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Westfield State didn't have much to celebrate in the MASCAC tournament but got second life on Selection Sunday.
Westfield State didn't have much to celebrate in the MASCAC tournament but got second life on Selection Sunday.
Westfield State athletics photo
Headed for
the regionals
Plattsburgh State out, Oneonta State in. John Carroll out and Westfield State in. Those are the teams given new life by the Division III baseball selection committee late, late Sunday night as the official playoff field of 55 was released shortly before 2:30 a.m. ET.

D3baseball.com will have previews of each of the eight regionals for you tonight, in time to get ready for Wednesday's full slate of playoff games.

For Oneonta to have passed Plattsburgh in the Pool C process, it would have had to pass Plattsburgh in the regional rankings since Thursday, That seems interesting considering neither team has played since the last rankings were issued. Although this is probably righting a wrong, it's still unexplained.

Looking closely at the numbers drew our committee to Ithaca as the final Pool B slot, but the NCAA looked at presumably the same data and selected LaGrange in that spot.

Playoff toolbar: Wednesday's full schedule | Our tournament projection | Automatic bids | NCAA's final regional rankings | Strength of schedule numbers

But what this field may also have lacked is just a bit of imagination. By sending St. Thomas, for example, 39 miles farther, they could have balanced the bracket significantly. But instead, after going two-and-out in the CCIW tournament, North Central is rewarded with a No. 2 seed in the Central region, a much better draw than the MIAC champion (and, of course, the defending national champion) Tommies, who go to Whitewater as a two seed.

We also made changes to the traditional regional groupings to keep three teams from the same conference from being assigned to the same regional. With a simple swap of York (Pa.) for Alvernia or Widener, the NCAA could have done the same instead of putting three CAC teams in the South.

The 2010 Division III baseball playoffs
The NCAA Division III Baseball Committee has announced the 55 teams that will compete in the 2010 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

Winners of the eight regionals will qualify for the double-elimination championship at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin, May 28-June 1. Regionals will take place May 19-23.

Central Regional
Hosted by Augustana, Moline, Ill.
1. Buena Vista (29-11) | Schedule and results
2. North Central (Ill.) (31-9) | Schedule and results
3. Ripon (24-15) | Schedule and results
4. Webster (33-9) | Schedule and results
5. Rose-Hulman (29-12) | Schedule and results
6. Illinois Wesleyan (23-20) | Schedule and results

Mid-Atlantic Regional
Hosted by Kean, in Trenton, N.J.
1. Johns Hopkins (38-4) | Schedule and results
2. Kean (34-10) | Schedule and results
3. Widener (25-12) | Schedule and results
4. Alvernia (32-10) | Schedule and results
5. Keystone (29-7) | Schedule and results
6. Rowan (24-14-1) | Schedule and results
7. Manhattanville (22-19-1) | Schedule and results
8. Moravian (26-13) | Schedule and results

Mideast Regional
Hosted by Marietta, Marietta, Ohio
1. Heidelberg (37-6) | Schedule and results
2. Wooster (34-7) | Schedule and results
3. Marietta (32-11) | Schedule and results
4. Washington and Jefferson (32-10) | Schedule and results
5. Adrian (29-11) | Schedule and results
6. Thomas More (31-14) | Schedule and results
7. Penn State-Behrend (29-14) | Schedule and results

Midwest Regional
Hosted by UW-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wis.
1. UW-Whitewater (38-5) | Schedule and results
2. St. Thomas (33-7) | Schedule and results
3. St. Scholastica (38-6) | Schedule and results
4. UW-Stevens Point (29-15) | Schedule and results
5. Carthage (28-16) | Schedule and results
6. Aurora (27-14) | Schedule and results

New England Regional
Hosted by Eastern Connecticut State, Mansfield, Conn.
1. Tufts (31-5) | Schedule and results
2. Wheaton (Mass.) (32-8) | Schedule and results
3. Western New England (33-10) | Schedule and results
4. Eastern Connecticut State (30-13) | Schedule and results
5. Worcester State (31-9-1) | Schedule and results
6. Westfield State (30-9) | Schedule and results
7. Mass-Boston (28-15) | Schedule and results
8. St. Joseph's (Maine) (32-11) | Schedule and results

New York Regional
Hosted by Cortland State, in Auburn, N.Y.
1. Cortland State (32-8) | Schedule and results
2. St. John Fisher (28-12) | Schedule and results
3. Oneonta State (28-11) | | Schedule and results
4. Skidmore (30-13) | Schedule and results
5. Keene State (26-15-1) | Schedule and results
6. Farmingdale State (24-15) | Schedule and results
7. Brockport State (23-16) | Schedule and results
8. Castleton State (32-13) | Schedule and results

