|
| Right-hander Ryan Gaines is the fourth consecutive Panther to earn SAA Pitcher of the Year honors. Birmingham-Southern athletics photo by Jimmy Mitchell |
Follow this regional |
By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
It is quite a field assembled for the regional in Mount Berry. Three top 10 teams will battle it out in the six team regional. The class of the South Regional is headed by Emory, which will be looking for its third trip in three years to the D-III World Series.
Birmingham-Southern, the No. 2 seed, will look to challenge the Eagles. The Panthers, making their fourth playoff appearance in five years, are more than ready to make it out of the regional. Shenandoah still has a lot of gas in the tank and a full season has given Marietta head coach Brian Brewer time to develop a World Series contender. Joining this juggernaut are Huntingdon and Thomas More.
Mount Berry Regional schedule
Wednesday, May 18
Game 1 - No. 1 Emory (32-11) vs. No. 6 Thomas More (32-8), 11 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 2 Birmingham-Southern (30-12) vs. No. 5 Huntingdon (26-12), 2:30 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 3 Shenandoah (34-10-1) vs. No. 4 Marietta (28-16), 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 19
Game 4 - Thomas More vs. Huntingdon, 11 a.m.
Game 5 - Emory vs. Marietta, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6 - Brinmingham-Southern vs. Shenandoah, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Game 7 - Emory vs. Shenadoah, 11:00 a.m.
Game 8 - Thomas More vs. Birmingham-Southern, 2:30 p.m.
Game 9 - Birmingham-Southern vs. Shenandoah, 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 20
Game 10 - Emory vs. Shenandoah, 12 p.m.
Emory advances
Meet the teams |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Favorite
Emory is ranked first in the region for a reason. It is not just because they've had a Top 10 ranking all year long in the Top 25, it is not just the two consecutive appearances in D-III World Series, it is a well-coached team that that played all season with every opponent looking to knock off a ranked team. The Eagles bring to the regional the top ranked pitching staff and a top 50 defense. The old adage that it is pitching and defense win championships fits Emory to a T.
Most likely to disappoint
Birmingham-Southern is ready to make its first trip to the D-III World Series. If the pitching cannot carry the team, it will be the offense that delivers the win. Nothing less than a regional championship will satisfy Jan Weisberg's squad. Standing in their way are Emory and Shenandoah who have their own ambitions.
Cinderella
Thomas More waited late in 2015 to see if their 30-win season was enough to get them into the playoff field. Their bubble burst and the Saints had to wait for another year. And this year, another 30 win season was nearly left to the decision of the selection committee. The Saints came up with two one-run decisions over Washington and Jefferson to earn the automatic bid from the PAC, however, and get some sleep on selection Sunday. The Saints are hungry for a regional crown.
Players to Watch
C Eric White, Marietta (.323, 11 R, 6 2B, 26 RBI, .371 Slg.)
1B Donovan Pogue, Thomas More (.396, 47 R, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 27 BB, .517 OBP)
1B Jake Loew, Shenandoah (.385, 27 R, 13 2B, 7 3B, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 8 BB, 25 K)
2B Dylan Eisner, Emory (.371, 28 R, 7 2B, 23 RBI, 25 BB, 12 SB)
2B Ben Laumann, Thomas More (.407, 55 R, 15 2B, 5 HR, 47 RBI, 17-17 SB, .506 OBP)
3B Taylor McCracken, Birmingham-Southern (.402, 45 R, 16 2B, 3 3B, 35 RBI, 23 SB)
SS John Wilt, Shenandoah (.342, 25 R, 8 2B, 31 RBI, 11 BB)
OF Anthony Spivey, Huntingdon (.279, 37 R, 8 2B, 9 HR, 40 RBI)
OF/P Patrick Kucera, Huntingdon (.355, 54 R, 9 2B, 3 3B, 24 RBI, 25-29 SB, 3-0, 1 Sv, 2.01 ERA, 22.1 IP)
OF Sam Roberts, Birmingham-Southern (.385, 35 R, 11 2B, 3 HR, 40 RBI, 13 SB)
OF Ben Kenning, Thomas More (.383, 42 R, 19 2B, 5 HR, 49 RBI, 13 K, .617 Slg.)
OF Casey Metzger, Thomas More (.412, 42 R, 7 2B, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 10 SB)
OF Tim McCoy, Marietta (.353, 40 R, 13 2B, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 10 SB)
DH Brian Hernandez, Emory (.367, 26 R, 9 2B, 4 HR, 43 RBI, 9 SB)
SP Hans Hansen, Emory (8-1, 1.30 ERA, 69.1 IP, 1 CG, 9 BB, 40 K)
SP Jackson Weeg, Emory (7-0, 2.12 ERA, 80.2 IP, 29 BB, 66 K)
SP Ryan Gaines, Birmingham-Southern (10-2, 1.99 ERA, 2 CG, 90.1 IP, 66 K)
SP Christian Herstine, Marietta (9-3, 2.25 ERA, 3 CG, 96 IP, 34 BB, 106 K)
SP Tim Baldrick, Thomas More (6-1, 4.37 ERA, 3 CG, 55.2 IP, 14 BB, 26 K)
RP Kyle Monk, Emory (3-3, 11 SV, 1.46 ERA, 37.0 IP, 32 K)
RP Phil Morse, Shenandoah (4-0, 8 Sv, 0.74 ERA, 24.1 IP, 12 BB, 23 K)