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| Salisbury is the first team to make three straight World Series appearances since Cortland and Emory did so in 2016. Salisbury athletics photo |
By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
The pairings are set as eight teams are set to descend on Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the home of the Division III Baseball Championship, colloquially known as the Division III World Series, since 2019. The championship is hosted by the American Rivers Conference, which has its headquarters in Cedar Rapids. This will be the last World Series to be played in Cedar Rapids. In 2024, the World Series moves to Eastlake, Ohio.
- Regionals: Preview | Day one | Day two | Day three | Champions
- Super Regionals: Preview | Day one | Champions
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D3baseball.com DIII World Series Record Book This will be the 22nd DIII World Series D3baseball staff have attended to report on the action. Our record book will be updated as record are tied or set during the week-long tournament. |
The 60 teams that started the journey a couple weeks ago danced around raindrops but with little drama in the weather, the baseball teams presented plenty. We have veteran teams, we have newcommers with all eight bringing their fans to the final DIII World Series to be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The following pairings and seedings, as two brackets of four teams meet in double-elimination play, with the winners advancing to the best-of-three Division III Championship Series.
The pairings, including game times for first-round action on Friday, June 2:
Bracket 1
No. 1 Johns Hopkins (44-5) vs. Misericordia (39-13), 10 a.m. CT (No. 1 vs. No. 8 seed)
No. No. 4 Endicott (45-7) vs. No. 12 Baldwin Wallace (36-10), 1:15 p.m.* CT (No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed)
Bracket 2
No. 2 Salisbury (35-6) vs. No. 19 East Texas Baptist (40-13), 4:30* CT (No. 2 vs. No. 7 seed)
No. 6 Lynchburg (43-7) vs. No. 13 UW-LaCrosse (36-11), 7:45* CT (No. 3 vs. No. 6 seed)
* Please note: All times are tentative, following the first game of the day. Games are unlikely to remain on this schedule, as there is approximately 50 minutes slated between games for field prep and infield/outfield.
You may see that the committee's seedings do not entirely match up with our Top 25 rankings, although they are pretty close. The NCAA has never taken the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 or other national polls into account when selecting teams or seeding its postseason tournaments.
Bracket One
Few teams can claim the momentum that Baldwin Wallace and Misericordia has brought to the final series. Neither were top seeds and each moved through the winners bracket to capture the regional title and then sweep their opponents in the super-regional on their own turf - and it was not close. For all their hard work, they are still lower seeds. Misericordia will get the top seeded Johns Hopkins who has slugged their way to a World Series favorite. Endicott is no slouch either. They might have not have the same World Series experience as the other three teams but they are battle tested. Often the D3baseball.com staff can tell is the coach is giving a 0-2 vibe at the Thursday practice to they are there to win it. We expect the latter for the Gulls. Often it is the intangibles that count the most in the World Series and having his best team in the last couple year, each and everyone knows that there is something missing from Coach Babb's career, a National Championship. Look for Johns Hopkins to make it to the DIII Championship Series.
Brackets Two
This is Salisbury's bracket to win. We saw what they had last year at this time and this year there are upgrades. The key additions are a MVP first baseman and their second best pitcher available instead of being out with an injury. The second seeded Sea Gulls will get the winner of the West super regional, East Texas Baptist. The opener of Bracket Two will feature the most experienced team in the tournament versus the least. Not only is Salisbury in their third straight World Series but has made the playoffs every year since 2009. East Texas Baptist on the other hand, has just a single playoff appearance in the same time frame and is in the show for the first time in their program. Give me the team who has been here before. The final World Series Rookie, Lynchburg will open with UW-La Crosse. The Eagles put on an offensive display enroute to winning the super-regional, putting up double digit runs in all three games. The Hornets have given up 10 runs just twice all season and won both games. UW-La Crosse made the Championship series the last time they were in the World Series but we see Lynchburg as the biggest challenge to Salisbury in the bracket.
You can follow all of the action from Cedar Rapids on D3baseball.com, including finding links to live audio broadcast and live stats.
Jim Dixon of D3baseball.com and Pat Coleman of D3sports.com will be on-site in Cedar Rapids to provide coverage, as will our colleagues at d3photography.com. Here's what you can expect between now and Friday:
- Monday morning: The annual D3baseball.com All-Region team. Drawn from more than 1,000 nominations by schools, the All-Region team recognizes the best of the best in each of the 10 regions in Division III baseball.
- Wednesday morning: The D3baseball.com All-America team, including D3baseball.com Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
- Thursday morning: Our World Series program. This includes each team's road to Cedar Rapids, their key stats and players to watch and the team roster, all the better for you to follow each team at a glance whether you are in the stands at the games or watching from home.
- Friday morning: Wall-to-wall baseball for, who knows, maybe 16 hours. And more on Saturday and the rest of the days until we have crowned a champion.
Keep an eye on D3baseball.com for that and more all week.