NCAC Tournament Notebook: Baseball

This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster baseball team (16-21-1, 11-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) is headed to VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio for this week's double-elimination NCAC Tournament. Wooster, seeded third for the second straight year, meets up with second-seeded Wittenberg University (30-8, 14-2 NCAC) in Thursday's 5 p.m. contest. NCAC champion, and 11th-ranked, Denison University (31-8, 16-0, NCAC), the first NCAC team to go undefeated in the conference regular season since Wooster in 2007, opens the tournament against fourth-seeded Wabash College (24-16, 8-8 NCAC) at noon on Thursday. The winner of games one and two open Friday's three-game slate at noon, with the winner of that game advancing to the championship round. The losers of game one and two play in the 4 p.m. elimination game on Friday, while game five pits the winner of game four against the loser of game three in another elimination game at 7 p.m. Due to multiple commencement conflicts, the championship round will take place on Sunday, May 14, as NCAC policies prohibit conference competitions, including tournaments, on commencement dates. The start time for Sunday's championship round is currently set at 11 a.m. All game times are tentative and are subject to change to accommodate weather and Sunday games must be completed by 6 p.m. ET per NCAA policies.

Please consult WoosterAthletics.com or @WoosterSports on Twitter for updates to game times as the tournament progresses.

Spectator Information: Admission for adults is $7.00 per day. Admission for children (18-and-under) and students from a NCAC institution (with ID) is $3.00 per day. All tickets are cash only.

Media Coverage: Live stats and livestreaming for all games of the NCAC Tournament will be available. Fans can find the links on the Wooster baseball schedule page. Fans can also follow the team on Twitter @WoosterBaseball for periodic score updates and check for end-of-day recaps at WoosterAthletics.com.

Home and Away Designations: The top seed is the home team for games one through five of the NCAC Tournament. The winner of game three is the home team for game six and the visitors for the "if-necessary" game seven.

NCAC Tournament Success: Wooster has won a league-best 13 NCAC Tournaments and has made the championship round/championships series of the league tournament 21 times since the tournament started in 1991. Wooster has won four of the last 10 league tournaments/championships series. Wooster is making its league-leading 31st appearance in the NCAC Tournament/NCAC Championship Series and the Fighting Scots are the lone NCAC team to make the field every year. Wooster is 73-41 all-time in the NCAC Tournament, 17-9 all-time versus Denison, 14-3 versus Wittenberg, and 4-4 versus Wabash.

Looking Back at the 2022 NCAC Tournament: Denison won its third straight NCAC Tournament/Championships Series, pulling into a tie with Allegheny College for the third-most all-time. It was American Baseball Coaches Association first-team All-American and Gold Glove winner Ben Gbur's night at his summer home. The Chillicothe Paints star blasted a game-altering three-run home run, then fired three innings of shutout baseball to cap Thursday's 5-3 win over Wittenberg. In the winners' game, 10 of Denison's 11 runs came with two outs, and that helped the Big Red to an 11-3 win. Alumnus Dominic Stilliana's third-inning leadoff home run gave Wooster a lead that was not relinquished, as the Scots made the championship round by eliminating DePauw University 5-3. In the championship round, All-American alumnus Tyler Chumita crushed a game-tying home run, and then-junior pinch hitter Dane Camphausen (McLean, Va./Landon School) tattooed a go-ahead double off the wall in left field, as Wooster forced the winner-take-all game of the NCAC Tournament with a 5-4 win. A school-record 14 strikeouts by Kenny Lippman and a five-run second inning were too much for the Scots to overcome in the decisive game, won by the Big Red 8-1.

Looking Back at the Wooster-Denison Doubleheader: Denison, which was ranked 13th in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 Poll at the time, backed up its first-place NCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll ranking with a sweep over co-second-place forecasted Wooster on April 15. Denison won game one 8-2 and took the nightcap 11-0. Wooster junior second baseman Eli Westrick (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) finished with three hits in the doubleheader. Josh Bohn went 4-for-6 with four RBI, two runs scored, and a double to lead Denison. Ari Fierer was another of the Big Red's big performers, going 4-for-7 with five runs scored and two RBI. Denison's Nick Falter fired a two-hit shutout in the nightcap.

