D3baseball.com Daily Dose

Trying a different format this week. There is a lot going on in D3baseball this week with many conferences gearing up for conference play. I’ve listed the top two teams in each conference with notable performance in many. There were some cancellations and reschduled games as the weekend storm in the northeastern part of the US played havoc with the baseball schedules. There are a lot of games on campus so go out and see a baseball game this weekend.

Game of the Week: Cortland at Montclair State, March 24.

Mideast Region:

HCAC: Transylvania (10-3, 1-0), Franklin (8-3, 0-0)
Bluffton will start their season next weekend. Mt. St. Joseph’s Michael Mayer guided the Lions to a 5-0 record on the week and has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week. The senior outfielder was 7-of-15 (.467) at the plate, scoring five runs, hitting two doubles, and adding a home run during the week. Mayer also collected five RBI, 12 total bases, two walks, and two stolen bases on the week. Mayer leads the Mount in average (.500), doubles (7), and RBI (10) as the Lions stand 9-1 on the season. Defiance ’s Brad Timofeev earned two wins last week during the Yellow Jacket’s eight-game swing down in Florida and has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week. The sophomore went 2-0 and posted a 0.64 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP, while leading Defiance to wins over Fontbonne and Stevens Tech. In DC’s 5-0 win over Fontbonne, Timofeev threw only 77 pitches and faced just 24 batters in a complete game one hitter. He added another great start in the Jackets 12-9 win over Stevens Tech, scattering six hits in seven innings. Timofeev left with a 12-2 lead allowing just one earned run. For the week, Timofeev was 2-0 in 14 innings of work, while striking out five and allowing just one run on seven hits.

MIAA: Olivet (6-2), Hope (3-3)

NCAC: Wooster (5-0, Kenyon (11-5)
Wooster junior outfielder Jake Sankal homered three times in his first 10 at-bats of the spring, while also singling twice and doubling once for a .600 average (6-for-10) thus far. He has also produced seven RBI and helped the Fighting Scots to an 8-0 record last week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Wooster sophomore righthander Anthony Trapuzzano threw five shutout innings and struck out nine without a walk in leading the Scots to a 10-0 victory over Anderson in his first start.

OAC: Muskingum (10-1), Wilmington (8-1)
Wilmington senior centerfielder Taylor Clark (McCallie, TN/Marrow) batted .462 in 39 at bats with eight runs, 4 RBI, three doubles and one triple to help the Quakers post a 8-1 record last. Wilmington freshman pitcher Bryce DeWeese (Jeffersonville/Miami Trace) threw a complete six-hit shutout against Albion and gave up only four hits in seven innings in the Quakers victory over Illinois College. On the week, DeWeese went 2-0, giving up only 10 hits, no earned runs and totaling 15 strikeouts.

Presidents AC: Washington and Jefferson (5-1), Thomas More (5-1)
Hitter of the week was Chris Fishburn, Thomas More and Pither of the Week was Sam Mann,

Central:

CCIW: Augustana (11-1), Carthage (6-4)
Marc Blakeley of Augustana and Andy Sherwood of North Park were named baseball players of the week in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Blakeley, a junior outfielder from Richland Center, Wis., and Adams-Friendship High School, was instrumental during a four game swing in Arizona last week. Blakeley hit .579 with 11 hits in 19 at-bats while scoring seven runs. He had one double, one triple, two home runs and five RBI from his leadoff spot in the batting order. His slugging percentage was 1.053 with 20 total bases in 19 at-bats. He walked twice and stole one base and had one sacrifice fly. In addition, he led off the first two games in Arizona with home runs and in the final two games he collected eight hits in 11 at-bats. Sherwood, a right-handed pitcher from Crystal Lake, Ill., and Crystal Lake Central High School, carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a 14-0 win over Monmouth (Ill.) on Tuesday, March 13. He ended up going the distance, giving up only four hits while striking out four and walking two.

IIAC: Buena Vista (3-1), Central (6-3)
IIAC Player of the Week was Tad Barry, Cornell College. Barry, a junior outfielder/pitcher, threw a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out four in a 6-0 win over Eureka in the opener of a doubleheader. Offensively for the week, he hit .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, two RBI and four runs scored in four games. He had matching 1-for-3 performances in the sweep of Eureka (6-0/7-0), scoring a run in both contests and driving in one in the first game. He followed that up with a pair of two hit games in a split with Bethany Lutheran (8-2/3-10), with a double and a run scored in each contest. He had a stolen base in the opener and an RBI in the nightcap.

Northern AC: Edgewood (7-4), Concordia Chicaho (7-5)
Griswold hit .500 (10-for-20) on the week in Arizona to help the Sabres go 3-3. He recorded seven RBI, six runs, two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Griswold also walked three times and was 1-for-1 in stolen bases. His slugging pct was .850 and his on-base percentage was .565.

SLIAC: MacMurray (1-0), Fontbonne( 10-8)
Michael Haynes of Greenville College is the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week. The Panthers won four of nine games on their trip to Port Charlotte, FL, winning the last four after dropping the first five, and Haynes led the way, both at the plate and in the field. The junior second baseman batted .481 (13-27) with 6 runs scored and 2 RBI. He was 4-4 in a 4-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan that got Greenville’s four game winning streak started. He handled 40 chances in the field with just one error for a .975 fielding percentage.

