May 14, 2007

 

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY TO HOST NORTH ATLANTIC BASEBALL REGIONAL

 

KUTZTOWN, PA –Kutztown University has been selected to host the NCAA Division II Baseball North Atlantic Regional Tournament, May 17-20, at North Campus Field. 

 

            Kutztown (45-5) is the #1 seed in the six-team field.  #2 West Virginia State (36-15), from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and #6 Shippensburg (27-22), from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), earned automatic qualification thanks to their respective conference championships.  The other three at-large berths went to PSAC teams - #3 California (PA) (36-15), #4 Slippery Rock (33-15) and #5 West Chester (30-15).

 

            West Virginia State and West Chester will open the tournament at 9:00 AM on Thursday.  Kutztown faces Shippensburg at 12:30 PM, followed by California vs. Slippery Rock at 4:00 PM.  Note: the order of games on Thursday, by official tournament game number, will be Game 2-Game 1-Game 3.

 

            If Kutztown loses its first game, it will play at 9:00 AM on Friday against the loser of the WV State/West Chester game.  A win Thursday and Kutztown advances to face the loser of the California/Slippery Rock game.

 

            Action in the double-elimination tournament continues throughout the day on Friday and Saturday, and concludes with the championship round on Sunday.  The winner of the regional advances to the Division II College World Series at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., May 25-June 1. 

 

Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, per day.  A  tournament pass for $20 will be sold on Thursday only. 

 

Kutztown is making its seventh-straight, and eighth-overall appearance in the North Atlantic Regional.  Kutztown won the tournament in 2001, ’02, and ’04, while finishing second in ’06 and third in ’99, ’03 and ’05.  Kutztown’s string of seven-straight regional appearances is not only the longest active streak in the region, but is the longest-ever streak of regional berths among teams currently in the North Atlantic Region.  Prior to this year, KU’s streak of six-straight appearances was tied with Slippery Rock’s run from 1996-2001. 

 

Kutztown will enter this year’s regional with a record of 45-5, setting a school record for wins in a season and has not lost at North Campus Field in 2007 (13-0).  The Golden Bears are currently ranked #3 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II poll.  Earlier this season, Kutztown spent a week as the #1 ranked team in the nation, a first for a Golden Bear sports team and just the second time a team from the North Atlantic Region was ranked first (Mansfield, 1995).  The Golden Bears are under the direction of fourth-year head coach and 2007 PSAC East Coach of the Year Chris Blum, who has a career record of 190-68.  The PSAC East regular season champions with a 19-1 record, KU recently made its fourth-straight PSAC Championship appearance.  KU was 1-2 in the tournament, falling short in its bid for a third-straight PSAC title.  The Golden Bears’ strength this season has been a remarkable amount of depth, both on the pitching staff and in the lineup.  KU enters the regional with a team earned-run average of 3.33, best in the PSAC, as well as a team batting average of .318, third-best in the league.  Pitchers Jason Mills, Mike McCardell, Darin Gorski, Matt Keller and Philip Rummel comprise KU’s starting rotation.  Mills, a first-team All-PSAC East selection, is 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 46.0 innings.  McCardell, an all-conference first-teamer as both a starter and reliever, is 6-2 with a 1.46 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.  Gorski is 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 35 Ks in 40.1 innings.  Keller, who fell one out shy of a no-hitter against Shippensburg in the PSAC tournament, is 5-1 with a 3.91 ERA and has fanned 50 batters in 48.1 innings.  Rummel is 7-1 with a 5.19 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 52.0 innings.  All-PSAC pitcher Ryan Loper is 6-0 with a 3.65 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.  KU’s offense features eight regulars hitting above .300 for the season.  First-team All-PSAC East outfielder Chad Lightcap is hitting .384 (48-125) with four home runs and 37 RBI.  McCardell, who plays first and third base when he’s not pitching, is hitting .358 (39-109) with four homers and 25 RBI.  OF Garrison Rausch is hitting .357 (25-70) with two home runs and 14 RBI.  Utility infielder Sean Bond, a first-team all-conference pick, is hitting .352 (51-145) with 42 runs scored and 25 RBI.  OF Jeff Craig is hitting .348 (56-161) with 13 doubles, five home runs and a PSAC-best 52 RBI.   Loper, KU’s centerfielder, is hitting .340 (53-156) with four home runs and 29 RBI.  2B Mike Kacelowicz is hitting .330 (33-100) with 39 runs and 17 RBI.  3B/SS Nate Kranz hits .329 (45-137) with 35 RBI. 

