Highly-Competitive Field In Place for Mideast Regional

Adam Samson

Four conference winners as well as the current No. 1 ranked team and defending national champions make up the field at the 2007 NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional Championship, as six top programs will battle it out over four days in Strongsville, Ohio, for the right to advance to next week’s eight-team national championship field in Grand Chute, Wis.

While Marietta College, the defending champs, and The College of Wooster, which has been No. 1 every week of the regular season in the Div. III coaches’ poll, have the most experience and tradition on their sides, Hope College, the College of Mount St. Joseph, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Otterbein College carry the momentum, having won the respective titles in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference, and Ohio Athletic Conference.

Here’s a brief capsule on each squad, as it enters regional play:

Hope, which has tied a school record for victories in a season (28-11), has not played since May 5 when it clinched the MIAA championship outright via a 7-0 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader with Olivet College. Stu Fritz’s club owns the best fielding percentage of any in the Mideast (.968), and the Flying Dutchmen also have a top-20 ERA as a team in the latest Div. III national statistics (3.11). Senior Mike Rodgers is the staff ace, having been named the MIAA’s most valuable pitcher after going 7-2 with a 1.81 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 64.2 innings, while complementing him are Dustin Wuis (6-2, 4.07 ERA, 48.2 IP) and Brian Guerriero (4-2, 2.36 ERA, 42.0 IP) among others. Offensively, Brian Baker is the catalyst for a group that averages 5.7 runs, as the junior shortstop has been batting .426 with 16 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs) and 32 RBI en route to being named the most valuable position player in the league. Brothers Matt and Mike Vandervelde have put together big averages, too, at .422 and .391, respectively. 

Marietta captured its fourth national championship last spring, the first under fourth-year head coach Brian Brewer. Despite only returning six letterwinners from that squad, the Pioneers find themselves back among the best in the region via a 28-14 record. Marietta prides itself on defense, which includes ranking second in the country in double plays (1.26 per game), and it helped the pitching staff compile a 4.52 ERA. The Pioneers don’t appear to have a clear cut No. 1, instead switching the rotation around with three high-quality hurlers. Justin Merryman (7-3, 4.02 ERA, 69.1 IP) and Tim Knowlton (7-1, 4.05 ERA, 66.2 IP) have thrown the most, while Nate Eschbaugh (4-2, 2.74 ERA, 46.0 IP) possesses the best numbers. At the plate, Marietta is hitting an uncharacteristic .295, but still scoring at a rate of 5.8 runs, led by junior outfielder Tony Piconke, who has accumulated a .376 average, 13 doubles, eight round-trippers, and 30 RBI. Another top performer has been Ryan Belanger, as he’s batting .357 during regular action.

Mount St. Joseph won the HCAC title for the second season in a row, sweeping Anderson University, Manchester College, and Anderson again this past weekend by scores of 6-1, 5-3, and 6-3, respectively, to improve to 33-9 overall. Chuck Murray, who has been with the Lions as an assistant or the head coach since the program started in 1994, has his squad playing at a high level with victories in 18 of its last 21. Senior Chris Waite has pitched back-to-back nine-inning complete games, yielding just three runs along the way, while improving to 8-1 with a 3.48 ERA, and Mount St. Joseph has one of Div. III’s top closers in freshman Steve Matre as he has nine saves, in addition to a 1.78 ERA. The Lions’ offense has been putting up 7.5 tallies on the scoreboard a game via a .322 team batting average, keyed by Michael Mayer, Seth DeBra, Nick Weimer, and Ryan Meyer. Mayer, a senior outfielder, has done a little bit of everything, hitting just under .400 (.397) with 17 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 48 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. DeBra comes in at a .380 clip, including 13 two-baggers and 30 RBI, Weimer has a .358 average with 10 extra-base hits, and Meyer is a .342 hitter and the team’s top threat on the bases (17 stolen bases).

Ohio Wesleyan, under the guidance of second-year mentor Tom Durant, may be peaking at the right time after knocking off Wooster in a best-of-three series (4-13, 10-6, 12-7) for the NCAC crown, the Battling Bishops’ ninth overall. They have excelled offensively throughout the 24-14 campaign, currently with the fourth-highest slugging percentage in Div. III (.519) and scoring nearly a run an inning (8.9 per game). Senior second baseman Kyle Sherman is the pacesetter, as the NCAC Player of the Year enters batting .424 with 10 doubles, six triples, 10 dingers, and 38 RBI. The versatile Joey McDaniel can both pitch and play in the field, and at .450, has a better average than Sherman, while Logan Hronis gives Ohio Wesleyan yet another .400 hitter (.417 16 doubles). The mound has not been quite as kind to the Bishops, witness their 5.59 team ERA, however, Sean Ring (8-3, 3.56 ERA, 55.2 IP) and Xander Jones (6-1, 4.08 ERA, 68.1 IP) have produced several quality outings.

Otterbein, the preseason No. 1 team in Div. III, appears to have rounded into top form, winning its third consecutive OAC Tournament and seven of nine games in the month of May to up its record to 31-11. The Cardinals, directed by eighth-year head coach George Powell, have made it to the final day of the Mideast Regional the last two seasons, and certainly have the potential to do so again with talent residing in both their arms and bats. On the mound, Dan Remenowsky is among the best in the nation again, having compiled an 8-0 record, 2.63 ERA, and 68 strikeouts over 68.1 innings after being voted third-team All-American last season. Otterbein’s No. 2 starter is Doug Stevens (5-5, 3.59 ERA, 67.2 IP). While the Cardinals don’t hit for a lot of power, homering 11 times on the year, they still produce 7.3 runs an outing, with the likes of Aaron Hutchison, Ben Titus, Chris Kovanda, Pat Connor, and Bobby Wright. Hutchison is coming off OAC tourney MVP honors, collecting 13 hits during last weekend’s five-game set to increase his average to .406, while the other four mentioned are batting between .349 and .374 with double-digit doubles’ totals – Titus (.374, 10 2B), Kovanda (.367, 12 2B), Connor (.352, 10 2B), and Wright (.349, 18 2B).

Wooster, the host of a regional for the sixth time since 1987, took over the No. 1 spot in the rankings from Otterbein, winning a school-record 27 games to start the season, and has held it ever since. Veteran head coach Tim Pettorini’s Fighting Scots are now up to 40 wins (40-5), the program’s first 40-win season since 1998. Typically, a high-scoring team, a significant part of this year’s success has been due to pitching as Wooster holds the second-lowest ERA in Div. III (2.48), thanks to the efforts of Adam Samson, Anthony Trapuzzano, Matt Barnes, and Mark Miller. Samson, the NCAC Pitcher of the Year, is undefeated (10-0) with a 1.67 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 70.0 innings, while Trapuzzano (9-1, 2.30 ERA, 74.1 IP) and Barnes (8-1, 2.32 ERA, 62.0 IP) also had unblemished records prior to the NCAC championship series. Miller has been highly effective as the staff closer, saving six games and registering a 1.59 ERA over 39.2 IP. Wooster has still been up to usual offensive standard as well, ranking among the top-10 nationally in scoring (9.3 runs per game), home runs (1.13 per game), and slugging percentage (.540). Individually, first-team All-NCAC stars Sheldon Steiner (.383, 11 2B, 10 HR, 48 RBI), Oliver Enos (.381, 10 2B, 32 RBI), Pat Christensen (.354, 12 2B, 8 HR, 38 RBI), and Shaun Swearingen (.329, 12 2B, 11 SB) have paved the way.