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| Lynchburg made the best of their first appearance in the DIII World Series. Can they do it again? d3photography.com photo by Ryan Coleman |
By Jim Dixon, D3sports.com
Eastlake, Ohio - As the DIII World Series opens the Eastlake, Ohio era, there are rookie teams, teams back for another year and one team that has been to more past Series' than the rest of the field together. UW-Whitewater is making their 8th trip with the rest of the field having a combined six previous appearances.
- Regionals: Preview | Day one | Day two | Day three
- Super Regionals: Preview | Day one | Day two
- DIII World Series: Preview
- One last chance for Birmingham-Southern
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D3baseball.com D-III World Series Record Book This will be the 23rd D-III World Series D3baseball.com staff have attended to report on the action. Our record book will be updated as record are tied or broken during the week-long tournament. |
John Vodenlich has led his team here six times before (UWW was here before the Vodenlich era in 1989). He has also won twice so nothing should be a surprise except the last time the Warhawks won the DIII World Series, they won an eight team double elimination tournament. Since then, the NCAA has divided the field into two pods and now plays a best-of-three D3 Championship Series and the Warhawks have just one appearance since then in 2016.
"16 was our last trip to the College World Series," said Vodenlich. "A gap like that allows you to appreciate it more. I know I am. I think [experience] is overstated because I don't get to play, the players have to play. The format has changed so some of the strategic moves you have to make has changed. Having been here before and understand that it is an exciting but a distracting situation. I explain to them to do what they have done all year."
- D3baseball.com World Series Scoreboard
- D-III World Series Record Book
- D3baseball.com World Series Program
While you want to give this intangible to the Warhaks, hold on. There are other ways that teams are coming in with experience in spades.
Pomona-Pitzer is making their first trip but the Sagehen's head coach Frank Pericolosi has been on the organizing committee for the last six years.
"I have seen all the kinds of things and how they are run," said Pericolosi. "It is good to give the guys less to think about. I don't have any surprises since being on the committee.
Birmingham-Southern is relying less on their coach's experience on the organizing committee but in the games head coach Jan Weisberg has competed in the past.
"I don't think it does," said Weisberg about preparing for the World Series and his tenure on the NCAA baseball committee. "Being in the super-regionals and in the World Series does and knowing what we when we got here and what we did when we did not. What it does is show is what it takes to get in and how to build a schedule."
Lynchburg and Randolph-Macon are both here from the ODAC. Lynchburg head coach Travis Beazley is new to head coaching but not to the program having taken over from Lucas Jones last summer.
"Lucas and I just flipped and he has been in the dugout the whole year," said Beazley. "Mike has called every pitch for the last six years and Oscar is coaching third base this year. Honesty the easiest coaching job that anyone can ask for."
Randolph-Macon head coach Ray Hedrick echoed the words by Lynchburg's 2023 head coach Jones.
"There are half a dozen teams in the ODAC that can compete in a regional," said Hedrick. "We some really good leaders in our league and the ODAC has had a team competing at the national level the last 6-7 years. The teams that don't make out tournament are competitive and this makes the ODAC a highly competitive league.
Pete Egbert, the head coach of Misericordia dismissed the impact on what his team learned last year.
"We will find out," said Egbert. "A lot of the same guys are back and I don't know [what experience gives us]. Until you play the game, you don't know how the experience is going to help."
Egbert was quick to note the experience his pitching staff has acquired since playing in last year's Series.
"Our entire pitching staff has returned," said Egbert about a staff that showed significant improvement from last year. "So they are more experienced. We asked them to do things differently in the past."
Endicott is coming in to the World Series as the top team after a 0-2 record last year.
"There is a comfort level we did not have last year," said Endicott head coach Bryan Haley.