 

            West Virginia State (36-15) is the #2 seed and enters the tournament after winning its 13th WVIAC tournament title under head coach Cal Bailey (29th season).   WVSU has a 4.50 team ERA and .361 team batting average. The Yellow Jackets feature the WVIAC Pitcher of the year in sophomore Michael Barron.  Barron is 8-0 with a 4.12 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.  Mike Ziewicki and Travis McGrath are both 4-2 with 23 and 29 strikeouts, respective.  WVIAC Player of the Year, Joshua Miller, anchors the lineup.  He is hitting .458 (77-168) with 16 homers and 62 RBI.  Infielder Brandon Halstead is hitting .360 (87-189) with 14 home runs and 62 RBI.  Infielder Jeff Miller is hitting .430 (74-172) with 17 dingers and 63 RBI.  OF Eric Workman (.385, 8 HR, 38 RBI) and INF Ryne Holstine (.360, 4 HR, 32 RBI) round out the Yellow Jackets’ leaders.  WVSU makes its fourth-straight regional appearance, having hosted the tournament the past two years and winning it in 2005.

 

            California (PA) (36-15) is the third seed and is ranked #29 in the nation, after winning the PSAC West regular-season title and finishing second at the PSAC tournament.  The Vulcans, under 11th-year head coach Mike Conte, make their fourth NCAA tournament appearance, but the first since 1983.  With a school-record 36 wins to their credit, the Vulcans bring a .311 team batting average and 4.45 team ERA to the tournament.  PSAC West Player of the Year Lee Rohan leads the offense.  He is hitting .406 (73-180) with 44 runs and 15 RBI.  INF Jeremy Potter is hitting .349 (44-126) with 29 RBI.  SS Dustin Woodring is hitting .329 (48-146) with nine home runs and 31 RBI.  OF Alex Lefcakis (.313, 30 RBI) and INF Ryan Kemerer (.312, 19 RBI) also lead Cal.  The pitching staff is led by Chris Doerschner, who is 8-1 with a 3.20 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 56.1 innings.  Jon Squeglia (5-1, 3.23 ERA, 23 K) has handed Kutztown two of their five losses this season.  Other top pitchers include Nick Schreiber (5-3, 3.61 ERA, 34 K) and Andrew Rafalski (5-2, 4.30 ERA, 3 saves, 36 K).

 

            Slippery Rock, the #4 seed, enters the regional tournament with a 33-15 record and is ranked 30th in Division II.  The Rock earned an at-large berth in the regional tournament after a third-place finish at the PSACs.  SRU earned its PSAC tournament berth with a runner-up finish in the PSAC-Western Division.  The Rock won 10 of its last 12 regular-season games, including seven of eight PSAC-West contests.  This will be SRU’s 12^th regional appearance in Jeff Messer’s 22 seasons as head coach and the 13^th appearance in school history.  The Rock has won four regional titles (1989, 1997, 2000, 2003) and earned three regional runner-up honors (1991, 1996, 2001) under Messer, who is two wins shy of the 700-victory milestone (698-391-4).  Messer is the PSAC's all-time leader in career wins and ranks second behind only former Temple boss James Wilson (1034 wins in 43 seasons) among all Pennsylvania collegiate head coaches.  C Matt Adams, the PSAC West Rookie of the Year, powers the Rock’s lineup.  Adams is hitting .414 (63-152) with four homers and 31 RBI.  OF M.J. Parsons (.366, 3 HR, 41 RBI), OF Scott Bender (.350, 2 HR, 27 RBI), 1B Dan Hudeck (.333, 4 HR, 34 RBI) and SS Phil Butch (.326, 30 RBI, 20 SB) round out SRU’s hitting leaders.  Derek Blyzwick tops the pitching rotation.  The first-team All-PSAC West star has a 5-2 record with a  3.25 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 55.1 innings.  Rich Hocanson (6-0, 1.98 ERA 31 K, 41.0 IP) was a second-team all-league pick.