South Regional
Hosted by Methodist, Fayetteville, N.C.
1. Shenandoah (34-8) | Schedule and results
2. Salisbury (27-11) | Schedule and results
3. Mary Washington (26-12) | Schedule and results
4. York (Pa.) (28-14) | Schedule and results
5. LaGrange (26-17) | Schedule and results
6. Bridgewater (Va.) (23-18-1) | Schedule and results

West Regional
Hosted by Linfield, McMinnville, Ore.
1. Chapman (30-9) | Schedule and results
2. Linfield (30-10) | Schedule and results
3. Pomona-Pitzer (29-9) | Schedule and results
4. Texas-Tyler (35-10) | Schedule and results
5. Mississippi College (36-9) | Schedule and results
6. Trinity (Texas) (32-7) | Schedule and results

Carthage had a dismal Sunday, but could see its day brightened in the wee hours of the morning when selections are announced.
Carthage had a dismal Sunday, but could see its day brightened in the wee hours of the morning when selections are announced.
Carthage athletics photo by Mike Gryriewicz
Our projected Field of 55
This was a great season for us at D3baseball.com. Thanks to our partnership with PrestoSports and, well, a little help from another 150 SIDs, we collected all of the schedules and results for 2010 Division III baseball and got strength of schedule automatically calculated.

The 55 teams that will compete in the 2010 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship announced early Monday morning.

What this means is we can do our own NCAA playoff projections, in near-record time.

So what we did is emulate as much as possible the selection process used by the NCAA committee: pick the Pool B teams, then pick Pool C, comparing the top candidate from each of the eight regions side by side, simultaneously before selecting a team. Then the next team in that particular region's rankings gets "on the board" and the process continues.

Playoff toolbar: Who's in the tournament? | NCAA's regional rankings | Strength of schedule numbers | Sunday's scores

What we get is 55 teams: 36 automatic bids, four from Pool B (not a member of those conferences) and 15 from Pool C (the rest of the teams on an at-large basis). We then slotted them into geographical areas, placed them in one of the eight regionals, and seeded them.

We dealt with the seven-team bracket for the first time in a few years. We tried to split teams up so no one regional had three teams from the same conference. Then we tried to add some competitive balance to the whole process.

And it went something like this.

Three Pool B teams were considered mortal locks: Chapman, St. Scholastica and St. John Fisher were the easy picks. After that, though, it got more difficult. In last week's regional rankings, the New York committee had Staten Island next on the list. We didn't see that as likely any longer, considering the one-and-out in the ECAC Metro region tournament. We debated Stevens, Ithaca and Staten Island for the top Pool B candidate in the region, eliminated Staten Island on its low strength of schedule, then chose Ithaca over Stevens because of Ithaca's 3-1 record against Stevens head-to-head. We looked at Bethany Lutheran from the Midwest and LaGrange and Huntingdon from the South before deciding that LaGrange should still be ahead of Huntingdon based on the last time we saw the Panthers in the regional rankings. In the end, we chose Ithaca, and surprisingly, it was rather easy. Ithaca's regional winning percentage is comparable to Bethany Lutheran's, its strength of schedule is much higher, and Ithaca is 4-4 against regionally ranked opponents while Bethany Lutheran is 2-5 and LaGrange is 2-7.

On to Pool C. For the sake of time, here's the list:
1 Cortland State
2 UW-Stevens Point
3 Marietta
4 Eastern Connecticut
5 Salisbury
6 Mississippi College
7 Alvernia
8 Washington and Jefferson
9 York
10 Rowan
11 Keene State
12 North Central (Ill.)
13 Plattsburgh State
14 John Carroll
15 Carthage

It got harder as we moved down the list, obviously. After Cortland State was the easy first pick, we didn't end up with another New York Region team until nearly the end in Plattsburgh State. The four final spots were nail-biters.

The playoff selection criteria are listed at the bottom of this file. It notes that "if the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed." When you get to the end of the Pool C discussion, you routinely end up without being able to make a decision. However, when you went to the secondary criteria on Carthage and, say, Millsaps, one new number popped. Carthage was 4-5 in in-region games against regionally ranked teams. However, the Red Men were also 2-2 in non-region games against regionally ranked opponents, including two wins against Kean. Millsaps was 4-4 in in-region games of that type and did not play an out-of-region game against a regionally ranked team.

