Mike Twardoski's squad needed just two chances to get the 300th-career victory for their head coach and did so with a 12-2 win over Rhodes on Saturday. Twardoski, who has earned all 300 victories with the Eagles, began the season with the 11th-best winning percentage (.727) among active Division III coaches.

"I'm just proud for all the guys who have played here before," said Twardoski. "This honor is as much theirs as it is mine."

Twardoski began his career with the Eagles as an assistant coach in the 1999 season, before taking over the head coaching position in 2000. In his nine-plus season with Emory, he has compiled a 300-113-1 record, while making six appearances in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Championship bracket three times and finishing as high as second in the Nation in 2007.

Pacific Lutheran pounded out 40 hits and scored 34 runs in sweeping defending champion Linfield, 19-14 and 15-7, in the teams' opening Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday at Ray Helser Field. It was not a good day to be a pitcher as the two teams combined for 66 hits and 55 runs. The Lutes continued their hot hitting at Linfield's home yard, slamming eight home runs in the two games against the Wildcats after rolling up a total of 40 runs and 48 hits in a three-game tournament held here last weekend. Pacific Lutheran has scored 10 or more runs in their last five games.

In the opener, every Pacific Lutheran starter had at least one hit as the Lutes collected a total of 22 in the contest. The Lutes used a solid combination of the top three hitters getting on base and the next three driving them in. Josh Takayoshi was 5-for-7 and scored three runs, Kris Hansen followed with three hits and four runs, and Jordan Post had two hits, walked four times and scored three runs. The cleanup hitter, Geoff Gabler, drove in five runs, followed Ryan Aratani with four RBI and Brandon Sales with three.

Pacific Lutheran's Robert Bleecker improved his pitching record to 3-0 despite allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits and eight walks in five innings. For the second straight weekend, the Lutes battered Linfield pitcher Garrett Dorn, touching him up for 11 runs on 13 hits in just 5 1/3 innings.

In game two Trey Watt earned the win to even his record at 1-1, allowing six earned runs on nine hits in seven innings. The Lutes handed Cameron Larson his first pitching loss of the season.

In Other Action: Emory bounced right back from a tough performance the day before, as the Eagles defeated Rhodes 12-2 at the Rhodes College Classic. The game was called after seven innings, due to the 10-run rule. Emory was paced by Steve Bralver, who finished the game with a three-for-five performance and six RBIs, one shy of the school record for RBIs in a game. The win was also the 300th in the prestigious career of Emory head coach Mike Twardoski.

Wesley's D.J. Keckler tossed a two-hit shutout as the Wolverines halted No. 1 Salisbury's 44-game regular season win streak in the first game of a CAC doubleheader. The freshman righthander worked out of jams in both the seventh and eighth innings in the scheduled seven inning affair before Wesley finally got to the Sea Gulls' Chad Wolfe in the top of the ninth. The Sea Gulls salvaged a split with a 7-0 win in the second game as Kyle Judson and Dustin Herbet combined on a four-hit shutout.

Stephen Derrick drove in six runs and Adrian Gaona pitched brilliantly in relief to help McMurry defeat Texas-Tyler 11-7 Friday at Walt Driggers Field. McMurry rallied back from a 7-5 deficit and held the No. 5-ranked Patriots scoreless the final four innings.Texas-Tyler bounced back with an 8-5 win in game two.

Neil Mejia struck out six hitters in six innings and freshman Mike Waterhouse went 3-for-4 with two runs as Swarthmore won its season opener for the first time in nine years, defeating Vassar 6-4 in the first game of a non-conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Clothier Fields.

Opening the season in the pre-dawn hours, Central was a pitch away from a win but surrendered five late runs in an 8-5, eight-inning defeat against Bethel Saturday at the Metrodome. But the Dutch took a 4-2 lead in the nightcap, which was halted after five innings because of a time limit. Both teams will be in Fort Myers, Fla. during spring break and the game will be resumed there sometime during March 13-17.

