NCAC Championship Series Preview: Baseball

NCAC Championships Central | NCAC Baseball Championship Central

This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster baseball team (24-11) earned the top seed from the North Coast Athletic Conference East Division, and with it, the right to host the 2021 NCAC Baseball Championship Series. The Fighting Scots will take on Denison University (21-10), the top seed from the West Division. Game one is slated for noon on Thursday, May 20 at Art Murray Field, with game two to follow approximately 30 minutes after game one ends. Game three, if necessary, is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21, and Sunday, May 23 is available as a rain date, should it be needed.

Spectator Information: Wooster announced updated spectator policies pertaining to the NCAC Championship Series on May 17. Please read the full policies HERE prior to Thursday's contests. Those invited as spectators include:

• College of Wooster students, faculty, and staff
• Each participating student-athlete from both participating institutions can have two (2) guests included on a pass list managed by each institution. Each participating institution is managing its pass list. Coaches will send the pass list to The College of Wooster by 4 p.m. EDT on May 19, 2021.

• Full policies can be found HERE. Please read them prior to Thursday's contest. The highlights include:
• All spectators will be expected to wear masks covering nose and mouth at all times while on The College of Wooster's campus.
• Wooster pass list guests, students, faculty, and staff should park and check in at the baseball parking lot. Seating will be in the bleachers on the first base side.
• Denison pass list guests should park in the spaces along Gasche Street, walk along the outfield fence, and check in at the left field foul pole. Seating will be in the bleachers on the third base side.

Ticket Information: Per conference policy, there will be no ticket charges at any 2021 spring NCAC championship events that permit spectators.

Media Coverage: Live stats (game one link, game two link, game three link) and live video (same link for all games) will be available. Additionally, fans can follow the baseball team's Twitter handle @WoosterBaseball for periodic updates and @WoosterSports for post-game updates. Fans can also view the NCAC Baseball Championship Central for additional information.

Home & Away Designations: Per NCAC policy, a coin flip has been conducted to determine the home team for games one and two. Denison will be the home team for game one, while Wooster will be the home team for game two. Should a deciding third game be needed, a coin flip will take place to determine the home team for that contest.

Wooster the Top Dog in the NCAC: Wooster's in search of its league-leading 20th NCAC title this week, and the Scots are hopeful to win an unprecedented fifth consecutive conference championship. Wooster made history in 2019 – the last time a conference champion was named – as the Scots became the first team in conference history to win four consecutive conference titles. Wooster's in the midst of a NCAC-leading sixth stretch of winning at least two straight conference championships. Denison is still in search of its first-ever NCAC title.

NCAC Tournament Success: Wooster's won a league-best 13 NCAC Tournaments and has made the championship round/championship series of the league tournament 21 times since the tournament started back in 1991. Wooster's won four of the last eight league tournaments.

A Look-Back at the 2019 NCAC Tournament: Denison upended Wooster twice in the championship round to win its first-ever NCAC Tournament title. Denison scored five times in the first two innings of the winner-take-all game, then held off Wooster's rally to win 7-5 on May 11, 2019 at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. A day prior, Denison's three-run ninth lifted the Big Red to a 5-3 win. Wooster opened the NCAC Tournament with a 10-4 win over Wabash College, then ran away from Denison 19-3 in the winners' bracket game. Alumni Chandler Dippman, Dan Harwood, and Jacob Stuursma earned spots on the all-tournament team, as did current senior Evan Faxon.

We Sweep You, You Sweep Us: Wooster swept Denison on the road back on March 27, 11-6 and 14-0, then the Big Red returned the favor on March 28 at Art Murray Field, winning 11-9 and 13-8. Senior Jay DiBacco took the bump in game two of the four-game set and faced three batter over the minimum during his two-hit shutout. The right-hander overcame a leadoff single in the first, thanks to junior catcher Michael Thomas, who threw out Daniel Spencer trying to steal second. From there, the Scots' senior was flat out dominant, with a pair of strikeouts in the opening frame. That kick-started a stretch of 10 Big Red hitters in a row retired, with Brian McAuliffe breaking that up by reaching on a fielding error in the fourth. After a one-two-three sixth inning, DiBacco ran into a bit of a jam in the seventh, before senior second baseman Gabe Sherman, junior shortstop Tyler Chumita, and junior first baseman Colin Springer turned a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

In game one of the series, Wooster worked its way back from a 6-2 deficit over the final two innings of regulation to force extras. In the seventh, Wooster's lineup got the best of closer Henry Haack, with junior catcher Alex Gasper lacing a sharp single to left to knock in the game-tying run. In the eighth, Wooster struck for five runs with two outs, with Gasper delivering the final blow via a two-run insurance single.

Fielding miscues haunted Wooster when Denison visited on March 28, with the Scots making seven errors over the 14 innings of play.

Mr. 20: Junior right fielder Ben Hines did something this spring only nine other Wooster baseball legends can lay claim to – have a 20-game hitting streak. Hines reached the historic mark with his second-inning RBI single in April 25's 13-11 win over Hiram College. It's the 13th 20-game hitting streak in program history, as three Wooster legends – W Association Hall of Famers Jake Frank and Trevor Urban and Sean Karpen – had a pair of 20-game hitting streaks during their remarkable careers. Hines hit .462 (36-for-78) with 26 runs, 23 RBI, four doubles, four triples, and a homer during his streak. He also walked 10 times and was 10-for-12 on stolen bases.

"Gone to Souvenir City": Wooster mashed eight home runs during a 28-5 rout over Hiram on April 4. At the time, it marked the most home runs in a game in Div. III this year. It's the third-most homers in a game in program history trailing the Div. III single-game record of 13 against Kenyon College from March 29, 1986, and the 11 the Scots had against the University of Mount Union on April 27, 2009. Sophomore third baseman Dean Brown had three round-trippers in the game, and he's the first Scot to do that since All-American Jamie Lackner did so against Muskingum University on March 25, 2015.

Faxon Stimies Ohio Wesleyan University and Wittenberg University: Faxon fired a three-hit shutout while striking out six in a season-opening 1-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan on March 20. The left-hander had four one-two-three innings and only allowed one Battling Bishop to reach third base. Of note, the 1-0 final marked the first 1-0 final score in a game Wooster's played in at Art Murray Field since the Scots lost 1-0 against Wittenberg on April 22, 1978. Speaking of Wittenberg, Faxon had a second three-hit shutout against the Tigers on May 6. He retired the final 11 Wittenberg batters he faced, faced three batters over the minimum, didn't allow any extra-base hits, and only one Tiger reached scoring position.

Craddock 200: Wooster picked up head coach Barry Craddock's 200th career victory on April 18. Craddock, a 1994 Wooster alumnus, is in his second year as head coach at his alma mater. He previously led Denison to a 183-120 record from 2000-07.