Published: May 13, 2008 11:45 pm            

Rose baseball's goal: Not just host, win Division III tournament

Young Engineers hope home field can lead

TERRE HAUTE — In the last six years, Rose-Hulman has hosted NCAA-related events for women’s basketball, indoor track, swimming and baseball.

The Engineers themselves have not participated in any of those events with a team of their own … until tonight.

Rose-Hulman will host a Division III baseball regional for the third time in four seasons and the Engineers will be among the six participating teams in the double-elimination tournament. After falling to Transylvania — itself a part of the Terre Haute field — in Saturday’s Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game, the Engineers sweated it out for two days before getting an at-large bid on Monday.

“We’re lucky enough to have the facilities to host a lot of these things and you see a lot of the other teams get their turn. It’s huge for us to be in the tournament. It’s just nice to be a part of something this big,” Rose-Hulman shortstop Tim Tepe said.

In addition to HCAC members Rose-Hulman and Transylvania, Heidelberg, Wooster, Calvin and Adrian make up the rest of the field. Heidelberg is seeded No. 1 overall. Rose-Hulman (31-13) made a 10-win improvement from 2007. The Engineers’ batting average jumped 20 points (.320 from .300) and it ERA jumped by half a run (3.78 from 4.35). Many of the Engineers said their turnaround had its genesis in buying into themselves early on.

It’s a young Rose-Hulman team. The Engineers’ top seven hitters who started 10 or more games — Tepe .389, Keenan Long .388, Chandler Kent .377, Troy Eveslage .354, Andrew Bilse .306, Michael Kovacs .298, Reed Eason .295 — are all sophomores or freshmen.

“We used a lot of guys early, established some depth, and some guys have adapted and accepted their roles,” said Rose-Hulman coach Jeff Jenkins on the success of the Engineers’ young players. “We had some great senior leadership. We don’t have a big senior class, but they did a great job of leading.”

As is the case with any tournament-format, Rose-Hulman’s three regular starters will be tested. Senior Michael Matsui (10-1, 2.06) is the ace, but Derek Eitel (8-3, 2.63) and Luis Bougrat (6-2, 3.99) are also stout. Sam Deters (2.66) has been an effective closer for the Engineers.

Rose-Hulman played a grueling HCAC Tournament slate which included three games in one day in Saturday’s championship round, playing 28 innings overall. It proved too much for the Engineers to overcome, but the experience will likely help them in a more reasonable format this week.

“I think we found out that aside from having a lot of talent compared to the other teams, we have a lot of heart,” Long said. “That will help us this week.”

The field is evenly matched. Wooster College boasts the best offensive statistics of the six teams, especially in power numbers as the Fighting Scots’ 53 home runs dwarf the next-best total of Transylvania (28 home runs). Pat Christensen’s 11 home runs lead the way for Wooster as its .335 batting average is also the best in the field, though every participant is hitting at least .316.

Heidelberg has the best ERA at 3.58, Rose-Hulman is second at 3.78. Heidelberg’s strength is its bullpen. Three players who have 10 or more appearances (Andy Lowe, Jake Gossman, Steve Calevro) have ERA’s under 2.16.

Rose-Hulman has played two teams in the tournament field. It swept two from Adrian in March and went 2-4 against Transylvania.



NCAA Division III

Baseball Regional

At Rose-Hulman

(double-elimination)

Today

No. 1 Heidelberg (37-8) vs. No. 6 Transylvania (31-12), Noon

No. 2 Wooster (34-9) vs. No. 5 Adrian (30-10), 3:30 p.m.

No. 3 Calvin (32-8) vs. No. 4 Rose-Hulman (31-13), 7 p.m.

Thursday

Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, Noon

Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:30 p.m.

Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 7 p.m.

Friday

Games at Noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Teams depend on who advances.

Saturday

Game at Noon; championship game at 3:30 p.m.



The participating schools

• Heidelberg — Located in Tiffin, Ohio, nickname is Student Princes. … Making its second consecutive appearance in a NCAA regional … automatic qualifier as winner of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament.

• Wooster — Located in Wooster, Ohio, nickname is Fighting Scots. … Making its fifth consecutive NCAA regional appearance and 23rd overall … at-large selection.

• Calvin — Located in Grand Rapids, Mich., nickname is Knights. … Making its fourth NCAA regional appearance … automatic qualifier as winner of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament.

• Rose-Hulman — Making its third NCAA regional appearance and first since 1996 … at-large selection.

• Adrian — Located in Adrian, Mich., nickname is Bulldogs. … Making it third NCAA regional appearance … at-large selection.

• Transylvania — Located in Lexington, Ky., nickname is Pioneers. … Making its first NCAA appearance … automatic qualifier as winner of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

        

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