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Edgewood College hosts second annual NAC Baseball Tournament
May 05, 2008
Press Release posted by Edgewood Permalink
MADISON, Wis. (May 5, 2008) -- Edgewood College, along with the Rockford Area Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Rockford RiverHawks are hosting the second annual Northern Athletics Conference Baseball Tournament. The four team double elimination tournament sponsored by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission begins on Friday. The two day event will take place at beautiful Road Ranger Stadium in Loves Park, Ill. with Benedictine University, Rockford College, Marian College and Concordia University Chicago participating. Fans can follow the games live with all seven tournament games webcast on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com with live stats also available.
Benedictine University (25-15, 17-5 NAC) -- The Eagles tied Rockford for the regular season title with a 17-5 conference mark but earned the number one seed by virtue of winning the regular season matchup between the Eagles and Regents. Benedictine defeated Rockford 12-11 and 13-1 on May 3 in Lisle, Ill. Since falling to 12th ranked Illinois Wesleyan 7-4 on April 23 in a non-conference matchup the Eagles have won eight of the last nine, their lone defeat came on Sunday against Edgewood College in Madison. Rick Porcaro leads the Eagles with a .416 batting average and a team-high 36 RBIs. Porcaro batting average is second best in the conference while as a team Benedictine ranks second within the conference with a .329 team batting average. On the mound, Jake Thompson (4-3) leads the team with a 2.70 ERA appearing in 10 games for the Eagles while Kennedy Grear (5-2) leads the team with 35 strikeouts. Benedictine has compiled a 5-1 record against NAC Tournament qualifiers, sweeping both Rockford and Concordia Chicago. The Eagles lost 4-0 to Marian on April 11 in game two of the doubleheader for their only loss against the tournament field.
Rockford College (24-16, 17-5 NAC) -- The defending tournament champions head into this year’s tournament as the number two seed after getting swept by Benedictine in their final conference doubleheader of the season. The Regents have struggled recently, dropping their last three conference games and losing five of their last seven. Rockford has faced some tough non-conference opponents this season playing games against fifth ranked Carthage, 12th ranked Illinois Wesleyan, 18th ranked Augustana and Division I Illinois-Chicago. The Regents lost three of those four games but blasted Carthage 19-3 on the final day of the regular season on Sunday, sending the Red Men just their fifth loss of the season. Three Regenst are hitting above .340 for the season with Tyler Magnuson leading the way with a .347 batting average. Teammate Shaun Dascher is hitting .346 while Brett Russell sports a .343 average. Chris Brockman has driven in a team-high 42 RBIs, the fourth most in the conference. Bobby Findlay (6-2) anchors the pitching staff with 42 strikeouts and a 4.70 ERA. The Regents hold a 3-3 record against the rest of the tournament field. Rockford swept Marian, got swept by Benedictine and split a pair with Concordia Chicago.
Marian College (19-17, 15-7) -- The Sabres enter the tournament as the three seed and the only representative from the state of Wisconsin. Marian clinched a spot in the tournament by virtue of winning their last six conference games, sweeping MSOE, Aurora and Concordia Wisconsin. The Sabres ended the season in a tie for third with Aurora and Concordia Chicago but got the nod for the tournament by virtue of their 3-1 record against them. Marian has faced some tough non-conference opposition, playing doubleheaders against fifth ranked Carthage, 13th ranked UW-Oshkosh, 16th ranked Keene State (N.H.) and 23rd ranked Ripon. The Sabres picked up just one win against ranked opposition; a 9-2 win over Keene State on March 16 in game two of their doubleheader in Phoenix, Ariz. Jeremy Bartelt leads the team with a .391 batting average while Joe Mleziva is hitting .373. Nick Raddant (7-1) has pitched four complete games this season and leads the team with 59 strikeouts. His 3.93 ERA is second best on the team behind T.J. Mlodzik’s 3.92 ERA. The Sabres have just two wins against the NAC tournament qualifiers defeating Benedictine 4-0 on April 11 and Concordia Chicago 6-5 three days later on April 14.
Concordia University Chicago (28-11, 15-7 NAC) -- The fourth seed Cougars started off the 2008 season fast, winning ten of their first 11 games. The Cougars faced two ranked opponents this season suffering tough losses in both games, falling by one run in each. Concordia Chicago fell 3-2 to 18th ranked Augustana on March 24 and fell 8-7 to Illinois Wesleyan on April 22. Concordia Chicago enters the tournament with arguably the best defense in the NAC, leading the conference with a .961 fielding percentage. On Offense the Cougars no how to generate runs, leading the conference in runs scored with 347. J.D. Rotzoll leads the NAC in batting average, hitting .432. Brandon Isaac leads the NAC in RBIs while Rotzoll is second in the conference with 47 and Phil Seris is third with 46 RBIs on the year. On the mound, Matt Kudlik (5-1) enters the tournament with a team-best 3.00 ERA while Joe Leyhane (6-0) enters with an unblemished record and a 3.12 ERA. The Cougars are just 2-4 against fellow tournament teams, splitting with Rockford and Marian while getting swept by Benedictine.
