May 17, 2010

Rose-Hulman Baseball Off to Augustana for NCAA Tournament

Live Stats (click here)

Release courtesy of Rose-Hulman

TERRE HAUTE, IN -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology baseball team will head to Augustana College in Moline, Ill., to compete in the six-team NCAA Division III Central Regional starting this Wednesday.

The Fightin' Engineers have earned the No. 5 seed in the regional and will square off with North Central College in the tournament opener on Wednesday afternoon. The specific time must be confirmed by the games committee and will be released later on Monday.

Rose-Hulman stands 29-12 on the season and won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday to clinch its third consecutive bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Fightin' Engineers feature a roster of 12 seniors that have combined for 114 victories since 2007.

North Central received the No. 2 seed after winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season championship. The Cardinals look to rebound after suffering consecutive defeats to open the CCIW Tournament last weekend. On the season, North Central has compiled a 31-9 overall record.

North Central's season featured a remarkable turnaround of the program for head coach John Fitzgerald. The Cardinals finished 11-25-1 overall in 2009, and have improved their win total by 20 games already this season.

Buena Vista College won the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday to earn the top seed in the regional. The Beavers secured their first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament since 1981 by sweeping through the IIAC Tournament in three straight games.

The Beavers will square off with Illinois Wesleyan University in the tournament opener on Wednesday afternoon. Illinois Wesleyan captured the No. 6 seed in the regional after winning the CCIW Tournament last weekend. The Titans stand 23-20 overall and will make their fourth tournament trip since 2001. Illinois Wesleyan last appeared in the national tournament in 2008.

Ripon College captured the No. 3 seed after winning the Midwest Conference Championship last weekend. The Redhawks stand 24-15 overall and will make their 18th trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament, including their first trip since 2007. Ripon enters the tournament on a 13-game winning streak.

The most consistent tournament team over the past four years has been No. 4 seeded Webster University, winners of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend. The Gorloks are 33-9 overall and making their fifth trip in the last six years to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Webster finished 21-3 in league play and won the SLIAC Tournament in three straight games last weekend.

Links to in-game coverage of the NCAA Division III Central Regional will be available at www.rose-hulman.edu/sports. All tournament contests will be broadcast live online on WMHD 90.7 FM and online at the Fightin' Engineer athletic website.