Looking Back at the Wooster-Wittenberg Doubleheader: Wittenberg's dominant starting pitching carried the Tigers to an April 8 sweep over Wooster. Wittenberg took game one 5-3 and captured the nightcap 7-3. Nick Cunningham handcuffed Wooster for five innings in the opener, facing just one over the minimum during that stretch. Westrick broke up the no-hitter with a two-out single to center field in the sixth inning. Camphausen erased the brewing shutout with his 30th-career home run in the seventh inning. Camphausen became the 15th Wooster great to hit the 30 benchmark, and the two-run blast to left field pulled Wooster within 5-2. Camphausen finished the afternoon 4-for-7 with three RBI and two runs scored, and he was a triple shy of a cycle for the day. Matt Moore had five hits for Wittenberg.

Looking Back at the Wooster-Wabash Doubleheader: Well-placed bunts and pure speed gave Wooster the edge it needed to turn away Wabash in a 9-4 game-one win on May 6. However, the Scots ran out of steam in the 11th inning, enabling the Little Giants to claim the nightcap 8-4. Junior shortstop Grant Mitchell's (Avon, Ohio/Avon) bunt single kick started the Scots' five-run eighth inning in the opener. Wabash could not get to first-year center fielder John Panstares' (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius/IMG)  bunt in time to get the speedster at first base. Sophomore outfielder Leo Widtmann (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) also beat out a bunt for a hit in the game-one win. Wabash scored four runs without recording a hit in the decisive 11th inning in game two. Wooster's pitchers walked six in the inning.

Pitching Gem Headlines Doc's Milestone: Wooster head coach Barry Craddock, often referred to as Doc, won his 250th game as a collegiate head coach on March 14 when the Scots beat Arcadia University 5-1. The 1994 Wooster alumnus, who was a key pitcher, received a standout performance from first-year right-hander Devin Anthony (Chardon, Ohio/Hawken School) in the milestone win. Anthony, who was making his first collegiate start, fired eight innings of four-hit shutout baseball. Anthony sent the Knights back to the dugout in order in the first, second, and fourth innings. The righty retired nine in a row, with that streak getting snapped by a two-out single in the fifth inning. No Arcadia baserunner reached scoring position on Anthony until the eighth inning.

Kramer Snags National Honors for Debut: First-year Ryan Kramer's (Chicago, Ill./Latin School of Chicago) immediate impact on Wooster's baseball team resulted in the infielder being voted as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III co-Rookie of the Month for February. Kramer went 6-for-10 with three RBI, three runs scored, and two doubles in Wooster's season-opening split with Grove City College on February 25. The Scots' cleanup hitter announced his arrival to the collegiate scene with a 5-for-6 nightcap, during which he had three RBI, three runs, and two doubles in a 19-7 win. Kramer became the fourth Scot to earn weekly or monthly honors from the NCBWA since the organization began sponsoring awards at the Div. III level in 2003. Alumnus Aaron Spidell was Wooster's most recent winner, capturing the NCBWA Div. III Hitter of the Week award on March 15, 2020. Kramer went on to earn NCAC Athlete of the Week honors for games played April 17-23. Kramer slashed .533/.625/.800 during a 4-1 week for the Scots, which included NCAC sweeps over Ohio Wesleyan University and DePauw. Kramer drew seven walks, scored four times, and had a homer and double in addition to his team-leading 10 RBI on the week.

Camphausen Scores Host of Honors: Camphausen, who ranks second on the team with a .378 average (34-for-90) is along the team leaders in RBI (29), runs (29), homers (10), and doubles (8). He was the NCBWA Div. III Honorable Mention Hitter of the Week for games played April 3-9. Camphausen slashed .579/.667/1.368 during the five-game stretch, going 11-for-19 with 11 RBI, 10 runs scored, five walks, four home runs, and three doubles. He hit three home runs during a doubleheader sweep over Kenyon College, which helped land him on D3baseball.com's Team of the Week for the second time this spring.