Midwest Region:

Midwest: Ginnell (3-2), Knox (5-5)
Adam Neylon, Carroll College recently achieved a streak if 15 consecutive times on base. Playing at the Gene Cusic collegiate classic against Illinois and Know Colleges, he had six hits, seven walks, 2 HBP and a sac bunt over a four game period.

MIAC: St Olaf (5-1), St Thomas (9-4)
Carleton senior second baseman Eric Greenlee was 7-for-15 (.467) with two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored as Carleton won four of its first six games on its spring break trip in Fort Pierce, Fla. The start was Carleton’s best in 75 seasons, as the Knights are now 6-2 overall. In a doubleheader sweep of Swarthmore on Friday, Greenlee was a combined 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs scored and a double. Macalester senior pitcher Ted Kimble (Pine Island, Minn.) went 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in a couple of appearances over Spring Break week in Phoenix. In 14 innings of work, he gave up six runs, six earned runs and held opponents to a .255 batting average.

UMAC: St Scholastica (2-2), Bethany Lutheran (2-4)
The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference baseball pitcher of the week is Alex Smith of Bethany Lutheran College. Smith earned a complete game 10-3 victory for the Vikings against Cornell College. He worked seven innings giving up eight hits and three earned runs, with two strike outs and no walks. Minnesota-Morris senior Joe Fayden is this week’s Upper Midwest Athletic Conference player of the week. Fayden was 9 for 23 (.391) in six games in Ft. Myers, Florida last week for the Cougars. He had six runs batted in with one double.

WIAC: UW-Oshkosh (5-1), UW-Whitewater (3-1)
Andy Podmolik hit .537 (22-for-41) to help UW-La Crosse to a 7-3 record at the Greater Phoenix Invitational. He led the team in hits (22), at-bats (41), doubles (6), triples (2), total bases (32), walks (12) and steals (6). Podmolik had seven multi-hit games and finished with at least one hit in nine of 10 games. He also had five multi-run games and was six-for-six in stolen base attempts. Podmolik was five-for-six in UW-La Crosse’s 12-9 victory over Marian College (Wis.) on March 12. The five hits are tied for second in single-game school history. In 10.2 innings pitched, Adam Bretl, UW-Oshkosh earned one victory and one save as he allowed four hits, one unearned run and had nine strikeouts with one walk. He earned the save in a 5-1 triumph over North Central College (Ill.) on March 17 after working 4.0 innings and allowing two hits, one walk, one unearned run and striking out four. In a 5-3 win over St. Norbert College on March 18, Bretl pitched 6.2 innings of relief, allowing two hits and recording five strikeouts to earn his first victory of the season.

West Region:

ASC: Texas-Dallas (16-5, 6-0), McMurry (15-7, 6-0), (Texas-Tyler (20-0, 3-0)
Ozarks sophomore outfielder John Glenn helped pace a 5-0 week by recording five extra-base hits – including a game-tying triple against East Texas Baptist – and six RBI. Glenn batted .454 with three doubles and a home run. He walked two times and stole two bases. Texas-Dallas junior right-hander Drew Waggoner tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout against Louisiana College. Waggoner struck out six batters and did not issue a walk over the nine-inning, 1-0 win. He has now pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings. Ozarks junior right-hander Robby Finnell picked up a win and two saves in a three-game ASC series against Texas Texas Baptist. Finnell did not all a run over 6 2/3 innings of relief work and struck out three batters. He also homered and drove in six runs. McMurry junior second baseman Weston Franco went 13-for-26 with four home runs and 12 RBI to pace a 5-1 week that included an ASC series sweep over Hardin-Simmons. Franco had eight hits and three of those long balls against HSU. He scored 15 runs and walked five times over the six games. Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore right-hander R.B. Garza struck out 14 batters – an ASC high this season – in a seven-inning win over Sul Ross State. Garza didn’t allow an earned run and surrendered only four hits. The strikeout total was the highest for UMHB since it moved to NCAA Division III. Garza becomes the first player this season to win any top weekly divisional award twice.

NWC: Geroge Fox (15-1, 8-1), Puget Sound (8-1, 9-7-1)
NWC Player of the Week was Dan Wentzell, George Fox led the Bruins to a 4-1 week with three home runs (two game-winners), two doubles, 11 runs batted in and 9 runs scored. He batted .438 (7 for 16) while getting walked eight times. He also stole three bases in three attempts. NWC Pitcher of the Week Joe DiPietro, PLU went 8 innings in a 4-2 win over Pacific, allowing only one run on three hits while striking out 8 batters and walking only one. He improved to 5-1 this year.

SCIAC: Redlands (17-4, 3-0), La Verne (5-1, 11-9)
Pomona-Pitzer’s Drew Hedman was named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week. In four games, Hedman, a sophomore from Redding, California helped the Sagehens go undefeated (4-0) in the California Classic. Hedman was 9 for 14 with 4 home runs and 12 runs batted in. He scored seven runs and walked 5 times, while batting .643 with a 1.643 slugging percentage and a .714 on base percentage.

Chapman (18-3) made it though a stretch of play where they played five consecutive games against ranked opponents, going 4-1. If they can keep up their stellar play, expect them to be the new number one team when the new poll comes out this week.