 

            West Chester (30-15), the #5 seed, makes its seventh regional appearance, and first under rookie head coach Greg Mamula.  The Golden Rams are the defending regional champions, having defeated Kutztown in the championship game at WV State last year.  West Chester was 1-2 at the national tournament to finish tied for fifth.  WCU bowed out early at this year’s PSAC championship, dropping both games it played.  The Rams feature a .337 team batting average, best in the league, and a 3.92 earned-run average.  DH Drew Pare leads the offense, batting .426 (66-155) with 18 doubles, eight homers nad 41 RBI.  OF Charlie Kelly is hitting .368 (60-163) with 28 RBI.  The PSAC East Rookie of the Year, SS Nick Spisak hits .366 (67-183) with four homers and 22 RBI. PSAC East Pitcher of the Year Frank Gailey headlines the pitching staff.  A left hander, Gailey has a 5-3 record with a 2.62 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 55 innings.  Chris Powl (4-1, 5.40 ERA, 32 K, 48.1 IP), Dave Slusser (4-2, 4.36 ERA, 28 K, 43.1 IP) and Ryan Gerber (3-3, 4.50 ERA, 40 K, 46 IP) complete the rotation, along with reliever Jason Bowman (5-1, 3.06 ERA, 3 saves). 

 

            Shippensburg (27-22), the #6 seed, earned a spot in the tournament field with its PSAC Championship.  It was the Raiders’ first conference title since 2003.  This is Shippensburg’s first appearance in the regional since 2004 and the 19th in school history.  First-year coach Matt Jones is the third coach in Ship history to win a PSAC title in his first season, and while it is his first NCAA appearance with Shippensburg, he led Division III Elizabethtown to three regional appearances in seven seasons. The Red Raider pitching staff has posted 14 complete games and a 4.17 ERA heading into the regional and is led by sophomore Matt Wright, who was named PSAC West Pitcher of the Year after posting a 5-3 record and leading the conference with 88 strikeouts. Fellow All-PSAC West First Team selection junior Justin Garber leads the team in five offensive categories, including batting average (.360), RBIs (37) and stolen bases (24).  Ross Buckwalter (5-2, 2.91 ERA, 57 K, 77.1 IP) is the Raider’s #2 pitcher, while OF Tyler Redick (.346, 3 HR, 24 RBI) and SS Eric Dezell (.318, 13 RBI) are other top hitters.

 

            Notes: Kutztown is 2-0 vs. Shippensburg in 2007...in other first round matches, Slippery Rock and California have split six meetings this year and West Virginia State and West Chester did not meet (a regular-season twinbill was postpone due to weather)...KU is 3-1 vs. West Chester and 2-2 vs. California (PA) this season…KU has not faced West Virginia State or Slippery Rock this year…KU has won its last three meetings vs. the Rock, all in post-season play over the last two seasons…KU is also 3-0 in its last three matchups vs. West Virginia State, with the games coming in the 2004 and 2006 regional tournaments.

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Championship Game Preview

May 19, 2007 

KU TO FACE WEST CHESTER IN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 

KUTZTOWN, PA – The Kutztown University baseball team will face West Chester in the 2007 NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional tournament championship game, Sunday at North Campus Field.  First pitch is scheduled for noon. 

            Kutztown (48-5) is undefeated in the tournament, having defeated Shippensburg, California (PA) and Slippery Rock.  West Chester (33-15) is 3-1, with a loss to Slippery Rock and wins over West Virginia State, Shippensburg and Slippery Rock. 

            The Golden Bears must defeat West Chester just once, while the Rams would have to beat Kutztown two times on Sunday to claim the regional crown and advance to the NCAA Division II “World Series” in Montgomery, Ala. (May 25-June 1). 

            Kutztown has won the regional tournament three times (2001, 2002, 2004*).  Kutztown won the titles in 2001 and 2002 on its home field, the only previous times KU has hosted the tournament before this season. 

            West Chester is the defending regional champion, having won the tournament last year at West Virginia State.  It was the first regional title in WCU history.

             This year’s championship game is a rematch of last year’s.  Kutztown fell to the Golden Rams in the final game in 2006.   KU, needing to win twice, won 7-4 in the first game before West Chester won 14-3 to advance to the World Series. 

            Kutztown defeated Slippery Rock, 7-3, on Saturday to advance to the final game.  KU  recorded its 48th win of the year, tying the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference record for wins in a season (Slippery Rock, 2003).   

            West Chester survived a pair of elimination games on Saturday, defeating Shippensburg, 7-4, and Slippery Rock, 11-10 in 10 innings, to advance to Sunday’s game. 

            Tickets for Sunday’s game are $7 for adults, $3 for students and seniors.  Kutztown University students will be admitted free, courtesy of KU athletics.

*the 2004 regional title was later vacated, due to an NCAA violation