MSOE was a cinderella team in 2022, improving their record by 9 wins from 2021, capturing a NACC tournament title and an appearance in the 2022 NCAA playoffs. Will they lose their glass slipper or join the top teams in their conference in 2023. This is just one question that will be answered this spring. d3photography photo by Steve Frommell

By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com

Region 8 (or the old Central region) was the last of the regions to advance one of their own to the Championship circle and more often than not were out of World Series play. Those days are behind us with powerhouse teams like No. 25  Aurora, No. 23 North Central (Ill.) and No. 13 Webster. Add Augustana and you have the top four games team in the region.

• Preseason D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25
• Preseason D3baseball.com All-American team

Millikin was one of 55 teams that received at least one vote in the 2023 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25. Returning in 2023 is senior pitcher Caleb Buehrle after receiving All-Conference First Team honors in 2022 for the second straight season. Milikin athletic photo by Kevin Krows

Voters in the D3baseball.com /NCBWA Top 25 gave Millikin some love with five combined points in the 2023 Preseason Top 25. Schools with recent successes like Washington U (World Series appearance in 2021) and Benedictine (2nd place finish in NACC in 2022, 30+ wins) did not attract the notice of the poll voters in any preseason poll.

New Faces

Bob Babcock, Defiance: Defiance needed a last minute replacement in 2023. They were poised to be led by 16 year veteran coach Derek Woodley but in mid-January 2023, he was lured out of the college ranks to become a minor league coach for the New York Yankees. Ben Babcock, in his second season with the Yellow Jackets, will take over in an interim basis. Prior to his time at Defiance, Babcock was the head junior varsity coach at Jefferson High School in Delphos, Ohio from 2014-17 followed by a stint at Delphos St. John's High School as a varsity assistant coach from 2018-21.

Key Games

Illinois Wesleyan at Washington Univ., March 4th: Wash U will open their season with six games in Arkansas but when they return for their home opener against the Titans from Illinois Wesleyan, we should know whether the Bears are still in rebuilding mode or on their way back from a down year in 2022.

Webster at Chapman, March 10th-12th: Webster opens a seven game West coast swing with three games against Chapman. This will not be the Gorlok's or the Panther's first test in 2023 but both teams should be in mid-season form and if an at large pass into the NCAA Playoffs is needed come May, winning two or more will be important.

North Central (Ill.) at Augustana, April 4th: North Central will visit Augustana in early April for a game that will be key in deciding the eventual champion of the CCIW. The two teams will meet again four days later in Naperville, Illinois.

Aurora at MSOE, April 15th; Benedictine at Aurora, April 16th: This is the weekend that the Spartans will win or lose the regular season crown. Aurara will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday and with a 4-0 weekend, they will effectively be on their way to a top seed in the NACC tournament in mid-May.

Franklin at Earlham, May 5th: The top teams in the HCAC meet at Randal R. Sadler Stadium. While both teams should be in the end of the season tournament, this doubleheader will determine who will grab the higher seed.

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Conference Previews

Dom Listi started all 49 games for the Cardinals as he led the team in batting average (.374), hits (71), runs (73), total bases (111), walks (40), and on-base percentage (.500). His runs total broke the program single-season record. North Carolina (Ill.) athletics photo

College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin: The CCIW will open as the toughest conference in the region with three teams getting votes in the 2023 preseason poll. The king of the CCIW has been North Central (Ill.) (35-14) for many years. The Cardinals have averaged over 30 wins a year for the last eight non-Covid years and is expected to top the 30 win mark again this year. NCC was hit by the injury bug in 2022 and they missed the contributions of All-American catcher Rob Marinec (.451, 8 HR, 40 RBI in 22 games) who will return for another season. While the team said goodbye to Paul Beverley (1B) and Charlie Klemm (SP), new pieces were added in the latest recruiting class who will make an impact and challenge for playing time. Luke Lamm (8-4, 3.34 ERA, 67 K), Ryan Behring (5-3, 4.66 ERA, 71 K) and Jason Shanner (5-0, 6 saves, 3.02 ERA,. 69 K) are previous All-Region pitchers and will eat up most of the innings this spring. Staying healthy and hungry is the key for North Central to break into the DIII World Series.