The teams left on our board when Carthage was selected: Anderson, Concordia (Ill.), FDU-Florham, Millsaps, Rochester, Texas Lutheran and Westfield State. One note about Westfield State -- it stood out to us that in a region where it's apparently easy to get a high strength of schedule, Westfield's was only .517.

The projected regionals:
New England
1 Tufts
2 Wheaton (Mass.)
3 Western New England
4 Eastern Connecticut
5 Worcester State
6 Mass-Boston
7 St. Joseph's (Maine)
8 Castleton State

New York
1 Cortland State
2 St. John Fisher
3 York (Pa.)
4 Plattsburgh State
5 John Carroll
6 Ithaca
7 Brockport State
8 Skidmore
In other regions we were able to break up three teams from one conference. In the New York regional it was more difficult. Sending Brockport to the Mideast would be a 401-mile drive -- allowable but long. But if you were a stickler for the concept, you could swap Plattsburgh for Western New England or Brockport for Penn State-Behrend. Or, you could simply send Brockport to the Mideast with no replacement. York is here to keep us from having three CAC teams in the South Regional.

Mid-Atlantic
1 Johns Hopkins
2 Kean
3 Keene State
4 Rowan
5 Keystone
6 Moravian
7 Farmingdale State
8 Manhattanville
Farmingdale is a New York Region team but is much closer to Kean than to Auburn, N.Y.

Mideast
1 Heidelberg
2 Marietta
3 Wooster
4 Washington and Jefferson
5 Adrian
6 Rose-Hulman
7 Penn State-Behrend
Third OAC team John Carroll was sent to New York.

South
1 Shenandoah
2 Salisbury
3 Mary Washington
4 Widener
5 Alvernia
6 Bridgewater (Va.)
This is where we ran into some mileage issues. Moravian was in this regional in an earlier draft, but is more than 500 miles from Methodist, so we swapped Alvernia in. There are not many teams in our field of 55 that can get to this regional in 500 miles or less, the NCAA's standard for avoiding the cost of a flight.

Central
1 Buena Vista
2 St. Thomas
3 North Central (Ill.)
4 Webster
5 Illinois Wesleyan
6 Aurora
Two CCIW teams here, but not a third, as Carthage goes to UW-Whitewater, a much shorter trip. St. Thomas comes into this regional for competitive balance. There was some sentiment to make the Tommies the No. 1 seed, but even though they would be deserving based on the numbers, the committee hasn't shown the willingness to give an out-of-region team a No. 1 seed.

Midwest
1 UW-Whitewater
2 St. Scholastica
3 UW-Stevens Point
4 Carthage
5 Thomas More
6 Ripon
This is where Thomas More ends up. The Saints are right outside of Cincinnati, pretty far to the west and easy to place here. Even though Ripon is in the Central Region and Aurora is in the Midwest according to the NCAA's breakdown, it's a closer trip to put them in these respective regionals and doesn't affect the competitive balance.

West
1 Chapman
2 Linfield
3 Pomona-Pitzer
4 Texas-Tyler
5 Mississippi College
6 Trinity (Texas)
Also known as the airplane bracket. This was the first regional we did and it was set in stone pretty early.

The criteria:

The primary criteria emphasize regional competition (all contests leading up to NCAA championships); all criteria listed will be evaluated (not listed in priority order).
• Win-loss percentage against regional opponents.
• Strength-of-schedule (only contests versus regional competition).
- Opponents' Average Winning Percentage (OWP).
- Opponents' Opponents' Average Winning Percentage (OOWP).
• In-region head-to-head competition.
• In-region results versus common regional opponents.
• In-region results versus regionally ranked teams.
• Ranked opponents are defined as those teams ranked at any time of the rankings/ selection process.
• Conference postseason contests are included.
• Contests versus provisional and reclassifying members in their third and fourth years shall count in the primary criteria. Provisional and reclassifying members shall remain ineligible for rankings and selection.

If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed. All the criteria listed will be evaluated (not listed in priority order). The secondary criteria introduce results against out-of-region Division III and all other opponents including those contests versus opponents from other classifications (i.e., provisionals, NAIA, NCAA Divisions I and II).
• Out-of-region head-to-head competition.
• Overall Division III win-loss percentage.
• Results versus common non Division III opponents.
• Results versus all Division III ranked teams.
• Overall win-loss percentage.
• Results versus all common opponents.
• Overall DIII Strength of Schedule.
Additionally, input is provided by regional advisory committees for consideration by the men's baseball committee. In order to be considered for selection for Pools B or C, an institution must play at least 50 percent of its competition against Division III in-region opponents. Coaches' polls and/or any other outside polls or rankings are not used as a selection criterion by the men's baseball committee for selection purposes.

