Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
James Parr (photo by Larry Newman)
James Parr (photo by Larry Newman)
Posted: May 26, 2011

Game Notes: 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships

Recap Box Score

Pitching

Win: Ben Levitt (2-1)
Loss: Mike Russo (10-2)
Batting
Chapman
2B: Adam Velez; Tyler Hadzinsky
3B: none
HR: none
Kean
2B: Lee Cavico; Eddie Jennings
3B: none
HR: Lee Cavico
Full stats

ORANGE, Calif. – Here is everything you need to know about the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships this weekend in Grand Chute, Wis. at Time Warner Cable Stadium. The Chapman University baseball team gets the Championships underway on Friday at 10 a.m. (CST) against No.3 Kean University. Follow all the action this weekend with streaming audio and video provided by the NCAA. http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule

Chapman Notes
  • Chapman is making its 14th postseason appearance in the last 15 years. The last time the Panthers did not reach the playoffs was in 2002 which was the season before head coach Tom Tereschuk came to Chapman.
  • The Panthers have a 57-33 record in Division III postseason play.
  • Chapman is making its seventh appearance at the Division III Championships in the last nine seasons, and 10th appearance overall.
  • Chapman has a 14-17 overall record at the NCAA Division III Championships
  • In 2003, Chapman won the National Championship over Christopher Newport. The Panthers placed third in 2000 and 2006. Chapman also won an NCAA Baseball National Championship in 1968, although it was not in Division III.
  • Earlier this season, Tereschuk became the first head coach in Chapman history to reach the 300 win mark. Tereschuk is 315-101 in nine seasons at Chapman.
  • Kean University is the lone team in the Championships in 2011 that Chapman has faced this season. In March, Chapman defeated Kean 4-3 behind the complete game effort of sophomore P Brian Rauh who allowed just two earned runs while striking out eight. Sophomore OF James Parr had a double and triple to go along with a pair of RBI in the win.
  • Going back to 1995, Chapman has faced Kean (their first game opponent) four times at the NCAA Division III Championships. The Panthers have a 2-2 record against the Cougars, most recently defeating them in 2009 7-5. Kean defeated Chapman 3-1 in 2007 at the Championships.
  • Against teams in this year's Championships field, Chapman has a 9-9 overall record with eight of the wins coming against Kean. Chapman is 8-5 overall against Kean,0-1 against Salisbury and 0-2 against Whitewater.
  • The Panthers' team average of .294 is currently the lowest since 2004 when Chapman hit .294 for the season. The previous season low before 2004 came in 1995 when Chapman hit .286.
  • While the Panthers struggled at times on offense during the regular season, they came through during the regionals as the Panthers posted a 4-0 record and were second in the tournament with a team batting average of .319. Chapman led the tournament in runs scored (32), slugging pct. (.468), RBI (27) and doubles.
  • Seniors Adam Kordich and Tyler Hadzinsky hit .462 and .471, respectively during the regionals. Both were named to the NCAA Division III West Region Baseball Championship All-Tournament team for their efforts.
  • Kordich leads the team this season in home runs (6) and RBI (38) while Hadzinsky is tops in batting average (.345).
  • Chapman's pitching staff is fourth lowest in Division III this season in hits allowed per nine innings (7.56). The staff also ranks 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.5) and 7th in team earned run average (2.74).
  • Three of Chapman's four regular starters (Rauh, Christian Maietta and Jordan Sigman) have ERA's under 3.00.
  • Leading the way is the All-American, Rauh, who is 11-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched.
  • Rauh got his first save of the season in Chapman's 7-6 win over Linfield on May 21 that clinched the West Region championship.
  • Rauh has not lost a game yet in his career. The 2010 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III Pitcher of the Year has a 22-0 career record.
  • Rauh leads the nation this season in strikeouts.

Meet the Teams

Buena Vista University (Iowa)
The Beavers are making their first Championships appearance in school history. Buena Vista (32-16) won the Central Regional championship by going 4-1 during the tournament as they captured the title with a 7-6 win over Carthage College. UW-Whitewater is Buena Vista's first round matchup for Friday. The Beavers placed second in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and then received an at-large bid to NCAA postseason play.  Buena Vista has the highest team ERA of any team in the Championships (3.88) but ranks fifth in team batting average (.308) out of the eight teams.  Anchoring the Beavers' pitching staff is senior Luke Probasco (9-3, 2.98 ERA), a first team All-League and All-Region selection. Setting the table on offense is senior leadoff hitter Brad Blum (.378, 20 steals). Senior C Kevin Kloewer (.322, 12 HR, 46 RBI) is sixth in the nation in home runs.

No. 3 Kean University (New Jersey)
The Cougars are no stranger to the Division III Championships having won the National Championship in 2007 over Emory. Kean (42-9) is making its fourth appearance in the Championships in the last five seasons. Similar to Chapman, Kean did miss making the trip to Wisconsin in 2010, but rebounded this season to win the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. The Cougars battled out of the loser's bracket after dropping its first regional game. They then advanced with a 7-0 win over Alvernia University. Kean is led by a pitching staff that has the second lowest ERA in that nation (2.35). Staff ace Mike Russo (10-1, 1.43) has given up 13 earned runs on the season. On offense, the Cougars are led by senior OF Ken Gregory (.410, 11 HR, 22 2B, 54 RBI) who is first in the nation in total bases (139), third in hits (80), and fifth in doubles (22).


