The end of the road arrived Tuesday afternoon for College of DuPage through three rain delays in a difficult 10-9 loss to Dallas College-Eastfield in elimination play at the NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series in Auburn, N.Y.
 
The loss ends the season for the Chaparrals, who finished fourth in the nation with a 33-18 record.
 
The fourth-place finish is COD's best since finishing fourth in the 1993 National Championship.
 
"I watched a group of guys grow up very fast,'' interim head coach Matt Gould said. "From beginning of season to end. A lot of people elevated their play and I think it opened some eyes in the NJCAA play.''
 
COD, which trailed 9-4 through seven innings, scored five runs on just four hits in the eighth and tied the game at 9-9 on Mark Mennecke's two-run, two-out single.  COD loaded the bases on three straight walks and Hudson Williams delivered an RBI-single.
 
Then Jake Pauley  earned a bases-loaded walk for the second run, and two batters later, Pender reached on an RBI-hit-by-pitch and COD trailed 9-7. Mennecke then followed with his game-tying single.
 
But the Harvester Bees (49-14 overall) earned the walk-off victory on Jorge Herrera's sac fly to center.
 
The third rain delay occurred in the seventh inning.
 
"The boys were able to fuel up with some sandwiches and Mike Biscan fired us up. We had nothing to lose and we fought hard to get back into it.''
 
The Chaps took advantage of Eastfield's lack of control, scoring five of their nine runs by reaching base on walks (four) or hit by pitch (one).
 
"It really was a heckuva ride,'' Gould said. "I'm so thankful for what they've done. I was a small cog in their efforts.''

COD was awarded the team Sportsmanship Award and Joe Pender was the only Chap to earn All-Tourney honors. Pender hit .471 for the tournament (8-for-17) and had two hits in each of the Chaps' four games.
 
Dallas College-Eastfield 10, Chaparrals 9 (Box Score)

• Vinny Spotofora's fielder's choice RBI scored Joe Pender (single) for a 1-0 lead in the first
• Jack Wade delivered a run-scoring double in the fourth that gave COD a 2-1 lead, scoring Spotofora, who led off with a single
• The Harvester Bees took control with a two-run fourth, a four-run fifth and a two-run sixth for a 9-4 lead
• Pender and Mennecke each had two hits, while Mennecke drove in three and Pender two
• Michael Tuman took the loss after coming on in relief in the sixth with two outs
• Tuman retired seven straight batters entering the ninth
• COD showed tremendous discipline at the plate, reaching base a collective 13 times on free passes — base on balls (10) and hit by pitches (3)
• COD owns an all-time overall record of 8-6 in NJCAA World Series play (4-2 in 1992, 2-2 in 1993 and 2-2 in 2024)

NJCAA Division III Baseball College World Series
May 25-30, 2024 
Falcon Park, Auburn, N.Y.

Saturday, May 25
No. 3 seed Dallas College-Eastfield def. No. 6 St. Cloud Tech, 7-2
No. 2 seed Dallas College-Richland def. No. 7 Chaparrals 15-7 7 innings
No. 1 seed RCSJ Gloucester def. No. 8 Northern Essex 4-0
No. 5 seed Herkimer def. No. 4 seed Camp 9-7

Sunday, May 26
Chaparrals def. St. Cloud Tech, 6-3
Camp def. Northern Essex, 9-5
Dallas College-Richland def. Dallas College-Eastfield, 3-2
RCSJ Gloucester def. Herkimer, 10-0 5 innings

Monday, May 27
Dallas College-Eastfield def. Camp, 10-2 7 innings
Chaparrals def. Herkimer, 3-1
RCSJ Gloucester def. Dallas College-Richland, 8-2

Tuesday, May 28
Dallas College-Eastfield def. Chaparrals 10-9 (Fourth place)

Wednesday, May 29
Dallas College-Eastfield def. Dallas College-Richland, 5-4
Championship: RCSJ Gloucester def. Dallas College-Eastfield, 18-3