Dustin Dubensky and Penn State-Behrend are down to their last chance to secure a bid.
Dustin Dubensky and Penn State-Behrend are down to their last chance to secure a bid.
Penn State-Behrend athletics photo
Last chances
Five automatic bids remained up for grabs as Sunday dawned, and they're all claimed, by Skidmore, Illinois Wesleyan, St. Thomas, Buena Vista and Penn State-Behrend.

If your team didn't clinch its bid by today, it leaves its fate in the hands of the NCAA committee.

And nobody wants that.

Playoff toolbar: Who's in the tournament? | NCAA's regional rankings | Strength of schedule numbers | Sunday's scores

Want to know who has a good chance of getting in? D3baseball.com has all the numbers this year for the first time and we'll be using it to make our annual postseason projections as good as they can get. Plus, when the actual field is announced (late Sunday night Alaska time) we'll have the teams for you here. So check back this evening for our picks, then see the NCAA's list either really late tonight or when you get up in the morning.

With its back against the wall, Illinois Wesleyan came through, winning the CCIW by beating Carthage twice on the final day. Frostburg State had pounded Penn State-Behrend 17-4 to force a playback game for the AMCC title, but the Lions bounced back to win the 'if' game 8-3.

St. Thomas finished its double demolition of Augsburg (photo gallery), winning the MIAC tournament by beating the Auggies 19-9 on Sunday after pounding them 19-1 on Saturday night. And Buena Vista held serve for at least one conferencein the Central Region, beating Wartburg 9-4 to win the IIAC behind five runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth.

St. Thomas wins four for title
St. Thomas became the first team in MIAC playoff history to lose its opening game and win four straight elimination games to grab the title.
St. Thomas became the first team in MIAC playoff history to lose its opening game and win four straight elimination games to grab the title.
Photo by Caleb Williams for d3photography.com
St. Thomas continued on its offensive rampage Sunday, capturing the MIAC playoff baseball title with a 19-9 win over Augsburg to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Tommies will find out their destination and first-game opponent on Monday morning.

The Tommies bounced back against St. John's (5-0), outlasted Concordia (7-6 in 11 innings) and then pounded the Auggies 17-1 and 19-9.

It was a long weekend of baseball --- five games and 47 innings in 49 hours --- but in the end the Tommies' pitching depth made the difference. Augsburg did score nine runs on Sunday, but couldn't hold off St. Thomas over the last two games.

"We are starting to swing it," Coach Chris Olean said after seniors Matt Schuld, Matt Olson, Roy Larson and Tom Wippler accepted the championship plaque. "The guys got really comfortable at the plate. They have been here (playoffs) before. They know how to turn it on. And they did."

For the second straight day, home runs keyed the St. Thomas 20-hit attack. After slugging five homers against Augsburg on Saturday, Tommie batters added three more on Sunday. Trailing 5-4 in the third, Drew Cremisino led off with a solo homer to tie the game. In the fourth, Roy Larson's two-run shot put the Tommies up for good at 7-5, and two batters later Cremisino followed with his own two-run blast.

Six runs in that fourth inning put St. Thomas ahead 11-5. Augsburg added two in the bottom of the inning to narrow the gap to 11-7, but the Tommies put the game out of reach with five runs in the fifth inning on five singles and a walk.

Tony Eicher started on the mound for St. Thomas but lasted just 1.2 innings, giving up five runs (three earned). John Licht picked up the win in relief. He was followed on the mound by Matt Nelson. Freshman Nick Gervais had a solid outing as he pitched the final 3.1 innings.

"Nick has a good knuckler, and they were chasing it," Olean said of his tall freshman righthander from Totino-Grace. "He set it up with his fast ball and it worked well."

In the 11 years of the MIAC playoffs, the Tommies now have won eight championships. Sunday's title game with Augsburg was a rematch of the 2005 finale, when the Tommies won 7-0.

Skidmore captures LL tourney
Skidmore extended their school record for wins in taking the Liberty League crown.
Skidmore extended their school record for wins in taking the Liberty League crown.
Photo by Bill Jones, Skidmore
Nick Laracuente threw a complete game six hitter and struck out a season's high nine men to lead Skidmore College (30-13) past Clarkson (19-18), 3-1, in the championship game of the Liberty League at Rochester's Towers Field.

