| Esteban Meletchie Keystone athletics photo |
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| Brad Blum Buena Vista athletics photo |
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| Brian Rauh Chapman athletics photo |
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| Matt Rogers Western New England athletics photo |
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| John Snyder Marietta athletics photo |
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| Bill Root Salisbury athletics photo |
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| Jeff Donovan UW-Whitewater athletics photo |
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| Mike Russo Kean athletics photo |
By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
From the first pitch at 9:27 am on Wednesday until 4:50 pm Sunday night, nearly 100 games were played and the result was eight teams that start fresh on May 27. With the first game at 10 a.m. on Friday, the goal for these eight teams are clear -- to win a national championship.
Buena Vista needed a little extra work to make it out of the regional but is the fourth team from the IIAC to make the final round. Unfortunately, history has not been kind to the IIAC teams in the finals, who have gone 4-8. The Beavers' opponent on the first day are the UW-Whitewater Warhawks. UWW will bring a large fan base and expectations. Like Buena Vista, UW-Whitewater was the recipient of an at-large bid.
Fox Cities Stadium will feel like home to the Chapman Panthers and Kean Cougars. Both teams are returning to Appleton after a year's absence but have visited over the Memorial Day weekend often. These two teams are scheduled to open the tournament Friday morning. With Chapman's Brian Rauh and Kean's Mike Russo each top candidates for D3baseball.com Pitcher of the Year, the first game of the tournament could very well be the best.
Marietta, winners of 18 straight, will be looking for an record setting fifth title but will have to get past Salisbury to open. The Sea Gulls have 12 wins in their past 13 games and, like Kean, lost their first regional game and had to run the table. The final two teams are Keystone and Western New England. Each is making its first appearance and is its conference's first representative in the finals.
Favorite: Marietta. A No. 1 ranking, three pitchers that would top most staffs, and a tradition of winning make the Pioneers our favorite to take home the hardware everyone wants. Most teams have a potent 1-2 combination to make it this far, but the Pioneers are flush with quality pitching. Brian Gasser, Mark Williams and Austin Blaski headline one of the best pitching staffs seen in D-III. Marietta's team ERA of 1.71 ranks sixth best in the history of D-III and the best staff mark since UW-Oshkosh posted a 1.38 ERA. Championships are built on pitching and the Pioneers are well armed.
Most Likely to Disappoint:
Salisbury. We named the Sea Gulls our team to disappoint in the South
Regional and they ended up disappointing nobody, other than
Shenandoah. Ever since Salisbury made its debut appearance at
Appleton 10 years ago, the Sea Gulls made winning a championship
the focus of their baseball program. Salisbury leads all programs
coming into Appleton in winning percentage in the 2000's (.755) and
for a team that penciled its trip to Wisconsin at the beginning of
the season, nothing short of a Walnut and Bronze in the trophy case
will be a disappointment.
Cinderella: Western New England.
Five months ago, D3baseball.com looked at the New
England region and saw a team with a veteran lineup and an
experienced pitching staff and made this TCCC team our favorite to
win the regional. Fast forward to today and here are the Golden
Bears. The last time a team made not only their first appearance
but for any team in their conference in the Championship round was
Adrian. Adrian made a serious run at the championship in their
Cinderella season and Western New England could do the same.
Players to Watch
SS Brad Blum, Buena Vista
.378 BA, 54 R, 20 SB
P Luke Probasco, Buena Vista
9-3, 2.98 ERA, 3 CG, 63 K
2B Tyler Hadzinsky, Chapman
.345 BA, 22 R, 12 SB
P Brian Rauh, Chapman
11-0, 1 SV, 1.71, ERA, 7 CG, 132 K
P Jordon Sigman, Chapman
8-2, 2.95 ERA, 1 CG, 55 K
OF Ken Gregory, Kean
.410, 45 R, 20 2B, 11 HR
P Mike Russo, Kean
10-1, 1.43 ERA, 3 CG, 61 K
2B Esteban Meletiche, Keystone
.423, 59 R, 10 HR, 22 SB
C Brian Henry, Keystone
.404, 9 HR, 48 RBI
P Brian Gasser, Marietta
13-0, 1.09 ERA, 3 CG, 81 K
OF John Snyder, Marietta
.460 BA, 20 2B, .681 SLG%
P Mark Williams, Marietta
7-1, 1.67 ERA, 84 K
OF Bill Root, Salisbury
.389, 41 R, 27 SB
P Dustin Herbert, Salisbury
8-2, 2.08 ERA, 4 CG, 59 K
P Chris Greiner, Salisbury
10-3, 2.61 ERA, 99 K
OF Daniel Putnam, UW-Whitewater
.411 BA, 59 R, 11 2B, 28 SB
UTL Jeff Dovovan, UW-Whitewater
.390 BA, 8 HR, 50 RBI, 10-0, 3.38 ERA, 72 K
P Riley Tincher, UW-Whitewater
10-3, 3.02 ERA, 5 CG, 59 K
DH Ryan Dudzinski, Western New England
.347 BA, 43 R, 18 SB
P Matt Rogers, Western New England
11-1, 3.31 ERA, 1 CG, 60 K