where Briarcliffe College's baseball team found itself. But the coaching staff gave the Seahawks the "one game at a time" speech and told them things would work out.

Less than three months later, Briarcliffe (35-15) won its second straight USCAA national championship with three wins on Wednesday, culminating in a 6-2 win against top-seeded Southern Virginia University at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

The Seahawks became the first team to win the title from the loser's bracket. "The three wins in one day is just a testament to the heart and soul of these kids," Briarcliffe coach Ed Jusino said. "From the beginning, their goal was to repeat."

In their first game, the Seahawks beat Penn State Greater Allegheny, 10-0, as Joe Russo's fifth-inning grand slam ended the game via the 10-run "mercy rule."

In the first game against SVU, tournament MVP Thomas Butler went 3-for-4 as the Seahawks built an 11-0 lead before holding on for the 11-9 win.

In the deciding game, Butler was the starting pitcher and retired 24 batters in a row before loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth.

"I had my closer, Kurt Stettner, ready to go," Jusino said. "Tommy said, 'I can do this.' I told them that it was his last batter and that he had to get him out."

Butler got Brandon Alexander to ground out on a full count to clinch the championship.

With three wins in less than 12 hours, that 0-5 start was little more than a footnote for the repeat champs.