By Shannon Blansette for D3baseball.com
| Brandon Rogalski will be key
if Washington U. will get to the championship round for the first
time. Washington athletics photo |
For the first time, the NCAA Central Regional moves to Millington, Tennessee and this new location has allowed a new mix of teams to shuffle into the Central dance as some of the usual suspects were moved to other regions. Only three “central” teams are actually playing in the Central Regional this year. #1 Birmingham-Southern (SCAC champion) leads a talented group of squads into the regional as they were shifted from their home region in the South; #2 Washington University (UAA) stayed in the home region, while #3 DePauw (NCAC) moved in from the Mideast, #4 Emory (UAA) was shipped from the South, #5 Webster (SLIAC) remained in the Central and #6 Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW and 2010 National Champion) snagged a Pool C bid and stayed in their home region as well.
Top seeded Birmingham-Southern is led by National Payer of the Year candidate Bruce Maxwell (.496 avg, 24 2B, 14 HR, 53 walks and .985 slugging percentage). Their 56 stolen bases and 57 HBPs keep constant pressure on opposing defenses. Maxwell is not the only big-time bat in this regional as Washington University counters with returning all-American player Brandon Rogalski (.438 avg., 74 hits). On the bases, the Bears ran wild with 65 HBPs to go with 108 stolen bases and are led by Kyle Billig who has 35 SBs in 36 attempts. Keeping WashU off the bases is key to holding them down. DePauw leads all teams in the regional with a .324 batting average including eight regulars over .300. Not to be outdone, IWU counters with 2010 all-American Kevin Callahan and his 11 round-trippers. Emory stepped to the table on the strength of their 91 SBs and the arm of Connor Dillman (8-1, 2.84 ERA). Webster is led by David Mueller and his 78K in 60 innings. This regional will be a classic matchup of top-notch arms versus big-time bats.
Central Regional Schedule
Wednesday, May 16
G Time
Participants
1 12:00 pm
Birmingham-Southern (35-7) vs. Illinois Wesleyan (29-15)
2 3:00 pm Washington
(Mo.) (28-12) vs. Webster (31-11)
3 7:00 pm DePauw
(33-12) vs. Emory (26-12)
Thursday, May 17
4 12:00 pm Loser of game 1 vs.
Loser of game 2
5 3:00 pm Winner of game 1
vs. loser of game 3
6 7:00 pm Winner of
game 1 vs. Winner of game 3
Friday, May 18
7 12:00 pm Winner of game 5 vs.
Winner of game 6
8 3:00 pm Winner of
game 4 vs. loser of game 6
9 7:00 pm Winner of game 8
vs. loser of game 7
Saturday, May 19
10 12:00 pm Winner of game 7 vs. Winner
of game 9
11 3:30 pm Winner of game 10 vs.
loser of game 10 (if necessary)
Favorite: Birmingham-Southern. Why? First, they
are a great team with arguably the nation’s best player in
Bruce Maxwell. Secondly, they are familiar with the venue as they
just won the SCAC title in the very stadium they will play this
weekend. After years of transition to Division III from Division I,
they are hungry to prove that they can play with the best of
them.
Most likely to disappoint: DePauw. They have been
reeling for a few weeks now and at one point were a top ten team
nationally. Their downward spiral could continue through the
weekend or they could figure it out and get back to what drove them
to the top early in the season. My guess is that they find
themselves back in Indiana before they get settled into their rooms
in Tennessee.
Cinderella: Webster. At some point, the Gorloks
will break through on the national scene as a force to be reckoned
with. In past years, they flew a bit higher on the radar and
struggled to get rolling in the regional. They have been relatively
quiet this year, but they have still produced the same results as
always: another SLIAC title, another unchallenged run through the
SLIAC tournament, and another NCAA bid. Could this be the year that
they get hot and find themselves in Appleton? I would not be
surprised at all to see it.
Players to Watch:
C Bruce Maxwell, Birmingham-Southern (.496 AVE, 53 R, 24 2B,
14 HR, 46 RBI, 133 TB, 4 SB)
OF/RP Brandon Rogalski, Washington (.438, 38 R, 3 HR, 40 RBI, 15
SB, 2-0, 2.65 ERA, 1 SV)
SP Andy Manson, DePauw (7-2, 3.98 ERA, 63.1 IP, 70 H,
23 BB, 25 K, .283 OBA)
SP Connor Dillman, Emory (8-1, 2.84 ERA, 66.2 IP, 57 H, 29
BB, 76 K, .235 OBA)
1B Tom Henke, Webster (.368 AVE, 33 R, 11 2B, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 75 TB,
9 SB)
3B Kevin Callahan, Illinois Wesleyan (.380 AVE, 41 R, 16 2B,
11 HR, 114 TB, 1 SB)