Highlighted by 12 extra-base hits and 19 strikeouts, Stevenson used an explosive offense and strong pitching in sweeping a CAC doubleheader at Gallaudet Saturday afternoon at Hoy Field, winning game one 10-1 before taking the second game, 13-6. The Mustangs (5-2, 3-0 CAC) totaled 23 runs on 28 hits while allowing just six earned runs in picking up its fourth win in six road games this season.

Cal Lutheran took two of three games from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in its three-game series this weekend. The Stags ended the Kingsmen win streak at 18 games with an extra innings victory in Saturday's home opener. Game two on called after seven innings due to darkness with the Kingsmen leading 3-2. On Friday, Cal Lutheran won 6-2 at Arce Field in Claremont.

Anderson opened the 2009 season by dropping a doubleheader on Saturday at DePauw, losing 12-4 and 8-4 in Greencastle. Jeremy Hazen led the Ravens with four hits and four RBI on the day, including his first home run of the season. Ben Gardner was 5-8 with four RBIs for the Tigers.

George Fox benefited from some well-timed power and some solid pitching to sweep a season-opening Northwest Conference doubleheader from Pacific Saturday, beating the Boxers 6-5 and 10-6 at Chuck Bafaro Stadium.

Chapman swept a doubleheader from visiting Menlo College 18-6, 9-3 at Hart Park on Saturday . The Panthers jumped out to huge leads, out-scoring the Oaks 21-2 in the first three innings of both games en route to their third and fourth consecutive wins.

Bridgewater (Va) swept a doubleheader on Saturday from Messiah winning both games by identical 9-8 scores. In the first game, scheduled to be a seven-inning contest, the Eagles need extra innings to prevail. In game two the Eagles nearly wasted a fine starting effort by John Sinclair in the second game before rallying to win

Concordia (Texas) faced the traveling Texas-Dallas and defeated the Comets 24-2. Despite the stellar offensive from the Tornados, Michael Johnson took things into his own hands striking out 17, including 4 in the 7th inning. In game two the Tornados bats were not as dominate as they were in the first game as the Comets bounced back to take a 16-2 win in the series finale

Rowan won 10-3 over Centenary in the home opener on Saturday. First baseman Tom Ready led the Profs with three hits (four bats), five RBIs and one run scored.

DeSales opened its 2009 season with a darkness shortened 13-7 win over Neumann in six innings on Wednesday afternoon in a rare nice day in late February in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Bulldogs scored in all six innings completed and totaled 12 hits on the afternoon as the DeSales offense showed very little effects of seeing live pitching for the first time all season.

The Bulldogs opened up a 4-0 lead with four runs in the first inning before the Knights stormed back with three in the second and three in the third to tie the game at six through three innings. DeSales pushed across five runs in the top of the fourth and added once more in both the fifth and sixth innings, while Neumann scored just once over the final three innings.

Doc Neiman had a team-high three hits and scored three times to lead the offensive attack. Andrew Feher, Nick Repas, and Mike Bianca each drove in two runs for DeSales. For the Knights, Joseph Slater scored two runs and Kevin Lengyel had two hits with a run scored and an RBI.

Jack Kavetski earned the win, pitching three solid innings of relief allowing just one hit and one unearned run, while striking out two. Ray Schmoltz started the game and pitched 3.2 innings, taking the loss for Neumann.

In other action: Salisbury opened up its CAC season on Wednesday afternoon and for the first time in school history the Sea Gulls took the field as the No. 1 team in the country. Salisbury did not disappoint as it plated seven runs in the top of the first inning en route to a 16-5 victory over Rt. 13 rival Wesley.

Led by Tommy Little and Mike Goodman, Catholic blasted 20 hits and plated 12 runs, as the Cardinals topped Randolph-Macon, 12-6. The top five spots recording at least two hits as Catholic jumped out early with one run in the first and seven in the second inning.

Corey Landis threw a complete-game three-hitter and Drew Ward belted a grand slam in the fifth inning to lead Guilford past Ferrum Wednesday, 11-5.

Ryan Zamorsky tossed eight innings in his rookie debut allowing just one run as No. 7 Kean picked up their third straight win of the 2009 season defeating FDU-Florham, 5-1, Wednesday afternoon at Jim Hynes Stadium.