Westrick Leading the Way: Westrick is Wooster's top hitter, evidenced by ranking second in the NCAC in average (.418, 66-for-158) and hits. His .495 on-base percentage is fourth-best within the NCAC. Westrick is within the top-50 of toughest players to strike out in NCAA Div. III, and he has just nine strikeouts in over 180 plate appearances on the year. Westrick has 20 multi-hit games on the year and has hit safely in all but six games. Westrick enters the NCAC Tournament riding back-to-back three-hit showings against Wabash and seventh-ranked Baldwin Wallace University. He is nine hits shy of becoming the 19th player in program history with at least 75 hits.

Samangy, Sullivan Always at the Ready: Seniors Ethan Samangy (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and Ryan Sullivan (Amesbury, Mass./Berwick Academy (Maine)) are two of the most trusted arms for the Scots. They both made 25 appearances during last year's run to the Super Regionals, with that ranking seventh on the program's single-season leaderboard. Samangy pitched in 10 postseason games during Wooster's run to the NCAA Div. III Super Regionals, including all five at the Alton Regional. He had three one-two-three innings against fifth-ranked Webster University, needing just 22 pitches to get through nine batters. Sullivan has split time between No. 2 starter and reliever this year. Sullivan's senior year is headlined by allowing one run on three hits in six innings during an 11-7 win over DePauw on April 22.

Mitchell Honored Twice by D3baseball.com: Mitchell, who is batting .264 (38-for-144) on the year, has made D3baseball.com's Team of the Week twice this season. Mitchell went 4-for-10 with a team-leading five RBI in the season-opening doubleheader against Grove City in February. He returned to the national team after going 8-for-12 at the dish with 11 RBI, six runs scored, seven walks, two doubles, two triples, and a homer the last week of March. At the time, that week's impressive stat line saw his season average climb from .231 to .313 and the on-base percentage shoot up to .421 from .298. Mitchell has eight triples on the year, which is tied for the most in single-season program history.

A New Crew: Wooster graduated its entire starting outfield from last spring. With the team's strength lying in the infield, senior Dean Brown (Kensington, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal School) transitioned to the team's starting right fielder. The four-year starter is having another solid all-around year with a .291 average (34-for-117) with 26 RBI and 25 runs scored. Panstares has emerged as the every day center fielder, and is one of the team's top hitters, coming into the NCAC Tournament with a .354 average (34-for-96). Panstares is one of three Scots with over 30 runs scored on the year. Senior Jack Whitehouse (Asheville, N.C./Asheville), who is hitting .480 (12-for-25) during his current nine-game hitting streak, has been one of the regulars in the corner outfield spots of late, while Widtmann (.324, 22-for-68) has seen time all over the Scots' outfield and at designated hitter. Widtmann has been a mainstay in the middle part of the lineup of late.

Leslie Shining in Rookie Season: First-year Colin Leslie (Chicago, Ill./University of Chicago Laboratory Schools) has done the bulk of the catching on the year. Leslie, who has appeared in 31 games, enters the NCAC Tournament batting .269 (25-for-93) with 18 RBI and 18 runs scored. He has thrown out eight of 29 base stealers on the year.

Knauf is Wooster's Ace: Junior Corey Knauf (Vienna, Va./Bishop O'Connell), who struck out 15 batters last season against Williams College – the most by a Scot since 1944 – is the team's ace this year. He enters the NCAC Tournament with a 3-2 record and a 3.61 ERA over 52 1/3 innings. Knauf opened the year with seven innings of two-hit shutout baseball against Grove City.

Wielansky Shines for Team Israel at World Baseball Classic: Michael Wielansky, the Houston Astros' 18th-round selection in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-year Player Draft following his junior season at Wooster, played for Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic. The 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association Div. III Position Player of the Year, the 2018 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winner, and the second known player in Div. III history with 200 hits, 200 runs, and 150 RBI before the end of his junior year, was involved in three double plays against Team Venezuela. He had two hits in the game as well.