May 24, 2022

Super regional preview

By Jim Dixon
D3baseball.com

A weekend of Regional action did not disappoint.  Starting play on Sunday, there were still 20 teams playing that are in the current D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 and with the last regional game played on Monday,  11 of the top 15 teams were headed to the super-regional round. Eleven of the sixteen teams playing were seeded no. 1 in their region and all other winners were No. 2 seeds. Say good bye to your Cinderalla story, these super-regional teams are composed with the best of the field.

Like last year, the adage that good pitching stops good hitting, and visa-versa held. Nine shutouts all weekend and just three on the opening day when each team showcases their ace. On the hitting side, teams reached the 10 run mark 55 times in the four day tournament, including a half dozen games where both teams put up double digit runs. It cannot escape notice that the significant rain band that crossed the country during the weekend only changed significantly the schedule for the two New England regionals.  The rest, 14 of 16 regionals finished their games on the day they were scheduled, although some had delayed starts and in-game stoppages.

Four teams that played in Cedar Rapids last year are still in contention. They are Baldwin Wallace, Marietta, Salisbury and UW-Stevens Point. There will be no repeat champion as Eastern Connecticut State's bid for a title defence ended in the Regional held on the campus of Cortland. There are three teams that will be making a bid for their first World Series appearance. They are East Texas Baptist, Endicott and Lynchburg. Since the NCAA moved to the current playoff format, where the established conferences get an auto bid, there has been a rookie team in the final round every year.  This looks to continue if one of the three rooks can win two games this weekend.

Johns Hopkins has hit 103 home runs in the 2023 season, 28 more than the second place teams (East Texas Baptist and Lewis & Clark). The D-III record for home runs hit by a team is 104 by Wooster in 1997.
Johns Hopkins athletics photo

Baltimore super regional

No. 8 Wheaton (Mass.) at No. 1 Johns Hopkins

Top ranked Johns Hopkins swept through their regional while Wheaton had to battle through the elimination bracket. Two wins on Monday secured a spot in the super-regional round for the first time for the Lyons since the regional/super regional format was implemented in Division III. Both head coaches have a second place finish in the D-III World Series and are looking for their programs first Baseball national championship. Johns Hopkins is 6-0 at Babb Field for regional contests and since 2019 are 10-1 in the regional games. Look to see Johns Hopkins moving forward.

Beverly super regional

Ithaca at No. 4 Endicott

Endicott was one of four teams this year to come out of the elimination round to win their regional. Coming off a game one loss, they had their backs to the wall and came out of the regional with four straight wins. Ithaca had the easier route, winning three straight games to advance. Both Endicott and Ithaca enter the super regional with a team that is hitting over .325 as a team with identical slugging percentages. Beyond hitting, the Gulls will have an advantages in both pitching. Endicott has a team ERA 1.7 runs better than Ithaca and have only committed 23 errors on the season compared to the Bomber's 66. Give me the team that can play defense and pitch better any day. Endicott should be looking to make their first ever appearance in the D-III World Series.

Marietta super regional

Misericordia at No. 11 Marietta

Marietta had their challenges in the regional but managed to find enough pitching and hitting to sweep into this weekend. Misericodia needed to defeat a quality opponent in Salve Regina twice on the final weekend. The win in the regional for the Cougars came on the swings at the plate. In every win, the offense put up 10 or more runs and they will have to do the same this weekend. In these same games the best pitching performance still allowed six runs. It only takes a good pitcher to keep the offensive production down and Marietta has plenty of very good pitching. Look for the Pioneers to win their second straight super-regional and book a trip to Cedar Rapids starting the first weekend in June.

Aurora super regional

No. 12 Baldwin Wallace at No. 5 Aurora

Aurora was the first team to punch their ticket to the super regional round with a 3-0 sweep of John Carroll. Baldwin Wallace also won three straight wins that include two against the homestanding Denison Big Red. This is the best matched super-regional as both teams have similar stats describing the five phases of the game. Look to see three games needed to find a winner with the home field advantage giving Aurora an edge over the visiting Yellow Jackets.

La Crosse super regional

No. 15 Stevens Point at No. 13 UW-la Crosse

These teams need no introduction. They played each other in La Crosse four times back at the beginning of April with each team winning twice. As the top two teams in the WIAC tournament, you would have expected them to see each other but they did not as the Eagles had the better of the tournament, winning the WIAC crown while UWSP was 0-BBQ. All this is in the past and both teams won their regional in similar fashion - winning two early games and having to defeat the elimination round team in a second championship game. The UWL pitching staff never had a game get away and the only loss came from a close contest that was lost in the late innings. While the Pointers come into the series with better pitching numbers, today the best of the staffs playing resides in the Eagle's dugout. We are going with the Eagles this weekend.

Lynchburg super regional

No. 2 Shenandoah at No. 5 Lynchburg

This is becoming a habit for Shenandaoh and Lynchburg. Twice in three years, these two teams met in the ODAC championship game (Lynchburg won in 2021 and 2023) and have split their two game set each of the last two years. Lynchburg had the easier route opening with a walk-off win and played the Championship game as the winners bracket victor. They were forced to the extra game but finished on top. Shenandoah was one of two teams to lose their opening game and then win four straight elimination games to get to the super-regional round. Call it a cop out as we are going with the Hornets, I mean the ODAC Hornets, oh just flip a coin.

Marshall super regional

La Verne at No. 19 East Texas Baptist

Ahhh La Verne is just two wins from a World Series appearance. It was the author's first World Series where the Leopards came to Salem, Virginia and flew home with all the hardware. La Verne was forced to play the "if-needed" game but in the regional championship game, scored early and often to take away any stress in a must win game. This was not what their super-regional opponent experienced. East Texas Baptist also was forced to an if-necessary game and score late to win the game with a tense 2-1 victory. Often the team that is on the road finds the clubhouse gets tighter and when you play as a team, you win as a team. La Verne has this look and we expect to welcome the Leopards to Cedar Rapids.

Salisbury super regional

No. 23 Rowan at No. 2 Salisbury

Both Rowan and Salisbury never faced an elimination game last weekend. Rowan went 3-0 in their four-team regional and Salisbury was 3-1 in their five game series. The series will be played in Salisbury where the Sea Gulls have won nine straight and 20 of 22 games this season. It might be hard to quickly see who your fans are as there will be plenty of yellow on display. Salisbury has a chance to establish a mini-dynasty. It was just 20+ years ago when St. Thomas (Minn.) made it to the Championship game in three consecutive years and Salisbury has the same opportunity but can do one better if they win the national championship this year having done it twice in the three years, The Tommies win the title once, losing twice to N.C. Wesleyan and Montclair State. With that same team still intact with upgrades from their previus trip, our pick is Salisbury to make a third straight appearance in Cedar Rapids.