A day after giving Christopher Newport their first loss, Virginia Wesleyan fell to the Methodist Monarchs 6-1 Wednesday afternoon. Dustin Proctor and Trey Such both went 3-for-3 on the day with Such leading the team with three RBI.

Matt Roam went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs to propel Hardin-Simmons to a 10-9 win over LeTourneau on Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action at Conrad Vernon Field in Longview.

Oglethorpe's J.J. Rizzo drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning to break an 8-8 tie as the Petrels handed LaGrange its second straight loss, downing the Panthers 9-8 at Anderson Field on Wednesday.

A clash between a pair of NCAA Division III baseball powers went the way of St. Olaf on Tuesday, by 6-4 and 5-4 scores over Wartburg inside the HHH Metrodome.

Tyler Johnson hit a three-run second inning homer and Nick Fuerst went 2-for-4 for the St. Olaf as the Oles picked up the season-opening win. The Knights had their opportunities in game one, Wartburg whittled the lead, scoring twice in the fourth and fifth innings. Sophomore outfielder Patrick Grau hammered a two-run home run in the fourth, while junior infielder Steve Chamberlin RBI single highlighted the fifth inning rally. The Orange and Black put two runners on with no one out in the sixth but couldn't push across any runs. Todd Mathison got the win, going five strong innings. He allowed four runs, but only one was earned. Brandon Agneberg pitched the final two innings, including a perfect seventh, to get the save.

Game two saw head coach Joel Holst's squad open a 4-2 lead through six-and-a-half innings. A four-run fourth inning outburst gave Wartburg the advantage with an RBI single from Patrick Grau and a two-run triple from A.J. Lewis leading the way. The Oles answered with a three-run rally in the seventh capped by Fuerst's one-out, RBI walk off double. Wartburg's Ben Watson fired five innings of seven-strikeout ball in the nightcap, allowing only two earned runs.

In other action: After losing its head coach earlier in the day, the 14th-ranked St. Scholastica baseball team swept UW-La Crosse by identical 6-3 scores at the HHH Metrodome. In the second game, play was halted in the middle of the sixth inning due to the time limit rules of the Metrodome with Saints up 6-3. Because the contest was not played in its entirety, the result will not officially count.

Fifth ranked Texas-Tyler allowed just two hits in a 7-0 shutout of Hardin-Simmons on Tuesday night at Irwin Field. Jared Hood and Jeremy Harding led the way for Texas-Tyler by each going 2-for-3 in the game. Tommy Rozell allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out 12 Cowboys over seven innings of work. Hardin-Simmon's Eric Roten gave up one run on three hits in 4.2 innings to close out the game.

A stunning seven-run first inning propelled Virginia Wesleyan to a convincing 13-2 non-conference victory over previously undefeated Christopher Newport Tuesday at Captains Park. The Marlins connected for five hits and took advantage of three Christopher Newport errors to produce the seven-run start. Jesse Baker improved his pitching record to 3-0 with a standout effort through seven innings on the mound.

A strong combined effort on the mound from Mike Pagano and Kevin Kulig paved the way as Augustana opened the 2009 season with a 4-1 win over Hanover in Winter Park, Florida at Chain of Lakes Park. Pagano started and worked five innings, picking up the win while striking out seven and scattering five hits before giving way to Kulig. Kulig struck out three and gave up two hits in four innings as he notched the save.

Dan Molnar broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly, as the Emory Eagles improved to 5-2 on the season with a 5-4 win over Maryville on Tuesday. Molnar's go-ahead sacrifice fly gave the Eagles their first lead of the ballgame, and capped off a comeback from a 4-1 deficit to start the bottom of the seventh inning.

Things didn't start well for Texas-Dallas Tuesday afternoon against Southwestern, but they started even worse for the Pirates, who saw the Comets work their way past some shakey pitching for a 10-4 victory. The Comets answered a 4-run start by the Pirates by scoring six runs themselves in a 45-minute first inning, then put the game out of reach by scoring four more runs in the fourth to improve to 7-3 on the season.

