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Baseball news
NWC Baseball Team Begins Three-Game Series vs Bellevue
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May 16, 2007
GAMETIME...Northwestern begins a three-game series against Bellevue (Neb.) Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. at the NAIA Super Regional in Omaha, Neb. The winner of the best-of-three series advances to the NAIA World Series played in Lewiston, Idaho and will begin on Friday, May 25. The Super Regional games can be heard over KSOU Radio on 93.9 FM.
SCOUTING REPORT...The Bruins are gunning for their 11th trip to the NAIA World Series since 1995. Bellevue won the national championship back in 1995, earned runner-up honors in 1997 and finished third two other times. Coach Mike Evans, in his 19th season as skipper of the Bruins, has been at the helm during their recent run of success.
Belleuve swept both the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and postseason championships. The Bruins finished league play with a 19-3 record and went a perfect 2-0 at the MCAC Tournament. In regional play, they were undefeated (4-0) as they downed Bethany College (Kan.), 9-8, in the first championship game for their eighth consecutive win. Overall, Belleuve is 41-13 and ranked #8 in the final NAIA poll.
Offensively, Coach Evans's club is batting .345 and averages better than eight runs per game. Senior infielder Nick Rivera, a first team all-MCAC selection, leads the team with a .426 batting average. He has six home runs, a team-best 46 RBIs and 29 runs scored this season. Scott Raterman, a senior infielder who also earned first team all-conference honors, leads the team in runs (48), doubles (16) and home runs (8). Behind the plate is first team all-MCAC catcher Mike Pratt, who has seven home runs to go along with his .331 average. He has also thrown out 13/36 potential base stealers this season. Three other Bruin players earned honorable mention all-conference honors: Josh Northrup (Jr, Catcher, .376, 7 HR and 39 RBIs), Zach Weidenaar (Jr, OF, .374, 3 HR) and Carlos Jackson (Jr, OF, .362, 39 runs).
The pitching staff comes in with a 3.95 team ERA and are led by freshman Nick Love with a 10-3 record. The MCAC Pitcher-of-the-Year has a 3.72 ERA and is third in the NAIA with 105 strikeouts in 72.2 innings pitched. Tyler Espland is second on the team with a 7-2 record and earned honorable mention all-league honors. Jon Ganzen (5-2, 3.33 ERA), Severin Fries (4-1, 3.14 ERA) and Peter Gehle (3-1, 3.56 ERA) are the other top Bellevue hurlers.
LAST TIME OUT...Northwestern won their first ever regional championship last week with a 4-1 record. The Red Raiders, seeded sixth in the six-team field, knocked off top-seed Dickinson State twice, including 5-2 in the championship game to advance to their first ever Super Regional appearance. Mihai Burlea pitched his second complete game of the tournament, giving up just seven hits and one earned run in the decisive win. He earned regional Pitcher-of-the-Year honors. Austin Malone was the offensive star with three hits, three runs and an RBI. Jake Jansen, Codie Zeutenhorst and Curt Bomgaars added two hits each in the win. Both Jansen and Grant Wall also were named to the all-region team.
For the tournament, the NWC pitching staff boasted a 2.00 ERA. Burlea (2-0, 1.50), Dusty Meyn (1-0 with a complete-game shut out), Joe Grady (1-0, 4.05 ERA) and Jake Koerselman (0-1, 4.70 ERA) helped lead the Raiders to the tournament championship.
RED RAIDER NOTES...As a team, Northwestern led the GPAC in both batting average (.333) and ERA (3.71). The Red Raiders are scoring better than six runs per game so far this season. Offensively, Jake Jansen led the conference with a .459 batting average. The sophomore has a team-high 72 hits and 52 RBIs to go with six home runs. He earned second team all-league honors. GPAC Player-of-the-Year Grant Wall leads the league in runs (46), doubles (19) and triples (4) to go with a .411 average. He is also a perfect 14-14 in stolen bases. Michael Janssen, a first team all-league recipient as a designated hitter, is batting .360 with 37 RBIs. Second team all-GPAC outfielder Joe Heitritter is fourth on the team with a .336 average and Austin Malone is tied for the team lead with 46 runs scored. Matt Gray (.333), Justin Lane (.296), Codie Zeutenhorst (.295) and Curt Bomgaars (.281) are the other top hitters for Coach Wede's club.
The deep and talented pitching staff is led by regional and GPAC Pitcher-of-the-Year Mihai Burlea. He is 12-0 with a 3.03 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched. Senior Dusty Meyn (6-4) and Jake Koerselman (8-2), both honorable mention all-league selections, boast ERAs of 2.95 and 3.99, respectively. Joe Grady, who led the Raiders in wins as a freshman, is 5-6 with a 3.84 ERA. Andrew Engesser (.92 ERA in 9 2/3 IP) and Justin Lane (0-2, 9 saves) anchor the NWC bullpen.
NEXT UP...If the Raiders win the best-of-three series, they will advance to the first NAIA World Series in school history. The seven Super Regional winners all advance while the top-three runner-up seeds also advance to Lewiston, Idaho. The 2007 World Series gets underway on Friday, May 25.
NAIA Super Regionals Web-Site
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