Bedlam breaks out among Adrian College players as Steve Vanderheyde (Clarkston) prepares to cross home plate with the game-winning run at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional championship.The Bulldogs overcame a three-run defi cit in the final inning for an 8-7 victory over Heidelberg College.

Steve Vanderheyde suddenly found himself in mass of humanity, feeling a little pain and discomfort, courtesy of his ebullient teammates. Nevertheless, it was a good feeling for the Clarkston High School graduate, who scored the winning run as Adrian College recently broke into new baseball territory and launched themselves into the NCAA Division III baseball national championships.

Vanderheyde tagged up from third base and scored on Alexander Younce’s sacrifice fly, completing a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Bulldogs to an 8-7 victory over Heidelberg College in the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional in Terre Haute, Ind.

After Vanderheyde touched home plate with the winning run, the celebration began for the Bulldogs.

“When I was coming home, I chucked my helmet in the air ... (and) I got tackled pretty good,” Vanderheyde said. “I think I hit my head on the ground ... but I didn’t feel it. The comeback win in the championship game was so surreal.”

“We waited for him at home plate and we dog piled on top of him,” said Alex Webster (Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes), who pitched four innings of scoreless relief to help the Bulldogs. “It’s awesome. Words can’t describe how excited we are. It’s a lifelong dream.”

The Bulldogs not only claimed the school’s first NCAA regional title, they became the first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) baseball team to qualify for the national championships.

The MIAA, founded in 1888, is the nation’s oldest collegiate athletic conference. So it was a long time coming for the MIAA as well as the Bulldogs, who had lofty goals at the beginning of the season.

“We’re a young team but we’re a good group of guys,” Webster said. “We thought we had a chance to make it to regionals and win the league, but it was still a far-fetched dream (getting to nationals).”

Both teams had one loss, entering the rubber match of the Mideast Regional. Starter Nick Sarkissian (South Lyon) gave up two earned runs in 2 2 /3 innings, but Adrian trailed 5-1. They tied it 5-5 on a four-run fourth, but trailed 7-5 when Webster entered the game in relief.

“I was pretty nervous coming in but I knew I had to do the job and keep us in it,” said Webster, who allowed only one hit and struck out two. “All the hard work paid off.”

Webster was in the dugout with his teammates in the pivotal ninth inning, hoping for a rally.

“We’re all standing cheering,” Webster said, “and once a few guys got on, we got more excited. The excitement reached the highest with the sacrifice fly to win it and it was just craziness in the dugout. He hit it deep enough so we all knew.”

With runners at second and third and only one out, Vanderheyde was feeling pretty confident. But it got dangerous in the pile.

“I felt it, it was starting to get pretty painful,” Vanderheyde said. “I was starting to get crushed pretty good. (But) it was amazing.”

Vanderheyde, who drove in a run on a pair of hits and scored once, was named to the all-tournament team. Nate Sarkissian (South Lyon) rapped three hits and scored a run.

Other area players on the squad include infielder Ross Tonyan (Lake Orion), infielder Aaron Hakola (Walled Lake Central), outfielder Andrew Anderson (Farmington), pitcher Eric Zatkin (Farmington Hills Harrison) and pitcher Nick Vandike (Walled Lake Central).

Adrian College will be heading to Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisc. for the NCAA Division III baseball national championships. The Bulldogs (34-11) will face Johns Hopkins (39-6) today at 1:15 p.m. in the opening game of the doubleelimination tournament.

“We know that obviously that there are some of the best teams in the nation, they’re all ranked in the top five or six,” Vanderheyde said. “But we’ve faced ranked teams all season.”