Methodist traveled to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Tuesday night to face Alma and came away with their third shutout of the season to win 12-0. Dustin Proctor finished 4-for-5 on the night while Trey Such went 3-for-4.

Trinity (Texas) jumped out early then had to hold on for a 7-6 win at Schreiner on Tuesday afternoon in Kerrville, Texas. Kyle Felix had three hits, while Stosh Hoover scored three runs and tied a school record with four stolen bases. Eric Wehmeyer was strong in relief for Schreiner, going 5-1/3 innings, scattering five hits and striking out three.

Salisbury (9-0), a winner of 43 straight regular-season games, took over the top spot in the first regular season D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25. "We have a difficult schedule ahead and it will be a major undertaking for the rest of the season," said Salisbury head coach Doug Fleetwood. "As I told the kids it is great to be ranked No. 1 on February 24 but we want to still be No. 1 come Memorial Day weekend."

The top two teams in the preseason poll suffered early losses and dropped out of the top 10. Cortland State (1-3), the preseason number one fell to 13th and Chapman (6-4) fell to 11th. Salisbury garnered 16 first place votes. The remaining first place votes were received by Trinity (Conn), the 2008 National Champion and UW-Whitewater. Trinity starts their season on March 14th and UW-Whitewater is scheduled to start on Thursday. Johns Hopkins (0-0) and Texas-Tyler (8-1) round out the top five.

In the rest of the top ten, only No. 7 Kean has started their season. The Cougars are off to a 2-0 record while Adrian, Heidelberg, Southern Maine, and Wooster have yet to see any action.

New to the top 25 are Millsaps (11-1), Christopher Newport (6-0-1) and Cal Lutheran (8-0). Millsaps is off to its best start since the 2002 season, and Cal Lutheran to its best start since 1992. Augustana, Carthage, and RPI dropped out this week.

St. Scholastica baseball coach John Baggs, who led the team for 17 years and compiled a 531-197 record, died this morning after battling a rare form of cancer. He was 42. Baggs lead the Saints to the winningest record in NCAA Division III baseball over the last decade

Though the players are mourning their coach's death, the team has decided to go ahead and play its doubleheader tonight against Wisconsin-La Crosse, assistant coach Joe Wicklund said. The first game is set for 10:45 p.m. at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Under Baggs, St. Scholastica baseball has become synonymous with success while producing some of the most exciting moments in St. Scholastica athletics history. In 1998, Baggs became the winningest coach ever at St. Scholastica in any sport. Baggs was voted UMAC Coach of the Year in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. He has coached eighteen All-Americans and twelve of his players have gone on to sign professional contracts.

"John is a good leader of his team and a good example for all of our students," St. Scholastica President Larry Goodwin said. "His players learn about much more than winning baseball games, as successful as they are on the field. They learn about values that The College of St. Scholastica holds dear. I'm thinking particularly of respect and community. We all support John and his family in this struggle."

Cal Lutheran's Centerfielder Nick Pinneri went 5-for-6 while hitting for the cycle in the the Kingsmen's 29-8 victory over La Sierra on Wednesday. Pinneri batted .692 last week with 8 runs scored and 4 RBis. Pinneri has scored at least one in all seven games he played this season, leading Cal Lutheran to its best start since 1992. Pinneri is joined by these other players who excelled last week.

Mary Washington senior pitcher Andrew Cox earned CAC Baseball Player of the Week honors after throwing a six-hit complete game victory over top-ranked Cortland State Saturday. Cox, now 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA this season, allowed a run on a pair of first-inning singles, then dominated the final eight innings. He walked four, struck out five and allowed just one hit in the final five innings for the undefeated Eagles.

Kevin Brashears, Shenandoah and Elliot Blisplinghoff, Methodist were announced as the USA South Player and Pitcher of the week. Brashears hit .700 (7-for-10) with ten runs scored, five RBI, and two home runs in a 3-0 week for the Hornets. Blisplinghoff pitched five shutout innings in a 17-2 victory over Frostburg State in his only action of last week.

