| The Tigers have been in this
position before. Will they break through? Trinity (Texas) athletics photo |
Follow this regional
Final - 11 innings
at Texas-Tyler 4, Pomona-Pitzer 3
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By Ralph Turner
D3sports.com
Three top ten teams find themselves in the West Region. Linfield started the season being shut out but with three long win streaks all season long, there is no doubt that the Wildcats are a favorite to get one more trip to the D-III World Series. Trinity (Texas) and Cal Lutheran will have something to prove.
Missing from last year's field are defending regional champion Whitworth, 2003 national champion Chapman, and 2013 tourney host Concordia-Texas. Only Trinity returns to the regional. The SCAC was much leaner this year. The big dogs from the old SCAC-East, Millsaps and Birmingham Southern, have moved to the new Southern Athletic Association.
As the conferences shift, the SCAC gets tougher when Texas Lutheran moves to the SCAC in 2014 and Centenary (La.) comes in 2015 after completing the re-classification from D-1. Trinity pitcher Ryan Lucero hurt his arm in April 2012, so this is a second chance to show his stuff.
West Regional schedule
Wednesday, May 15
Game 1 - No. 6 Texas Lutheran (33-12) vs. No. 1 Linfield (34-6),
12 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 5 Trinity (36-7) vs. No. 2 California Lutheran
(34-7-1), 3:30 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer (29-14) vs. No. 3 Texas-Tyler
(35-10), 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
Game 4 - Texas Lutheran vs California Lutheran, 12 p.m.
Game 5 - Linfield vs Pomona Pitzer, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6 - Trinity vs Texas-Tyler, 7 p.m.
If four teams remain after game 6,
Friday, May 17
Game 7 - Linfield vs Trinity, 12 p.m.
Game 8 - California Lutheran vsTexas-Tyler, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9 - Loser Game 7 vs Winner Game 8, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
Game 10 - Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 9, 12 p.m.
Game 11 - Repeat of Game 10 (if needed), 3 p.m.
Favorite
Trinity (Texas) will have a fan base that can travel but it is Linfield that has a tradition of flying out of state and winning. The Wildcats' last apperance in the final round came through the Central Regional. Linfield comes into the regional with a 7-1 record in Arizona and Southern California.
Most likely to disappoint
Texas-Tyler has been knocking of the door for a while and although they have been in position to make it through the regional, they are still looking for their first appearance in the D-III World Series. First-year coach Chris Bertrand has a team that once again will be a strong contender but that will be difficult to do in a deep regional.
Cinderella
Texas Lutheran. They're not supposed to even be here, so how can they disappoint? The disappointment is on the campuses of Washington U. or St. John Fisher. This is the one time in which geography helps a Texas team in a Division III NCAA Tournament. Opening against Linfield and then facing another top 10 team in either Cal Lutheran or Trinity (Texas) puts the Bulldogs in a unique position to either send shockwaves through Division III or take the short ride home.
Players to Watch
RHP - Chris Haddeland, Linfield (11-1, 1.16 ERA, 93 IP, 73 K,
.193 opp. avg.)
2B - Tim Wilson, Linfield (.429 avg., 75 H, 12 2B, 30 SB)
UTL - Jake Petersen, Cal Lutheran (.470 avg., 47 hits, 31 RBI;
6-1, 2.73 ERA, 52 K)
RHP - Aaron Roth, Cal Lutheran (6-1, 0.99 ERA, 63.2 IP, 11 saves,
70 K)
UTL - Kevan House, UT-Tyler (.378 avg. 8 HR; 12 2B, 42 RBI, 109
TB)
OF - Nick Gentili, Pomona-Pitzer (.389 avg.; 5 HR; 37 RBI)
RHP - Ryan Lucero, Trinity (9-1, 2.22 ERA, 73 IP, 73 K, .210 opp.
avg.)
OF - Pat Hirschberg, Trinity (.411 avg., 62 H, 7 HR; 111 TB, FA
1.000 on 77 chances)
RHP- Sean Kistler, Texas Lutheran (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 14 saves, 27.1
IP, 30 K, .138 opp. avg.)