Augustana (34-12) will feature a combination of experience and returning depth from last year's championship team. New faces like outfielder Dymitri Kanellakis and catcher Michael Aragon are expected to challenge for a spot in the starting nine. Senior second baseman Matt Ozanic (.306, 1 HR, 42 RBI) will be a team leader with the core of the returning hitters entering their junior year. The Vikings were the best pitching team in the CCIW with the only sub 4.00 ERA in the conference. Josh Wintroub (6-3, 2.71 ERA, 96 K), Harrison Boushele, (6-2, 3.95 ERA, 114 K) and Bryce Luckey (9-3, 3.18 ERA, 59 K) are all back so look for another stellar year for the staff.

Millikin (27-16) got a taste of Regional play when they hosted the Central Regional in 2021. The 2022 year featured a bit of a dip but more than one poll sage sees this team making some noise in 2023. The top defensive team in the CCIW will have hit better to overcome Augustana or North Central but have the throwers what matches up well with any team. Two time All-CCIW and All-Region pitcher Caleb Buehrle (8-4, 3.65 ERA, 84 K) will be the ace again. Kyle Gibson (.329, 27 RBI, 18 SB) and Ryan Janssen (Juco Transfer) will be in the middle of the order and both are expected to share the team lead in every offensive category.

Carroll (18-23) and Wheaton (Ill.) (18-20) will contend for the fourth spot in the conference standings. A solid core of seniors return with Justin Baker (.375, 1 HR, 17 RBI) and Benton Holly (.272, 11 HR, 38 RBI) topping the returning offensive players. The Pioneers will get starting pitcher Scotty Starovich back from and injury to toe the rubber with Connor Nolen (2-1, 4 saves, 1.50 ERA, 32 K) waiting in the bullpen. It has been over 70 years since Wheaton last won a conference title and it will be an uphill journey to get one this season. If they do, you can bet that centerfielder Ben Weaver (.388, 7 3B, 5 HR, 38 RBI) will be part of the resurgence.  Brendan Dyer (6-0, 4.91 ERA, 32 K) will need some help and Joe Klein (2-4, 4.09 ERA, 33 K) will be key in a revamped pitching staff.

North Park (16-25), Illinois Wesleyan (16-21), Carthage (15-25) and Elmhurst (13-23) round out the rest of the conference. A decade ago, you would see these teams listed at the top of the conference but the reality is that these four teams have a lot of work to do to regain past glory. The Titans are looking for their pitching staff to carry the team with more power arms and experience than the past two seasons. On the offensive side, take note of Jalen Ping. Ping (.308, 15 2B, 33 RBI, 12 SB) has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark and keep them in with his defensive ability.

FAVORITE: North Central (Ill.)

Transylvania junior Trent Youngblood will continue his assualt on the Transy record book in 2023. He could reach 200 hits by seasons end, setting up a run at 300 hits for his career in 2024. Transylvania athletics photo

Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference: It has been over a decade since the HCAC sent two teams to the NCAA Playoffs (2008) so winning the conference is the path for the members of this conference to advance to the Regional round. As seven teams have represented the conference in the past 15 years, the competition for the Pool A bid will be fierce. Franklin (29-14) returns five hitters at the top of the lineup including four who have previously been named to end of the season All-Star teams. Keep an eye on AJ Sanders (.375, 6 HR, 45 RBI, 27 SB). The 5 tool player will move back to shortstop this season after a year away from it. Jackson Young (5-2, 5.22 ERA, 40 K) and Damian Tillie (4-2, 3.86 ERA, 57 K) will be the best of a staff that should be deep with quality pitchers in both the starting and relief ranks.

Earlham (26-13) won the conference tournament, keeping Franklin, the regular season champs, home for the playoffs. Their reward was a 500 mile bus ride to Lynchburg in one of the toughest regionals in the first round of the playoffs. While the result was not what the Quakers wanted, the team got a taste of what it will take to reach the NCAA Playoff round. Earlham will return a lot of talent with a good young group around them. The Lancianese twins, Nathan Lancianese (.361, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 21 SB) and Christian Lancianese (.301, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 24 SB) should stand out for the Quakers in 2023. While all is well for the offense, the biggest question mark coming into this season is the pitching. If the staff can duplicate the success of 2022, another trip to the Regional round might be in the cards.