Pitchers of the week in the ASC were Brett Hinson, Mississippi and Sam Walker, Hardin-Simmons. Hinson struck out 13 batters and allowed just one run over seven innings of work to get the win over Howard Payne. Hinson scattered four hits and walked just one. In the west division, Walker struck out seven batters and allowed just one run over seven innings of work to get the win against East Texas Baptist. Walker, who scattered four hits, allowed a solo home run in the first innings but did not allow a runner past second base after that. The ASC also announced that Jared Hood, Texas-Tyler and Kyle Harvey, Texas Lutheran earned ASC Hitter of the Week honors.

Kyle Wooden captured the ODAC Baseball Player of the Week Award Monday. Wooden is off to a blistering start and has helped Guilford post its best 11-game record (8-3) since 2006. The left-handed hitter is batting .610 with 25 hits, nine doubles, 17 runs batted in (RBI) and a .976 slugging percentage, all team highs.

Rookies Dylan Laguna and Lee Cavico combined for seven hits as No. 7 Kean picked up their second straight win defeating Manhattanville, 19-5, Sunday afternoon at a rainy Jim Hynes Stadium.

Manhattanville started off their season with a bang, as Nastasi lead off the game with a solo shot to put the Valiants ahead, 1-0. Kean, however, scored four runs in both the first and second innings and never looked back.

The Cougars pounded out 19 runs and 19 hits, their highest of this young season. Laguna was 4-for-5 with four runs scored and three stolen bases while Cavico was 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI. The Valiants were led by Chris Nastasi who was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a home run.

Joe Bartlinski picked up the win. Bartlinski tossed seven strong innings allowing five runs, four earned, and eight hits. He also struck out six and walked four. Kyle Murphy closed out the game with two innings of shutout ball. Steven Arroyo-Falcon suffered the loss on the mound for Manhattanville.

In other action: Rhodes won the Rawlings Classic hosted by Emory this weekend in Atlanta, GA going 4-0 with wins over Piedmont, Greensboro, Emory, and NC Wesleyan. Rhodes headed into their fourth game of the weekend needing to defeat North Carolina Wesleyan to secure the outright title and were able to do so with a 10-8 victory Sunday afternoon.

It did not take long for Messiah to even its overall win-loss record, as the Falcons claimed 4-3 and 5-1 decisions over the host Yellow Jackets in just the second weekend of play. An eight-inning drama-fest began the day. Messiah second baseman Jon Shenk went 2 for 5 with 3 runs scored on the weekend.

Guilford split a nonconference double-header with visiting Case Western Reserve Sunday afternoon at a wind-blown McBane Field. The Quakers had 15 hits and took advantage of 11 Spartans' walks to claim a 23-8 win in the opener. Case Western came back for a 14-9 win in the nightcap for its lone win in the four-game series.

Showing a wealth of offense to complement some crafty pitching, the Linfield Wildcats dominated Oregon Tech 13-1 in the wrapup game of the four-day Jim Doran Auto Classic at Sunday night Linfield's Roy Helser Field. In other tournament games played Sunday, Puget Sound scored in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Whitman 9-8 in the early game, and Pacific Lutheran drubbed Concordia (Ore.) 14-2 behind a seven strikeout performance from Lutes starter Scott Wall.

Hornet southpaw Conner Thompson went eight and a third innings, allowing no earned runs on five hits and fanning five as No. 20 Lynchburg defeated Methodist 3-1. Thompson was rarely in trouble, as the Monarchs left only six men on base, two coming in the ninth inning after Thompson was removed. The game was plagued by errors, as the teams combined for seven miscues and only one earned run.

Southwestern starting pitcher Chris Churchwell held Millsaps scoreless for the opening six innings before being chased in the eighth and the Majors rallied for seven unanswered runs over the final two innings to earn a three-game series sweep on the road with an 8-3 Sunday victory at Rockwell Field.

Just when Rutgers-Camden looked like it might sweep through its opening weekend at the Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament, host Hampden-Sydney had other ideas. Moments after the Scarlet Raptors’ three-run rally tied the game in the top of the eighth inning, the Tigers countered with a six-run bottom of the eighth and went on to defeat Rutgers-Camden, 12-6.