Skidmore won the Liberty League crown for the third time in six years and earned its third trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs as a Pool A entry. The Thoroughbreds are working on a school-record win total. Skidmore's 6-5 win over host Rochester on Saturday set a single-season win mark with 29.

Laracuente outdueled Clarkson's Bryan Chudy to nail down the victory. It is his eighth victory and his second complete game. He scattered six hits, walked two, allowed one earned run, and hit one batter. Chudy pitched 7.2 innings, giving up six hits, three runs (two earned), walked three, and struck out five.

Skidmore jumped in front, 2-0, in the bottom of the second. Zack Rudman singled. Anthony Ferri doubled down the right field line, sending Rudman to third. When the throw back to the infield rolled away, Rudman raced home. Clarkson infielder Jerry Coleman threw the ball over the catcher's head as Rudman scored. Spencer Marcus doubled down the left field line, scoring Ferri.

Clarkson got a run back in the third. Coleman singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out single to right by David Kinney. Chudy settled down, retiring 10 of the next 11 batters to face him.

Neither team seriously threatened again until the sixth. With two outs, Laracuente walked Brett Peplowski and Brady Torbitt singled to right. Matt Curry grounded to Ferri at short to end the inning.

The Golden Knights staged another two-out rally in the eighth with the score still at 2-1. Kinney was hit by a pitch and Peplowski singled through the right side, putting runners at the corners. Torbitt worked the count full, then hit a line drive up the middle that Laracuente speared to end the inning.

Skidmore picked up its third run in the eighth. Rob Rubenstein walked and was bunted t second. He moved to third on Adam Cornachione's single to right and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Brian Lowry. Rudman followed with a single, chasing Chudy. Anthony Farrell relieved and retired Ferri on a popup to end the eighth.

In the ninth, Laracuente induced Curry to bounce out, struck out Chris Faltisek swinging, and slipped a called strike three past pinch-hitter Steve Magovney to set off the celebration.

The Liberty League All-Tournament Team was comprised of Matt DeLuca of St. Lawrence, Andy Cannon and Matt Francis of Rochester, Torbitt, Curry, and Chudy of Clarkson, and four from Skidmore: Laracuente, Marcus, Rudman, and Cornachione. The MVP was Cornachione.

Titans take two, and title
Joe Sweeney pitched a complete game in the nightcap, the second strong pitching effort on the day.
Joe Sweeney pitched a complete game in the nightcap, the second strong pitching effort on the day.
Photo by Jeff Findley
Illinois Wesleyan won a pair of games against Carthage to claim the CCIW baseball tournament championship on Sunday, May 16 in Naperville. The Titans won by scores of 7-4 and 6-2 and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

The Titans, now 23-20 this season after three straight wins, will be making their eighth NCAA Division III tournament appearance, fifth in the last seven years and first since 2008. Illinois Wesleyan has an 11-15 overall record in NCAA postseason play and has lost five straight NCAA games.

In the second game victory, Joe Sweeney (4-2) gave Illinois Wesleyan its second strong complete game pitching performance of the day, working all nine innings and allowing the Red Men only two runs on seven hits while striking out five, including two in the ninth.

Offensively, IWU scored two in the third and one in the fourth to lead 3-0. In the third, Zach Scott led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice by Mark McDermott. Kraig Ladd singled to rightfield to score Scott. After Brett Moore walked and was forced at second on a fielder's choice, sending Ladd to third, Casey McIntosh doubled to chase home Ladd and make the score 2-0.

In the fourth, Ryan Hopp and Jeff Grodecki singled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Scott. McDermott then hit a sacrifice fly to knock in Scott.

A solo home run by Hopp in the eighth made the score 4-2 and Hopp, who had three hits, doubled home an insurance run in the ninth and Grodecki had a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-2.

The Titans got a much-needed complete game pitching victory from senior righthander Paul Kabbes (2-4) in the first game of the day. Kabbes allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

It was a big second inning that put the Titans ahead, 4-2. With one out, IWU got consecutive singles by centerfielder Ryan Hopp, third baseman Jeff Grodecki and freshman shortstop Zach Scott (whose hit scored Hopp). After a ground out by catcher Mark McDermott, senior leftfielder Kraig Ladd delivered a three-run home run to stake the Titans to the lead.

IWU, who got 14 hits in the game, added a single run in the sixth and two insurance runs in the ninth on hits by seniors Brett Moore and Mike Morrissey. The team got outstanding production from the 7-8-9 hitters as Scott was 4-for-4 while McDermott and Ladd each got two hits.