Job one for Rose-Hulman (28-13) is to find some power among their line up as the Engineers saw two players who accounted for 60% of the home runs in 2022 graduate. Colter Couillard-Rodak (.325, 3 HR, 31 RBI) and Andy Krajecki (.326, 3 HR, 3 RBI) will need to fill the gap. Ian Kline (7-3, 3.02 ERA, 55 K), a first team All-HCAC pitcher, will be the #1 starter, a role he had last year as a sophomore. Anderson (20-21) will rely on the strength of their offense headed by a trio of infielders in Tyler Smitherman (.386, 13 HR, 51 RBI), Charlie Jones (.394, 1 HR, 9 RBI) and Justin Reed (.361, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 15 SB). The Ravens return almost all of our contributing arms from the previous season and if the starters get in trouble, Evan Doan (6-2, 2 saves, 3.33 ERA, 44 K) and Logan Nickel (2-4, 6 saves, 5.81 ERA, 41 K) will be available in the bullpen.

Mount St. Joseph (15-24), Transylvania (14-22) and Manchester (10-27) are on the bubble but in this group, Transylvania has the best chance to change their fortunes. While young, nearly everyone is back for Transy, including 2023 D3baseball.com Preseason All-American outfielder Trent Youngblood (.401, 10 HR, 38 RBI, 16 SB). Last year was a bit of a circus for the Pioneers since their stadium was under construction and not completed in time. While scoring might not be a problem for the Pios, advancing will come down to pitching. If one or more of the returning starting pitchers can step up and be front line guys, a title might be in the works. Manchester returns seven starters on offense highlighted by Harrison Pittsford (.327, 6 HR, 29 RBI) and three starting pitchers. The Spartans ended the season near the bottom in hitting, pitching and fielding stats and will need to some gems among the 19 incoming players.

Bluffton (17-22), Hanover (16-22) and Defiance (10-26) are the only teams without a playoff bid in the last 15 years and in 2022 were on the back half of the conference standings. The Defiance staff was honest about their chances stating that they need to be better offensively and need to be more consistent on the mound in order to compete at a higher level. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets will be short-handed following a coaching change just before the start of the season. None of these teams are well placed to change their fortunes in 2023.

FAVORITE: Franklin

Senior catcher Jett Wedekind is closing in on Aurora's all time hit mark amongst other record. He needs 12 hits to pass Jeff Mayes (240). Aurora athletics photo

Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference: Aurora (36-11) will be returning a team with a lot of postseason experience but will give some newcomers a chance to make an impact. Last year, the Spartans were far stronger on offense than pitching but that is not the case in 2023. Three All-Region performers are gone but the cupboard is barely empty. Justin Sartori (.375, 12 HR, 70 RBI) is coming off an All-American season and is looking to improve his game. He will be surrounded by other offensive minded players in Jacob Ambuel (.383, 6 HR, 56 RBI), Jett Wedekind (.342, 10 HR, 45 RBI), Nico Bermeo (.331, 1 HR, 36 RBI) and Collin Meinert (.322, 2 HR, 35 RBI) so opposing pitchers cannot just pitch around Sartori. The pitching came around in 2022 and is finally an equal to the offense. Look for the trio of Jack Fisher (7-1, 2.79 ERA, 64 K), Nick Malmberg (7-1, 3.95 ERA, 53 K) and Bryce Miller (6-2, 6.88 ERA, 44 K) to provide pitching wins. Josh Reinhardt (2-0, 3.72 ERA, 12 K) is returning from injury, giving head coach Adam Stevens plenty of options on their four-game conference weekends.

MSOE (27-18), Benedictine (26-13) and Edgewood (24-21) will be looking to dethrone the 2022 conference champs. MSOE and Edgewood broke out in 2022, improving their win totals. Benedictine, who improved their conference win percentage in 2022 and finished a game behind Aurora, is Aurora's chief competition. Pitching has become a staple for the Eagles and was one of the top pitching teams in the nation in 2022. Stephen Sewruk (4-3, 4.64 ERA, 56 K) and John Creviston (3-1, 2.30 ERA, 37 K) will get their chance to headline the pitching rotation. Junior Jack Bahn (1-1, 6.93 ERA, 31 K) improved substantially in his sophomore year and is looking to break into the rotation. Pitching will be ahead of the hitting but the Eagles have hit .300 in each of the last two seasons. Cole Wilson (.349, 5 HR, 26 RBI), Andrew Tenison (.331, 5 HR, 28 RBI) and Ryan Doubek (.327, 24 RBI, 9 SB) will be the top hitters as the 2023 team looks to keep the standards high.

