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| Adrian will be facing
Heidelberg for the third time this season at the Whitewater
Regional. Adrian athletics photo |
Follow this regional
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By Ryan Smith
for D3baseball.com
With two of the top-four ranked teams in the nation in the latest D3baseball.com Top 25 poll, the 2014 Midwest Regional has the potential to be an instant classic.
Third-ranked UW-Whitewater, the hosts of the regional, and fourth-ranked Concordia-Chicago jump off the page as the heavyweights in the group. It doesn’t hurt anyone in the region that the selection committee decided to send sixth-ranked St. Thomas to the Central region.
No. 18 Heidelberg comes into the regional reeling about as much as they possibly could, having dumped four in a row. But don’t sleep on them just yet. UW-La Crosse is battle-tested coming out of a tough WIAC that has three teams competing in regional play. Adrian is coming off of its third consecutive MIAA title and features both the conference’s Position Player of the Year, Ryan Dorow, and Pitcher of the Year, Holden Branch. Rounding out the group is St. Norbert, who has won seven in a row en route to a Midwest Conference tournament title.
Whitewater Regional schedule
Wednesday, May 14
Game 1 - No. 1 UW-Whitewater (36-7) vs. No. 6 St. Norbert (23-14),
12 p.m. CT
Game 2 - No. 2 Heidelberg (33-11) vs. No. 5 Adrian
(30-13), 3:30 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 3 Concordia-Chicago (35-7) vs. No. 4 UW-La Crosse
(26-16), 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 15
Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 5 - Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6 - Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 16
TBD
Saturday, May 17
TBD
Favorite
This is a close call, but it has to be the host, UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks were ousted earlier than they planned a year ago and will be driven by that haunting memory during this year’s regional. Whitewater has been consistently good all season long, despite getting sent to the loser’s bracket of the conference tournament by fellow regional playoff competitor, UW-La Crosse. The Warhawks rebounded and won three elimination games to secure their spot in the region, including a 17-5 pounding in the final against the Eagles.
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Most likely to disappoint
Can this be the Warhawks again? All the odds are stacked in Whitewater’s favor but the Warhawks did fall short a year ago and found themselves in the loser’s bracket of their own conference tournament. Five of the team’s seven losses this season have come at Prucha Field and they won’t be facing any easy competition here in the regional.
Cinderella
Could the slipper possibly fit the UW-La Crosse Eagles? They finished third in their conference but they have wins over both No. 16 UW-Stevens Point and Whitewater. Pitching usually beats hitting at this time of year, but it might be a challenge for teams to consistently get the Eagles out. La Crosse entered the WIAC tournament with the best batting average in the country, hitting .360 as a team. Taylor Kohlwey leads the charge, hitting .459.
Players to Watch
LF Taylor Kohlwey, UW-La Crosse (.459, 16 2B, 8 HR, 49 RBI, 13
SB, .710 Slg., .500 OBA)
SS Mikole Pierce, UW-Whitewater (.438, 6 3B, 9 HR, 51 RBI, 14 SB,
.728 Slg., .515 OBA)
3B Mitch Stefanski, Adrian (.379 avg., 43 R, 9 2B, 9 3B, 39 RBI,
22 BB, 30 K)
RP Derek Hendrixson, Heidelberg (6-2, 6 Sv, 57.1 IP, 57 H, 20 BB,
57 K)
3B Steve Zubrzycki, Concordia-Chicago (.316, 25 RBI, 35 SB)
P Matt Freeman, St. Norbert (5-3, 2.70 ERA, 5 CG in 8 GS, 60 IP,
53 H, 12 BB, 43 K)
P Scott Plaza, UW-Whitewater (6-2, 2.92 ERA, 74 IP, 72 H, 12 BB,
66 K)
LF Derek Hug, Heidelberg (.405, 3 HR, 48 RBI, 13 SB, 21 BB, 27
K)
RP Jameson Sadowske (2-1, 3.72 ERA, 3 Sv, 36.1 IP, 29 H, 8
BB, 34 K)
P Holden Branch, Adrian (7-0, 2.68 ERA, 57 IP, 50 H, 19 BB, 20
K)
CF Alex Larsen, St. Norbert (.281, 8 HR, 38 RBI, 14 SB)