A football mentality served Matt DeGrand well on Sunday night when he took the mound for Wooster in the Scots' winner's bracket final game against St. Thomas at the Division III baseball championships in Grand Chute, Wis.

Wooster and St. Thomas entered the game each having won their first two contests at the double-elimination tournament outside Appleton, Wis. The winner would be guaranteed to play in the national championship game.

DeGrand, who also starts at linebacker for the Scots and led the North Coast Athletic Conference with 113 tackles, hadn't gotten a start in nearly a month and hadn't gone six innings in a game in six weeks.

But he delivered the performance of a lifetime in holding St. Thomas scoreless through seven innings, allowing just three hits and walking nobody. Wooster won, 3-0.

Pat Coleman talked to DeGrand after the game about how football prepared him for his big-game success for a D3baseball.com Feature story.