by Matt Koll
The sun is shining (mostly), the weather is finally starting to break and we’ve got postseason baseball. It’s a familiar program serving as the top seed and host of the tournament, too. This spring marks the fifth straight season the Washington & Jefferson Presidents are top dogs heading in, finishing the regular season with a stellar 25-2 record in PAC play. Not only that, but it’s their 13th straight tournament appearance and they are fresh off of a championship in 2021.
But we’ve still got games to play, folks. Three other teams are vying for their shot at the title, so let’s look at what the bracket features this year.
#1 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON (32-8, 26-2)
Alright, a couple more accolades for this team heading in…they are currently ranked as the No. 5 team in Region VII and the 23rd-ranked team in the latest Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Writers Association Division III Poll.
Winning has become part of the culture for 20th year head coach Jeff Mountain. But it didn’t happen overnight.
“I think there’s a level of expectation in place within the program that is set by the upperclassmen each year. Really at all levels, in all team sports, things generally happen in gradual increments,” said Mountain. “For us years ago it was qualifying for the tournament. Then it was winning the tournament. Then it was qualifying for a regional. Eventually the goal realistically evolved into winning a regional.”
No different this year, obviously. But Mountain also said that this year’s tournament field is the league’s best since 2018 and the competition continues to get more and more difficult.
The Presidents bring a power game to the plate, hitting 15 home runs this season than any other team in the league (34). Their 3.32 ERA is also just two points behind Grove City for the best mark in the conference and they also own the PAC’s best fielding percentage. It’s tough to find holes in their game.
Individually, the Presidents boast four of the top 15 hitters in the league in terms of batting average with junior Tyler Horvat’s .436 leading the way, good for 2nd in the PAC. Senior Peter Kalinski’s .387 (5th), junior Evan Sante’s .359 (9th) and senior Nate Rush’s .344 (14th) also make the list. On the mound, the Presidents boast a deadly trio of Horvat, senior Jameson Campbell and senior Henry Litman all in top 10 in ERA leaders.
Next game: Thursday at 1 pm vs. No. 4 Westminster
#2 SAINT VINCENT BEARCATS (24-12, 20-6 PAC)
It took 11 innings, but the Bearcats are a team that can say they gave W&J one of their two losses this season in PAC play. Saint Vincent has two offensive catalysts who makes this lineup one of the most dangerous in the conference. Sophomore Billy Perroz paces them with his .419 batting average, good for third-best in the PAC, along with 4 home runs, 9 doubles and 26 RBI. Grad student TJ Dailey has some more pop in his bat, belting eight home runs on the season, while sporting a .359 average (9th PAC) and 1o doubles.
Having TJ Dailey back has been huge for us,” said head coach Mick Janosko. “Coming off a strong season in 2021, I was really hoping that he could continue with his success and he has certainly done that. He has such a good approach at the plate and his swing is short and quick, which is what I preach. He is so strong and developed that the ball just jumps off of his bat. The addition of Billy Perroz this spring has also been big for us. He pretty much hits behind TJ in the order so if a team chooses to work around Dailey, Perroz presents another challenge.”
The Bearcats will have to overcome a rocky end to the season, finishing the regular season slate 2-3 in series against Westminster and Grove City. But Janosko knows that he has a roster full of players who have been in this tournament before and when they play their best, they have a chance to beat anyone.
“This team is not afraid of a challenge,” he says.
Next game: Thursday at 4 pm vs. No. 3 Grove City
#3 GROVE CITY (27-12, 18-8 PAC)
The Wolverines aren’t your typical No. 3 seed. Statistically, there are right behind top-seeded W&J in many categories, including team batting average (.307), hits (406) and have the edge over the Presidents in team ERA at 3.30 and team strikeouts (314). Grove City just beat W&J by a 7-6 final score in 10 innings on May 4.
Elite pitching and defense has served them well this season and could be the reason they end up as champions when all is said and done. Tate Ostrowski has been the ace of the league this year. Racking up 82 innings pitched, by far the most by any pitcher, Ostrowski posted an 8-1 record with a whopping 90 strikeouts and a PAC-leading 1.54 ERA. Evan Umland burst onto the scene as a freshman and finished with an impressive 2.80 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched. Sophomore Nick Guidas has done the same in his 58 innings pitched, a 2.79 ERA with 69 strikeouts.
Meanwhile offensively, freshman Mally Kilbane has posted a .370 batting average to go along with 50 hits (3rd PAC) and 27 RBI. The Wolverines are a combined 3-5 against tournament teams this season.
Next game: Thursday at 4 pm vs. No. 2 Saint Vincent
#4 WESTMINSTER (22-17, 17-10 PAC)
The Titans have gone through their ups and downs, especially to end the season. Westminster won three in a row with a win against Thiel and two wins against Saint Vincent at the end of April. But they haven’t won yet in the month of May, finishing out the regular season on a 5-game losing skid.
They’ll go into their first game matchup having just seen the W&J Presidents, unfortunately getting swept in a three-game series. But the Titans had the fourth-best offense in the PAC in terms of batting average at .291. Senior Seth Schrader is one of the PAC’s best hitters and has been a run-producing machine with 40 RBI and a .348 batting average.
Westminster is a combined 4-5 against the other tournament teams this season.
Next game: Thursday at 1 pm vs. No. 1 W&J
