Visit websterjournal.com frequently this week, as The Journal will be previewing the 2013 College World Series, which begins Friday, May 24.
The Webster University baseball team nabbed its spot in the NCAA Division III College World Series (CWS) for a second straight season when the Gorloks took home the Central Regional title on Saturday, May 18. Webster enters the CWS with a 36-10 record.
Senior right-hander Steven Dooley, the staff ace, takes his St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-best 10-2 record to Appleton, Wis., the site of the CWS. Junior second baseman Taylor Stoulp will bring his SLIAC-leading 43 RBIs.
Webster’s first-round game will be against Kean University (N.J.) on Friday, May 24 at 7:45 p.m. Webster is ranked 12th in the country according to D3Baseball.com. As the Gorloks try to earn a national championship, seven other teams will chase that same goal. Below is a look at the other schools that will compete for the CWS championship.
Kean University (N.J.)
The Kean University Cougars will bring a 38-11 record to the CWS. Kean had to play a winner-take-all game against Keystone College (Penn.) in the Mid-Atlantic Regional for the title. The Cougars came away victorious 6-1 in the championship game. This year marks the third season in a row Kean will participate in the CWS.
Kean righty Charles Thielmann won the Regional championship game for the Cougars. Thielmann led the staff with a 10-2 record and 7 complete games. Right-hander Kevin Herget started 13 games for Kean and had a team-best 1.57 ERA.
In 179 at-bats, shortstop Nick Ramagli led Kean’s everyday players with a .369 average. He also knocked in 36 runs. First baseman Joe O’Connor swiped 26 bases to lead the club in 2013. The team hit .307 through its 49 games.
Last season in the CWS, the Cougars lost their first two games and were eliminated from the tournament. Kean was knocked out by Webster in a back-and-forth 8-7 walk-off win for the Gorloks. Kean will try to get its revenge this season. The Cougars are ranked 10th in the country.
University of Southern Maine
The University of Southern Maine Huskies are no strangers to the CWS, but 12 years separate the last two times Southern Maine has been in the tournament. The Huskies make their first CWS appearance since 2001.
Southern Maine went 5-1 in its regional tournament to earn the New England Regional title. The Huskies were pitted in the same regional as Wheaton College (Mass.) and St. Joseph’s College of Maine — teams that were frequently ranked in the Top 25 this season. Southern Maine takes a 42-8 record — a winning percentage of .840 — to Appleton.
Infielder Nick Grady ripped through the 2013 season with a .417 average to lead the Huskies. Right behind him in that category is outfielder Tucker White at .411. White also had 10 home runs and 35 stolen bases to lead Southern Maine.
The pitching staff is anchored by Logan Carman and Andrew Richards. Both had a sub-2.00 ERA. Carman went 12-0 on the year, and Richards possesses a 9-2 mark. Southern Maine will face off against Millsaps College (Miss.) in Round 1 on Friday, May 24 at 10 a.m. The Huskies are ranked 14th in the nation.
Millsaps College (Miss.)
The Majors of Millsaps College made a major improvement from 2012 to 2013, especially in conference play. While Millsaps had a 38-12 overall record in 2013, the Majors went 17-4 in the Southern Athletic Association — compared to a 9-5 mark in 2012.
Millsaps was the No. 3 seed in the South Regional tournament and came away with the crown. The Majors walked off to the regional title to clinch the program’s first berth in the CWS. Also in Millsaps region was No. 4-ranked Salisbury University (Md.).
Catcher Wes Perkins recorded 60 RBIs to lead Millsaps this season, as did his .428 average. The Majors hit only 11 home runs in 2013. Perkins had 4, while infielder Keith Shumaker had 4 as well to share the team lead.
Will Edwards led the starters with his 8-2 record, and Shumaker — a two-way player — also started 10 games while leading the rotation with a 2.73 ERA. Relief pitcher Harper Grier had 8 wins out of the bullpen for the Majors. Millsaps will take on Southern Maine in Round 1. Millsaps is ranked 23rd in the nation.
Linfield College (Ore.)
The No. 1-ranked team in Division III has some veteran leadership in the dugout. Former Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius is the head coach of the Linfield College Wildcats.
Linfield compiled a 38-7 record en route to its West Regional championship. The Wildcats took down No. 6-ranked Trinity University (Texas) in the regional championship game.
Outfielder Tim Wilson will take his team-leading .420 average and 31 stolen bases to Fox Cities Stadium. Catcher Jake Wylie has 7 home runs and 60 RBIs — tops on the team in those categories.
On the mound, righty Chris Haddeland dominated his opponents with a 13-1 record and 0.99 ERA. He also had 2 shutouts in his 7 complete games. Opposing batters hit .184 against Haddeland in 2013. Linfield’s first matchup is against Ithaca College (N.Y.) on Friday, May 24 at 1:15 p.m.
Ithaca College (N.Y.)
Ithaca College had the No. 1 seed in the New York Regional tournament and kept the pace to earn its spot in Appleton. The Bombers went undefeated in their tournament at 4-0. Ithaca marches into the CWS with a 38-6 record and a 14-game win streak. In its regional tournament, Ithaca topped No. 3-ranked SUNY-Cortland.
Shortstop Tim Locastro hit .424 and stole 36 bases in 2013 to lead the Bombers in those categories. Catcher Corey Caswell drove in a team-best 40 runs.
Pat Lemmo went 11-1 with a 1.44 ERA and surrendered just 20 runs (16 earned) this year. Reliever David Jasukonis saved 5 games out of the bullpen with a 2.20 ERA. Ithaca, ranked No. 7 nationally, will tussle with Linfield in its first game.
Manchester University (Ind.)
Manchester University had perhaps the toughest task if it wanted to head to Appleton. While Manchester had the No. 1 seed in the Mideast Regional tournament, the No. 2 seed was Marietta College (Ohio) — the back-to-back defending CWS champion. The Manchester Spartans topped Marietta twice in the tournament to earn their trip to Wisconsin.
Outfielder Bryce Murphy hit .392 to help lead Manchester to a 39-5-1 mark. Infielder Jordan Nieman slugged the ball for the Spartans with his team-leading 11 home runs and 70 RBIs. Infielder Corey Marchant has a .507 on-base percentage in 217 plate appearances for Manchester.
Dylan Padgett started 12 games and went 8-1 with a 3.29 ERA. Justin Scott went 9-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 83 2/3 innings in 2013. Manchester ended the regular season ranked ninth in the nation and will take on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) Pointers had two teams ranked ahead of them nationally in the Midwest Regional tournament. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (No. 5) and the University of St. Thomas (Minn., No. 2) stood in the way of the Pointers’ hopes of a CWS bid.
UWSP wrapped up the title with a 4-0 mark in the regional tournament. The Pointers take a 39-9 record into Appleton — a one-hour drive from the school’s campus.
Outfielder Jimmy Coady hit .398 in 191 at-bats this year, and corner infielder Sean Gerber mashed 12 home runs to lead the Pointers. Gerber’s 60 RBIs was tops on the team in 2013. Jacob Herbst led the staff with 9 wins and compiled a 2.78 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings pitched.
No. 16 UWSP will face Manchester in Game 1.
To view a bracket of the NCAA Division III College World Series, click HERE.
For results of the eight NCAA D-III baseball regional tournaments, click HERE.
Keep up with The Journal’s sports coverage by following us on Twitter @WUJournalSports.
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