Benedictine University (25-15, 17-5 NAC) -- The Eagles tied Rockford for the regular season title with a 17-5 conference mark but earned the number one seed by virtue of winning the regular season matchup between the Eagles and Regents. Benedictine defeated Rockford 12-11 and 13-1 on May 3 in Lisle, Ill. Since falling to 12th ranked Illinois Wesleyan 7-4 on April 23 in a non-conference matchup the Eagles have won eight of the last nine, their lone defeat came on Sunday against Edgewood College in Madison. Rick Porcaro leads the Eagles with a .416 batting average and a team-high 36 RBIs. Porcaro batting average is second best in the conference while as a team Benedictine ranks second within the conference with a .329 team batting average. On the mound, Jake Thompson (4-3) leads the team with a 2.70 ERA appearing in 10 games for the Eagles while Kennedy Grear (5-2) leads the team with 35 strikeouts. Benedictine has compiled a 5-1 record against NAC Tournament qualifiers, sweeping both Rockford and Concordia Chicago. The Eagles lost 4-0 to Marian on April 11 in game two of the doubleheader for their only loss against the tournament field.
Rockford College (24-16, 17-5 NAC) -- The defending tournament champions head into this year’s tournament as the number two seed after getting swept by Benedictine in their final conference doubleheader of the season. The Regents have struggled recently, dropping their last three conference games and losing five of their last seven. Rockford has faced some tough non-conference opponents this season playing games against fifth ranked Carthage, 12th ranked Illinois Wesleyan, 18th ranked Augustana and Division I Illinois-Chicago. The Regents lost three of those four games but blasted Carthage 19-3 on the final day of the regular season on Sunday, sending the Red Men just their fifth loss of the season. Three Regenst are hitting above .340 for the season with Tyler Magnuson leading the way with a .347 batting average. Teammate Shaun Dascher is hitting .346 while Brett Russell sports a .343 average. Chris Brockman has driven in a team-high 42 RBIs, the fourth most in the conference. Bobby Findlay (6-2) anchors the pitching staff with 42 strikeouts and a 4.70 ERA. The Regents hold a 3-3 record against the rest of the tournament field. Rockford swept Marian, got swept by Benedictine and split a pair with Concordia Chicago.
Marian College (19-17, 15-7) -- The Sabres enter the tournament as the three seed and the only representative from the state of Wisconsin. Marian clinched a spot in the tournament by virtue of winning their last six conference games, sweeping MSOE, Aurora and Concordia Wisconsin. The Sabres ended the season in a tie for third with Aurora and Concordia Chicago but got the nod for the tournament by virtue of their 3-1 record against them. Marian has faced some tough non-conference opposition, playing doubleheaders against fifth ranked Carthage, 13th ranked UW-Oshkosh, 16th ranked Keene State (N.H.) and 23rd ranked Ripon. The Sabres picked up just one win against ranked opposition; a 9-2 win over Keene State on March 16 in game two of their doubleheader in Phoenix, Ariz. Jeremy Bartelt leads the team with a .391 batting average while Joe Mleziva is hitting .373. Nick Raddant (7-1) has pitched four complete games this season and leads the team with 59 strikeouts. His 3.93 ERA is second best on the team behind T.J. Mlodzik’s 3.92 ERA. The Sabres have just two wins against the NAC tournament qualifiers defeating Benedictine 4-0 on April 11 and Concordia Chicago 6-5 three days later on April 14.
Concordia University Chicago (28-11, 15-7 NAC) -- The fourth seed Cougars started off the 2008 season fast, winning ten of their first 11 games. The Cougars faced two ranked opponents this season suffering tough losses in both games, falling by one run in each. Concordia Chicago fell 3-2 to 18th ranked Augustana on March 24 and fell 8-7 to Illinois Wesleyan on April 22. Concordia Chicago enters the tournament with arguably the best defense in the NAC, leading the conference with a .961 fielding percentage. On Offense the Cougars no how to generate runs, leading the conference in runs scored with 347. J.D. Rotzoll leads the NAC in batting average, hitting .432. Brandon Isaac leads the NAC in RBIs while Rotzoll is second in the conference with 47 and Phil Seris is third with 46 RBIs on the year. On the mound, Matt Kudlik (5-1) enters the tournament with a team-best 3.00 ERA while Joe Leyhane (6-0) enters with an unblemished record and a 3.12 ERA. The Cougars are just 2-4 against fellow tournament teams, splitting with Rockford and Marian while getting swept by Benedictine.