Concordia (Wis.) (18-22), Concordia-Chicago (19-21) and St. Norbert (19-19) finished above the .500 mark in the conference but only the Cougars of CUC and the Green Knights of SNC made the end of the season tournament. Both teams have found past glory but have not been able to make their mark in recent years. These teams were followed in the conference standings by Dominican (20-18) and Marian (15-24). Marian could have made the end of the season tourney but ended losing their three conference games to fall two games short. The Sabres will lean on players returning for a fifth year as graduate students. Jonah Landowski (.341, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 10 SB) will head the O while Jonah Landowski (4-2, 4.40 ERA, 54 K) and Taylor Middaugh (6-4, 3.42 ERA, 52 K) toes the rubber.

Rounding out the bottom of the conference are Lakeland (17-21), Rockford (15-22), Wisconsin Lutheran (13-23) and Illinois Tech (09-31). The only team to finish their season with a win was Wisconsin-Lutheran but that is about the extent of the good news for the Warriors. Illinois Tech will lean on two-way player Connor Blake (.424, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 1-4, 6.84 ERA, 44 K) to get then out of the cellar.

FAVORITE: Aurora

St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: While The HCAC might be a toss-up, the SLIAC is not. Webster (38-8) has made the playoffs nearly every year for, well forever. Sure they lost the conference tournament three times in the last fifteen years but had the resume to grab an at-large bid two of those years. The Gorloks return the bulk of the team with the recruiting pipeline still bringing in plenty of talent. Third baseman Ben Swords (.337, 8 HR, 44 RBI) will still be at third base for Webster after taking over the position in 2018. The arms for Bill Kurich's team will be young but experienced with sophomore Carter Hunt (5-0 3.31 ERA, 46 K) and junior Jordan Smevoll (6-2, 2.89 ERA, 69 K) returning.

Nick Glaser is 11-7 with 115 strike- outs in two years for the Griffins. Fontbonne photo by Michael Manint

Spalding (27-18) and Fontbonne (25-25) will provide the toughest competition for Webster. The Griffins of Fontbonne placed four players on the All-Region 8 team. The best of the four were sophomores in 2022 and should be back for another season in purple and gold. Nick Glaser (7-3, 2.74 ERA, 70 K) should be their pitching ace and Colby Shivers (.339, 6 HR, 28 RBI) should be a strength up the middle at second base. The Golden Eagles will be led by two first team All-SLIAC players on offense in Marcus Collins (.351, 2 HR, 18 RBI) and Sam Pinho (.397, 1 HR, 9 RBI). They will need the offense. Their top starting pitchers last year finishing up their senior years and have departed.

Greenville (19-24) and Westminster (Mo.) (11-23) both have won the conference title in the past fifteen years but none in the last five. MUW (14-20) will be moving to the SLIAC conference next year and will have games scheduled with Greenville and Fontbonne this year. Eureka (16-22), Blackburn (10-28) and Principia (02-23) round out the rest of the conference with 11 wins between the three teams in 2022. Neither of these three teams will make an impact in 2023.

FAVORITE: Webster

Independents: Washington U. (12-24) had a tough year in 2022. Coming off a World Series appearance, they were hit hard by graduation and the MLB draft. This year, the last of the key parts of their 2021 team are now gone and we will see how Pat Bloom can rebuild and get back to national prominence. Part of the success will depend on two-way player Clayton Miller (.299, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 1-4, 1 save, 7.81 ERA, 41 K). The only part of their game that is already in place is the outfield with Brandon Buday (.308, 16 RBI, 16 SB), Magnus Dunn (.360, 6 RBI, 10 SB) and Jack Miller (.323, 16 RBI, 8 SB) patroling the grass in 2023. The Bears of the future are already here with a top 10 recruiting class. Once the team chemistry is built, Wash U should be back on top. Maranatha Baptist (00-22) has won two games in the last five years and have lost 47 games in a row. No worries, they are nowhere near the D-III record 228 game losing streak set by Caltech.