Penn St. Behrend 3-peats
Penn State-Behrend needed two tries on Sunday to capture its third AMCC title
Penn State-Behrend needed two tries on Sunday to capture its third AMCC title
Penn State Behrend baseball team won it's third consecutive AMCC Championship on Sunday with a 8-3 victory over Frostburg State in the conference title game. The Behrend Lions will now advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The blue and white started their march to the championship on Friday, May 14 with a 5-4 opening game win over Penn State Altoona. Behrend followed that up with a 13-2 win over Mount Aloysius on Saturday to advance to the championship round in the league's double-elimination tournament. The Frostburg State Bobcats lost on Friday but then picked up two wins on Saturday to advance to the championship round. In the first game on Sunday, Frostburg picked up a 17-4 win to force a deciding game.

In the championship clinching win for Behrend, seniors Ryan Liddle and Dustin Dubensky came up big at the plate. Liddle went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, while Dubensky was 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Ryan Jacobs was lights out, throwing a complete game giving up just one earned run in the biggest game of his young college career.

Beavers take IIAC title
This is Buena Vista's first trip to the NCAA Regional Baseball Championships since 1981.
This is Buena Vista's first trip to the NCAA Regional Baseball Championships since 1981.
Buena Vista scored five times in the seventh and added four more key insurance runs in the eighth to help knock off second-seed Wartburg, 9-4, on Sunday afternoon and win the 2010 Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament. The win also gives Buena Vista the league's automatic berth into this year's NCAA Regional Baseball Championships, its first trip since 1981.

Trailing 1-0 in the seventh, Ryan Scheetz put the Beavers on the board and in front with his big pinch-hit two-run single. Later in the inning, Brock Yossi and Brandon Pietrzyk each added two-out RBI singles, while Brad Blum also scored a run after stealing third and advancing home on a throwing error.

fter working around a leadoff hit in the eighth to keep the Knights off the board, Buena Vista added to its run total with four more big runs in the bottom of the inning. Kevin Kloewer doubled to lead off before Mark Blum and Nick Maxwell each followed-up with RBI doubles, pushing the lead to 7-1. Senior Mike Stephenson then capped the scoring with a big two-run double down the right field line.

Those four runs proved to be even bigger in the ninth as Wartburg plated three runs before Pietrzyk, who relieved James Stone with two outs, got the final out on a ground ball to Mark Blum.

Kloewer and Blum each finished with two hits and two runs scored, while Brad Blum and Yossi also added two hits. BVU pounded out 12 base knocks in the contest and are hitting .350 as a team for the year.

Jarad George gets a no decision despite going six innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Kyle Dupic, who came in for the seventh, picks up his third win of the year, allowing just one hit. James Stone then pitched the next 1.2 innings before Pietrzyk closed things out.

It marks the first time in program history that the Beavers have won the conference tournament, and they are the second team other than Wartburg since 2005 to win the title.

Gorloks dominate SLIAC
The Gorloks will be making their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past six years.
The Gorloks will be making their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past six years.
Webster is headed back to the NCAAs, after a one-year hiatus, by winning the SLIAC tournament with a 7-3 win over Greenville in Highland, Illinois. Bryan Stanley pitched the final three and a third innings for the second time in the tournament, and picked up his first save in 21 appearances.

Stanley pitched six and two-thirds innings in the tournament, allowing no runs, two hits, one walk, and striking out 12, and was named the Most Valuable Player. In addition to the save, he picked up the win in the Gorloks 8-5 victory over Eureka in the first round.

David Mueller picked up his seventh win of the season, pitching five and two-thirds innings. Mueller was bailed out of a two-out, sixth-inning bases loaded jam, by Stanley, who fell behind 3-0 before striking out the batter to end the threat.

Victor Valdez put an exclamation point on his last SLIAC game by going four for four, with four RBIs and a double. For the tournament Valdez was 7-13 with 10 RBIs and two mammoth home runs. Valdez, John Combs, and Will Savage, in addition to Stanley, were named to the All-Tournament team.

Webster won its fourth St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in the last five completed tourneys. Over a three day span and constant threat of rain, the Gorloks defeated Eureka, Fontbonne and Greenville to win this year's championship.

The baseball team becomes the fifth Webster sport to advance to the NCAA Tournament this year, following the men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, and women's tennis. Webster will find out on May 17 where they are headed in the NCAA Tournament.

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