COLLEGE DIVISION (22 & UNDER)

Champion: Crystal Lake Cardinals (IL)
Runner-Up: Dix Hills Dodgers (NY)
Final Game Score: Crystal Lake Cardinals: 3 vs. Dix Hills Dodgers: 0
MVP: Matt Huck, Crystal Lake Cardinals
Batting Champ: Chad Mullins, Shannon Fence .600 Average

Recap:

The Crystal Lake Cardinals (Illinois) shut down some of the hottest hitting bats in the 2009 National Amateur Baseball Federation College Division World Series when they defeated the Dix Hills Dodgers (Long Island, N.Y.) 3-0 in the championship.
The Dix Hills Dodgers (Federation of Amateur Baseball Leagues) came into the championship with a .361 team batting average and a perfect 5-0 record, but Crystal Lake Cardinals (Metro Amateur Baseball of Illinois) pitching held them to four hits as Cuban born and Puerto Rican native Cardinals coach Armando Bombino earned his first College Division World Series title.

In the final, Cardinals starting pitcher Matt Huck held the Dodgers scoreless through eight innings and allowed only one hit through six innings and two more in the seventh. For his performance against the best hitting team of the series, Huck was named the World Series MVP.

After two Dodgers reached base in the ninth against closer Scott Spinelle, a long outfield fly ball struck by Dodger hitter Alexander Aurrichio (Columbia) nearly cleared the fence and would have tied the game, but Cardinal left fielder Darcy Doyle made the grab at the warning track to bring Crystal Lake to within one out of the championship.

Spinelle got the next batter to hit into a fielders' choice for the final out, and the Cardinals celebrated after winning their fifth game of this year's wood bat College World Series by piling into a celebratory "dog pile" in nearly 90-degree heat.
Crystal Lake scored one run each in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings. The Cards broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning when leadoff batter Jesse Wight singled, stole second base, and Corey Moylan hit an RBI single to score Wright.

In the sixth, Moylan made his own case for MVP by clearing the fence with the only home run of the game. For most teams playing against the Dodgers in the World Series that would not have been enough to win the ballgame, but in this contest it was more than enough thanks to Huck's pitching.

In the seventh, the Cards got another insurance run after Dave Hoffman singled, reached second on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI single by Cory Phillips.

All Tournament Team