 |
Baseball news
Northwestern to play Dickinson State in Region III Tournament
|
May 8, 2007
GAMETIME...# 6 Northwestern College will play #1 Dickinson State (N.D.) in the first round of the NAIA Region III Baseball Championships on Wednesday, May 9 at 1:00 p.m. The event is hosted by the GPAC and will take place at Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City, it will conclude on Saturday, May 12.
SCOUTING REPORT... First seed Dickinson State is 31-9 overall and finished first in the DAC Conference with a 13-1 record. The DAC postseason tournament was cancelled early due to inclement weather and as a result, Dickinson State was crowned tournament champion. The tournament championship was Dickinson State's second consecutive championship title.
Head Coach Duane Monlux is in his 6th season as skipper of the Blue Hawks. He has led DSU to four regional tournament berths. This year's squad is led by DAC Pitcher of the Year, Luis Avila. The junior righthander is 7-1 with one save and has 57 strikeouts in 57.1 innings this year. Offensively DSU is paced by Paulo Contreras (.367), Adam Hurlbert (.345), and Ed Warren (.315).
LAST TIME OUT... Northwestern went 2-2 at the GPAC Conference Championships last week in Hastings, Neb. After an opening round victory over #6 Morningside (5-4), Coach Wede's squad was beat in game two by Mt. Marty College (7-8). On day two the Raiders beat Nebraska Wesleyan (6-5) and lost to the University of Sioux Falls (4-2).
RED RAIDER NOTES... Northwestern qualified for their first regional tournament in a decade with a 33-15 overall record. They finished conference play with an 14-8 mark and tied Dakota Wesleyan for third place.
Mihai Burlea, the GPAC Pitcher of the Year, leads the Northwestern pitching staff with a 10-0 record and a 3.42 ERA. Seniors Dusty Meyn (5-4, 3.44) and Jake Koerselman (8-1, 3.88) along with junior Joe Grady (4-6, 3.82) round out the Raider starting staff. Junior closer Justin Lane has collected nine saves in ten chances and has a 2.30 ERA.
Offensively, NWC is paced by GPAC Player of the Year, Grant Wall. He has scored 45 runs and is 14-14 in stolen bases. Wall is also hitting .413 and has driven in 36 RBI along with his 28 extra base hits. Jake Jansen (.464), Michael Janssen (.377), Matt Gray (.347), Joe Heitritter (.339), Austin Malone (.324), and Codie Zeutenhorst (.297) also earned all conference honors.
NEXT UP... Win or lose, Northwestern will play Thursday in Sioux City. If the Red Raiders win, they will play the loser of the #3 Jamestown/#4 Briar Cliff contest at 4:00 p.m. If they lose, they will play the loser of the #2 Sioux Falls/#5 Dakota State contest at 1:00 p.m.
|
|
|
|
|
 Baseball |
|
|
|
