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| Lynchburg is making their first appearance in the DIII World Series. Endicott and East Texas Baptist are also here for the first time. Lynchburg athletics photo by Caroline Gerke |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The baseball tomorrow will be as hot as the temperatures in Cedar Rapids this week. Four teams here are ranked in the top six spots in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25, another three more ranked teams and Misericordia who is just outside the 25 ranked teams.
If there are no Cinderella teams, there has to be a favorite. In fact, there are two, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked (and seeded) teams in the Nation.
"We tried to put together the toughest schedule to challenge the kids," said Johns Hopkins Head Coach Bob Babb. "We have been here twice before in '19 and year '21 but only four players were here in '21. The coaching staff has been here and has made it easier to navigate what the kids need to expect." The odd years have been good for us."
"We do not expect any pressure on the team," said Babb about coming in as the number one team. "If there was pressure you would have seen it when we lost the first game of the super-regional but you never would have known it."
No. 2 Salisbury also comes back for the third straight year with the same expectations. Unlike Johns Hopkins with a young team with little World Series experience, The Sea Gulls have a core of the team that is back for a third year.
"I don't believe in favorites," said Salisbury head coach Troy Brohawn. "Did we have a great season? Absolutely. All eight teams had great seasons to get here. I like our leadership. I like how we finished the season. Everyone here is a favorite."
While Brohawn down played expectations, he had a lot to say about the fourteen seniors that will be in the dugout this week. "Fourteen seniors were part of the Championship team. All have that sour taste when we came up a little short. There is a lot of expectations on their shoulders. Our senior leadership handled it extremely well."
- D3baseball.com World Series Scoreboard
- D-III World Series Record Book
- D-III World Series Program
- D-III World Series Bracket
Since the conference bids were awarded, there has been a World Series rookie. This year we have three. Endicott finally broke through as has Lynchburg. East Texas Baptist rode the feats of their senior-laden team to become the third ASC team to make the final round.
Fourth seeded Endicot was the first of the rooks to get their practice session in at Perfect Game Field. "It is exciting," said Endicott head coach Bryan Haley. "To have these guys have the same experience I was able to have in '99 is special. We have talked about this as a program for a long time. Having done it myself [with Brandeis in 1999], I let then guys know to soak in the moments around the baseball."
Haley explained that just being here is not the goal. "Finally got the job done but there is a job to do. These guys are chomping at the bit for more."
The Lynchburg Hornets are under the same pressures as they navigate new experiences in being here. "Not sure we processed that information. It has been overwhelming and at the same time exciting," said Lynchburg head coach Lucas Jones. "Getting out here was my stress. Now that we are here, we are settling in here to play a game and we are preparing ourselves for a chance to win."
Jones likes his preparation for the World Series. "We won a lot of games in a lot of different style, different ways. The consistency for us have been on our pitching and defense."
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| Endicott athletic photo by David Le |
"It is great to spend another week with the guys," said East Texas Baptist head coach Jared Hood. "Any baseball we get to play is a treasure. We have an older team. These guys have handled big moments well and I expect that to continue forward."
Baldwin Wallce is the only team here that did not host a playoff series, winning the regional hosted by Denison and defeating Aurora on their home field. "You get what you earn," said Baldwin Wallace head coach Brian Harrison. "If you want to be a top seed, you need to play a little bit better. Down the stretch we were not great."
In the playoffs, the Yellow Jackets turned it around. "We got a lot of confidence beating Denison and that set the tone going into Aurora. We kept the momentum going," said Harrison. "We are just going to enjoy the experience. We are super excited to be here and hopefully we can play better than we did last year. [Having been here last year] gives us a lot of confidence. There are less unknowns, less anxiety. You can relax and play baseball. We want to come out with great effort and a great attitude."
Like Baldwin Wallace, the Misericordia Cougars have been to the DIII World Series before. "It's been an awesome experience for us," said Misericordia head coach Pete Egbert. "We played the last time [the World Series] was in Appleton and now the last time in Cedar Rapids. This year it's a new team, a new experience. You never know if you will get back here. To me it is all about having fun. Once you get on the field the baseball takes are of itself."
As the only unranked team, this does not cause any concern. "Our guys are not intimidated," said Egbert. "They like being David. They believe they stack up with everybody else on any given day. There is only one ranking that matters at the end of the year."
UW-La Crosse got to the D3 Championship Series in their first appearance but fell short of this standard in their only other trip. "It takes a lot to get here, not just talent, grit or relieince," said UW-La Crosse head coach Chris Schwartz. The ball has to bounce the right way sometimes."
The Eagles wanted this trip. "Getting here was high on [the players] lists. The majority did not feel like this was a building year. They felt that this was a year to take a step in the right direction."