D3baseball.com: The best source for Division III baseball information

Brechun, Rauh join south standouts on all-stars list

What hits at a 0.423 clip and slugs an average of 12 home runs in a season? What pitching staff is a combined 46-9 with 28 saves? It is the fourth annual 2011 D3baseball.com preseason All-American team released today.

Joining three USA South all-stars are Heidelberg third baseman, Willie Brechun and Chapman hurler Brian Rauh as unanimous selections to the D3baseball.com preseason team. Catcher Trey Such, Methodist, first baseman Justin Franklin, Ferrum and pitcher/outfielder Greg Van Sickler, Shenandoah, represent the USA South Conference as first team selections.

The first team outfield is familiar with success as all three participated in the Championship round in Appleton. Zach Boskovich, Linfield; Kevin Brashears, Shenandoah; and Ricardo Lizcano, Heidelberg are all looking for another chance to roam the outfield at Fox Cities Stadium at the end of May. Joining Franklin and Brechun in the infield are two middle infielders from the Mid-Atlantic region, Frostburg State's Matt Greene and Keystone's Esteban Meletiche. Designated hitter Mitchell Rowan of Willamette rounds out the nine offensive players.

Rauh, a freshman sensation in 2010, is expected to continue to dominate the competition in 2011. Sam Eagleston, Johns Hopkins and Brad Orosey, Texas Lutheran are the other starting pitchers named to the first team preseason list. Two relievers, Chris DeGoti, Tufts and Andy Lowe, Heidelberg round out the pitching staff.

Four players on the 2011 list also appeared on the 2010 preseason All-American squad. Van Sickler and Orosey were first team selections in 2010 while Lowe was on the second team. Pomona Pitzer's David Colvin was an honorable mention in 2010 and a second team selection as a pitcher in 2011.

2011 D3baseball.com preseason All-Americans

First Team: C - Trey Such, Methodist; 1B - Justin Franklin, Ferrum; 2B - Matt Greene, Frostburg State; 3B - Willie Brechun, Heidelberg; SS - Esteban Meletiche, Keystone; OF - Zach Boskovich, Linfield; Kevin Brashears, Shenandoah; Ricardo Lizcano, Heidelberg; DH - Mitchell Rowan, Willamette; UTL - Greg Van Sickler, Shenandoah; P - Chris DeGoti, Tufts; Sam Eagleson, Johns Hopkins; Andy Lowe, Heidelberg; Brad Orosey, Texas Lutheran; Brian Rauh, Chapman.

Second Team: C - Jay Lichter, Randolph-Macon; 1B - Bruce Maxwell, Birmingham-Southern; 2B - Ryan Walsh, UMass Boston; 3B - Nick Beaman, Ripon; SS - Greg Van Horn, Wooster; OF - Bobby Doyon, Keene State; Todd Keneborus, St Joseph's (Maine); Jesse Sikorski, Johns Hopkins; DH - Ken Gregory, Kean; UTL - Jeff Donovan, UW-Whitewater; P - David Colvin, Pomona-Pitzer; Alex Eliopoulos, Johns Hopkins; Cody Hallahan, Bethany Lutheran; Jason Pankau, Illinois Wesleyan; Paul Uhl, Thomas More.

Honorable Mention: C - Matt Cornetti, Mount Aloysius; 1B - Matt Stahl, Allegheny; 2B - Brandon Ricco, Birmingham-Southern; 3B - Chad Mullins, Case Western Reserve; SS - Anthony Pisani, Southern Maine: OF - Jimmy Baum, Penn State Altoona; Will Hodges, Carthage; Jake Mullin, McMurry; Jeff Scafidi, Anna Maria; DH - K.C. Judge, Cal Lutheran; UTL - Jim Schult, Eastern Connecticut State; P - Nolan Corr, Wheaton (Mass.); Ethan Holt, Heidelberg; Derek Johnson, Redlands; Britton Quayle, Frostburg State; Matt Schimpf, Texas Tyler.

Click here for the news release

Permalink

Latest Division III baseball news releases

More releases from: 2011 January Today Yesterday

View more press releases Prev 12345 Next

Walt Driggers Field will be the site of the NCAA D-III West Regional in May.

McMurry Sports Information

NCAA announces regional sites

If the Illinois Wesleyan Titans are to first to win back-to-back championships since Rowan did the trick in 1979 and 1980, they will play on their home field in the NCAA regional playoffs. On January 7th, the NCAA released the locations of seven of the eight regional sites and the defending national champions were selected to host the 2011 NCAA Central Regional.

Cortland State, Kean, Marietta and Wisc.-Whitewater repeat as a hosts to a NCAA Division III Regional in 2011. Cortland State will host the New York Regional in conjunction with the Auburn Doubledays at Falcon Park in Auburn, New York. Kean will host their fourth straight regional at FirstEnergy Park, the home field for the minor league Lakewood BlueClaws. The Mideast Regional will be played at Don Schaly Stadium in Marietta, Ohio. Wisc.-Whitewater will also host their second Midwest regional on their home diamond, Prucha Field.

Illinois Wesleyan and McMurry are once again hosts of a regional. Illinois Wesleyan last hosted the 2007 Central Regional. McMurry, in their second to last season in D-III Baseball, last hosted the West Regional in 2008. The New England Regional will return to Whitehouse Field after being placed on the campus of Eastern Connecticut State.

The Regional Sites for the 2011 D-III baseball playoffs
New England Regional: Whitehouse Field (hosted by the Eastern College Athletic Conference)
New York Regional: Falcon Park (hosted by Cortland State)
Mid-Atlantic Regional: FirstEnergy Park (hosted by Kean)
South Regional: TBA
Mideast Regional: Don Schaly Stadium (hosted by Marietta)
Central Regional: Horenberger Field (hosted by Illinois Wesleyan)
Midwest Regional: Prucha Field (hosted by Wisc.-Whitewater)
West Regional: Walt Driggers Field (hosted by McMurry)

The eight regionals will be held May 18-22 with each regional champion advancing to the Championship round the following week in Appleton, Wis.

Permalink

The loss of the Metrodome affects hundreds of games at dozens of schools.

Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

Dome's demise puts big hole in D-III schedules

Many collegiate baseball programs in the upper Midwest rely on the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to get games in before the snow disappears and the temperatures rise. However, that won't be an option this season as there will be no college baseball in the Metrodome this year.

The Metrodome roof collapsed on Dec. 12 after a major snowstorm hit the area. Since then further panels in the roof have failed.

An email sent out to all of the coaches who have scheduled games in the dome this year said that the entire schedule would be canceled because the Dome would not be available until late March.

According to the email, Dome officials are meeting with engineers to determine if they are going to repair the roof and the extent of those repairs. If they repair the roof they may not have enough material to complete the job. They are also considering a new roof.

There is still an outside chance that repairs can be made ahead of schedule, but chances are remote.

In the meantime, coaches such as St. Scholastica's Corey Kemp are trying to get Dome dates re-scheduled for later in the season at campus sites. The Saints have already talked with the St. Thomas and plans on playing on the Tommies' campus field on March 31, weather permitting.

"Our guys will go stir crazy if they have to practice in the Wellness Center for six weeks before actually playing a game," Kemp said.

Kemp has reached out to Iowa schools and is even looking at Missouri and Illinois schools to see if they can get games for the first weekend in March. Kemp is optimistic that his Dome dates can be made up at a later date at campus sites. But losing the Metrodome will affect many schools and more than 200 small-college baseball games.

Permalink

Rowan's Josh Schwartz set a NCAA record of 37 straight wins in the decade.

Rowan Sports Information

Fifty named to All-Decade team

Jay Coakley, a four-time All-American catcher from Marietta and 2001 player of the year, headlines the D3baseball.com 2000's All-Decade team. Joining Coakley on the first team are three more Players of the Year, Drew Caravella, Ohio Wesleyan (2002), Vince Mancuso, UW-Oshkosh (2003), and Kurt Yacko, Chapman (2007). The D3baseball.com 2000's All-Decade team consists of 52 players and coaches representing the best players in the decade.