No. 25 Keystone College (Pa.)
With two outs in the ninth inning of the New York Regional championship game, senior IF Gabe Torres came through with the game-winning RBI single to propel Keystone to a 5-4 victory over Cortland State and the school's first-ever trip to the Division III Championships. Keystone (36-10) reached the postseason by winning the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) tournament, garnering an automatic bid. The Giants success came with a balanced attack as both the team batting average (.339) and ERA (3.11) ranked in the top-20 nationally. Keystone boasts the second highest batting average in the Championships and are led by junior IF Esteban Meletiche (.423, 10 HR, 43 RBI) and senior OF Andy Vega (.368, 11 HR, 37 RBI). Meletiche is fourth in the nation in runs scored (61). The pitching staff has four players with six wins or more. Junior Blaine O'Brien and senior Jeff Frost lead the team with eight wins apiece while junior Derek Alex has 1.83 ERA while pitching in a team-high 18 games, all out of the bullpen.

Keystone Roster: http://www.gokcgiants.com/roster.aspx?path=baseball&
Keystone Stats: http://www.gokcgiants.com/documents/2011/5/20/teamcume.htm?path=baseball

No. 1 Marietta College (Ohio)
The Division III Championships are a familiar destination for the top-ranked Pioneers as they are making their 21st appearance overall. Marietta (42-3) has won four Division III National Championships - most recently winning it all in 2006 – to go along with six, second place finishes. The Pioneers defeated Heidelberg 2-1 to earn the Mideast Regional title. Heading into this weekend, D3baseball.com has Marietta as its favorite to win it all in 2011, in large part because of its pitching staff that is tops in the nation in ERA (1.71) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.91) to go along with an offense that ranks fifth in batting average (.344). Junior starting pitcher Brian Gasser (13-0, 1.09 ERA) leads the nation in wins and was recently chosen as D3baseball.com's Pitcher of the Year. Gasser is not the only dominant pitcher on the staff as all three regular starters have an ERA under 2.00. Senior P Mark Williams (7-1, 1.67 ERA) leads the team in strikeouts with 84. The offense is excellent as well led by senior OF John Snyder (.460, 4 HR, 58 RBI).

Salisbury University (Md.)
The Seagulls join Buena Vista as the only two unranked teams in this year's Championship field.  Salisbury (33-12) had to defeat third-ranked Shenandoah University twice on the final day of the South Regional Championship to advance to the NCAA Championships. It is the third time in the school's history that they have advanced this far and first time since 2004. Salisbury's pitching staff ranks 16th in the nation with a 3.01 ERA led by senior starter Chris Greiner (10-3, 2.61 ERA) who seventh nationally in wins (10) and ninth in strikeouts (99). Senior closer Drew Baldwin ranks fifth in saves with 10. Freshman OF Bill Root (.389, 3 HR, 22 RBI) leads the team in batting average while junior C Tyler Bennett (.342, 6 HR 35 RBI) is tops in homers and RBI.

Salisbury Roster: http://www.suseagulls.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/roster
Salisbury Stats: http://www.suseagulls.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/files/teamcume.htm

No. 12 UW-Whitewater (Wis.)
The Warhawks are making their 14th trip to the NCAA Division III Championship and fourth in the last eight seasons. Whitewater (36-11) reached the postseason after garnering an at-large bid out of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, as they finished in second place during the regular season. They then went 4-0 in regional play and defeated St. Scholastica 6-3 to secure its trip to Wisconsin. The St. Scholastica game marked the 21st time this season that the Warhawks' pitching staff has held an opponent to three runs or less. A pair of 10-game winners in seniors Riley Tincher (10-3, 3.02 ERA) and Jeff Donovan (10-0, 3.38 ERA) lead the staff with a 3.40 ERA that ranks 34th in the nation. Whitewater's team ERA ranks seventh highest of teams in the Championship which goes to show how pitching heavy the field is. Senior OF Daniel Putnam sets the table for the offense, hitting .411 while starting all 46 games. In addition to being a 10-game winner, Donovan is also leads the team in several offensive categories including home runs (8), RBI (50) and total bases (113).

No. 18 Western New England College (Mass.)
The 2011 season is one for the Golden Bears' record books as they are making their first Division III Championships appearance, although they have appeared in the NCAA playoffs on eight occasions. They have also set a school record with 42 wins. Western (42-9) won the New England Regional championship as the No. 2 seed as they breezed through the tournament, outscoring opponents 26-5 in four games including a 9-0 win over Bridgewater State in the final game.  The Golden Bears win games with solid pitching (3.23 ERA) and the most potent offense in the game. Western leads the nation in runs scored (558), and hits (558) but they aren't a power hitting team instead very disciplined. They also lead the nation in base on balls (235). Sophomore OF Mike Rubino (.417, 41 RBI) leads the team in batting average and hits (80). No Western player has more than three homers or 43 RBI. Senior Matt Rogers (11-1, 3.31 ERA) set the school record in wins this season and is 30-5 over his career which ties the school record.


NCAA Championships Related Links
D3baseball: http://d3baseball.com/landing/index

by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant