Junior college baseball: Historic season ends for Caldwell Tech

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 1, 2022

From staff reports

GREENEVILLE, Tenn.  — Caldwell Tech’s run in the Division III Junior College World Series ended on Tuesday night.

Top-seeded Caldwell (49-9) lost 11-1 to Dallas College-Eastfield from Mesquite, Texas. Caldwell had lost 6-3 earlier in the double-elimination event to Dallas College-Eastfield.

Dallas College-Eastfield is a perennial power, with five national championships, and advanced to the finals for the 12th time.

Making its debut in the World Series, Caldwell won three games in the tournament and was one of the last three teams playing.

Caldwell’s historic season included 25 straight victories.

Caldwell third baseman Cole Hales (Carson), the Region 10 Player of the Year,  had a triple in the first meeting with Dallas College-Eastfield.

Caldwell has eight former Rowan high school and American Legion baseball players — Carson’s Cole Hales, CP Pyle and Chase Drinkard, East’s Hayden Setzer, North’s Jonathan Spry and West’s Steven Smith, Scout Nichols and JT Fecteau.

In Monday’s 5-1 win against Northern Essex (Mass.) in an elimination game, Setzer, an all-region pitcher, struck out 12, walked two and pitched a complete game. Smith homered, while Fecteau had a double and two RBIs.

Caldwell stayed alive on Tuesday afternoon with a 4-0 win against St. Cloud (Minn.) Smith relieved with two men on base in the eighth inning and earned a save. Setzer and Smith had run-scoring doubles.

Caldwell Tech is coached by former Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Frank Pait.