Championship Preview
by Kennan Timm, UW-Oshkosh SID
APPLETON, Wis. -- Of all 88 championships offered by the NCAA, Division III baseball has gone longer without a repeat champion than any other.
And that's sure to continue in the 35th annual event in 2010 with no returning champion in the field.
Chances are whichever school wins its first championship will do so in dramatic fashion, since the national title game has been decided in a “walk off” situation the past three years. This weekend, eight teams from around the country descend on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis., for the 11th straight year. Lawrence University and the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau host the event that will be held May 28-June 1.
Only two of the teams have even previously played in a title game as Johns Hopkins University (Md.) lost in the 2008 finals and State University of New York-Cortland fell in the 2005 trophy game. The last time a school won consecutive titles was Rowan University (N.J.) in 1978-79.
One of two first-time participants in the field is Heidelberg University (Ohio), which has won four straight Ohio Athletic Conference championships and finally broke through to its first regional title by beating traditional power and conference rival Marietta College (Ohio) on its home field in the regional final. The Student Princes have won 17 straight games to take a 40-6 record into the finals. Junior Willie Brechun and sophomore Ricardo Lizcano are tied for second in the country with 88 hits apiece. Lizcano, the conference Player of the Year, also has 15 home runs and 67 RBI's. Heidelberg has pounded out a national-best 140 doubles while posting a .362 team batting average. Junior Brian Koehl has a 9-0 record with a 4.15 ERA, while junior Andy Lowe was the conference Pitcher of the Year and regional MVP with 12 saves and a 2.47 ERA. A national-high 115 pitches have also hit the Student Princes.
Illinois Wesleyan University makes just its second trip to the finals, having also appeared in Appleton in 2001. The Titans placed fourth in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, but won the conference tournament and then captured its regional tournament as the sixth seed. Since losing its second game in the conference tournament, the Titans have rattled off seven straight wins to take a 27-20 record into the finals. Senior Casey McIntosh is the team's top hitter with a .357 average, 11 home runs and 54 RBI's. Junior Jason Pankau leads the pitching staff with a 9-2 record and a 2.67 ERA. Sophomore Mark McDermott went eight-for-14 in the regional to earn regional MVP honors.
Johns Hopkins University has been the nation's top-ranked team for most of the season and makes its third trip to the finals, having also appeared in 1989 and 2008. The Blue Jays set a school record for wins with their 43-5 record and scored at least eight runs in 38 of their 48 games. The Centennial Conference champion had a 32-game winning streak during the season and achieved its success with gaudy offensive numbers that include a .377 average and 11.2 runs per game with 100 stolen bases. Senior Brian Youchak leads the nation with 94 hits and 74 runs scored, while posting a .505 average, 15 home runs and 61 RBI's. Senior Dave Kahn, the conference Player of the Year, is hitting .473 with 16 home runs and 70 RBI's. Sophomore Alex Eliopolous was the regional MVP and is 10-0 with a 2.78 ERA, while sophomore Sam Eagleson was the conference Pitcher of the Year and is 11-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Coach Bob Babb enters the tournament with 899 career wins.
Linfield College (Ore.) reached its second finals in three years with a defense that leads the nation with a .974 fielding percentage. The Wildcats won the Northwest Conference title and own a 34-11 record under former major leaguer Scott Brosius, who is in his third season as head coach. Senior Kelson Brown was the conference Player of the Year and has a .446 batting average with 60 RBI's and sophomore Zach Boskovich is hitting .408 with 17 home runs and 50 RBI's. Senior Tyson Smith was the regional MVP and is among the nation's leaders with 41 stolen bases. The Wildcats' pitching staff ranks in the top 10 nationally with a 3.56 team ERA. Sophomore Ryan Larson won conference Pitcher of the Year honors and is 11-3 with a 2.84 ERA, throwing 107 2/3 innings this season. Senior Garrett Dorn is 8-3 with a 4.78 ERA.
If there's a Cinderella team in this year's tournament, it might be first-time participant University of Massachusetts-Boston. The Beacons won the Little East Conference tournament as the fourth seed and then went undefeated through the regional tournament as the seventh seed, pushing their winning streak to nine games and their record to 32-15. The University of Massachusetts-Boston ranks among the nation's leaders with 126 stolen bases for the season. Junior Ryan Walsh, who owns a .406 batting average with 31 stolen bases and 59 RBI's, leads the Beacons. Junior Tim Fontaine went eight-for-16 in the regional to earn tournament MVP honors and has 11 home runs and 56 RBI's for the season. Sophomore James Dalton was the conference Pitcher of the Year and owns an 8-1 record with a 2.45 ERA.
The only returning team from last year's tournament is Shenandoah University (Va.), which is 38-8 and won the USA South Conference tournament after placing second in the league standings. The Hornets are one of the nation's top hitting teams, averaging 11.1 runs per game with a .369 team batting average and seven regulars hitting at least .365. Junior Kevin Brashears has 87 hits and is hitting .429 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI's. Senior Scott Van Dusseldorp became the school's all-time home run leader and has 13 homers this season with a .374 average and 63 RBI's in earning USA South Player of the Year honors. Junior Greg Van Sickler is a dual threat, hitting .411 with 51 RBI's and collecting the conference Pitcher of the Year award with an 8-2 record and 3.09 ERA. Senior Jesse Henry is hitting .399 and was the regional MVP.
The most experienced squad in the field is State University of New York-Cortland, which is 36-8-1 and making its 10th finals appearance in its 18th straight NCAA postseason trip. Junior Jason Simone has had a big season with a .464 batting average and 51 RBI's, earning State University of New York Athletic Conference Player of the Year laurels for the second straight year. Simone also drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat St. John Fisher College (N.Y.) in the regional final. Senior Steve Nickel was the regional MVP and is hitting .443 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI's. The Red Dragons traditionally boast a deep pitching staff and this season is no different with eight pitchers totaling at least 20 innings. Junior Travis Ratliff leads the staff at 8-1 with a 3.19 ERA.
Appearing in the finals for the third time in five years and fourth time overall is the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Pointers overcame league rival University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the teams' 10th meeting of the season in the regional final. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point handed the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater five of its seven season losses and take a 33-16 record into the finals. The Pointers had an up-and-down season, never winning more than four consecutive games, but only losing back-to-back games twice. Junior Eric Fritz was the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and is hitting .401 with 87 hits and 42 RBI's. Junior Scott Williams is 10-2 with a 4.24 ERA. He pitched four perfect innings of relief in the regional title game, just two days after a complete game 2-1 victory over defending national champion University of St. Thomas (Minn.). Williams was named the MVP of the regional. Junior Joel Delorit is 8-3 with a 3.24 ERA and 88 strikeouts.
In the 2009 NCAA Division III championship game, the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) defeated The College of Wooster (Ohio), 3-2 in 12 innings.
Major local sponsors of the 2010 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship are Appleton Post-Crescent, Bergstrom Corporation, Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, J.J. Keller and Associates, Inc., Lawrence University and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
For more information on the 2010 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, go to: www.ncaa.com/.