Joining first baseman Caravella in the infield are second baseman Jeremy Jirschele, UW-Oshkosh, shortstop Ian Hauze, DeSales, and third baseman Jake Frank, Wooster. Jirschele, a two-time All-Defensive player of the year in the decade was one of five unanimous selections. In the outfield is Mancuso, three-time All-American Tony Konicek, Gustavus Adolphus and Eric Swedberg, Worcester State. Jose Cortez, Pomona Pitzer was an unanimous selection as designated hitter.

The first team pitching staff is composed of five pitchers with the talents of two utility players. DIII's all-time ERA leader Jeremiah Bayer, Trinity (Conn.) and strikeout king Matt DeSalvo, Marietta leads the staff.

Josh Schwartz, Rowan, Devin Drag, Carthage and Ryan DiPietro, Eastern Connecticut State round out the starting rotation. Shawn Gilblair and Yacko were both utility selections. Gilblair shared time at pitcher and first base in his four year career at Eastern Connecticut State. Yacko, Chapman's shortstop and closer, left school after three years to start his professional career.

St.Thomas' Dennis Denning bookend the decade with two championships. Denning's Tommies won the second and final championship of the decade, being the only school to win two championships in the decade. Denning's 13-4 record also leads all schools.

In the 2000's, fifteen players were named Player of the Year by either D3basbeall.com, the NCBWA and the ABCA. Four were first team selections and the rest, with the exception of Southwestern's Matt Gelotti, were named the the second and honorable mention teams.

The D3baseball.con 2000's All-Decade team was selected by D3baseball.com staff.

Permalink

Schools get new head coaches

2010 Empire 8 Coach of the Year, Brandon Potter, earned a promotion this summer.

St. John Fisher Sports Information

Texas-Tyler, Washington (Mo), NYU-Poly, Mitchell, and St. Lawrence have announced new head coaches this summer. Paul Wyczawski will take over for James Vilade at Texas-Tyler, Steve Duncan is the new Bear's coach, John Torres replaces Jose Vega at NYU-Poly, Scott Kingston now heads the efforts at Mitchell, and Peter Hoy takes over for retiring Tom Fay for the Saints. In other coaching moves, St. John Fisher has elevated Brandon Potter from interim head coach and Cru assistant baseball coach Derek Dunaway has been named interim head coach for Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Wyczawski became the program's second head coach after serving the previous six seasons as assistant coach at Murray State, where he assembled one of the top pitching staffs in the Ohio Valley Conference. "We are excited to have selected Paul Wyczawski as Texas-Tyler's next baseball coach," Patterson said. "Coach Wyczawski impressed the screening committee with his experience, personality and commitment to the student-athlete. Wyczawski, who takes over the Patriots' program from James Vilade who led the patriots to a 230-65 record, including five ASC East Division championships, two ASC titles and two appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Washington (Mo.) has a new head coach in Steve Duncan. Duncan is the 12th baseball coach in program history, replacing retiring Ric Lessmann. Duncan arrives on the Danforth Campus after serving as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins the past three seasons. "We are delighted that Steve Duncan will be joining the Washington community and the Bears' coaching family," said Schael. "Having served as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins during the past three years, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to the head coaching position for Bears baseball.

NYU-Poly Athletic Director Maureen Braziel announced that John Torres will be the new head coach for NYU-Poly. Torres brings a wealth of collegiate experience to NYU-Poly. Before coming to NYU-Poly he was hired to launch a new program at St.Joseph's (Brooklyn). In his first season with just 10 players he won five games. In his second season, he led the club to 12 wins, utilizing a roster filled primarily, by freshmen. Torres is a graduate of John Jay College and was a CUNY First Team All-Star at 2nd base and was a member of the 1987 CUNYAC Championship team.
Read more inside

3920611