HCAC Baseball Championship Up for Grabs this Weekend
May 2, 2008
GREENWOOD , IN – The HCAC baseball regular season will conclude this weekend as four teams continue to hold out hope for a championship. Rose-Hulman was won eight straight and 10 of their last 11 to race to the top of the standings and will look to hold that spot this weekend as they travel down to Transylvania. Mount St. Joseph currently sits a game behind the Engineers and will look for a sweep of Defiance to sweeten their title chances. The Lions have won nine of their last 11 heading into the final weekend of action. Franklin still holds an outside chance to earn the conference crown after winning three of their past four games. The Grizzlies will tangle with rival Hanover for a doubleheader on Saturday.
The Engineers (27-9, 14-4 HCAC) continued their winning ways last week as they earned a three game sweep of Hanover and a single victory over Anderson. Rose will face a tough three game set down in Lexington on Saturday and Sunday as both the Engineers and Pioneers have a shot to earn the conference championship. Sophomore infielder Chandler Kent (Antioch, Ill./H.S.) leads the team at the plate with a .392 average and also has 11 doubles and 22 RBI. Sophomore Tim Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) is batting .368 with 15 doubles, three home runs, and 41 RBI. The Rose-Hulman pitching staff has been tremendous this season. Senior Michael Matsui (Joliet, Ill./ Plainfield South) leads the HCAC in ERA (1.96) and holds an 8-1 record for RHIT. Sophomore Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill./H.S.) holds a 2.00 ERA, while posting an 8-2 record and 66 strikeouts in a league-high 76.2 innings of work. Senior reliever Sam Deters (Teutopolis, Ill./H.S.) sports a 1.71 ERA and seven saves in 15 appearances.
Transylvania (26-9, 13-6 HCAC) lost a little ground last week after losing two of three to Bluffton. The Pioneers held a seven game win streak before the Beavers took two of the three contests. Sophomore Adam Clark (Ashland, Ky./Paul Blazer) leads the conference in batting average (.429) and runs scored (44) this season , while also contributing eight doubles, three home runs, and 26 RBI. Sophomore first baseman Ben Young (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) has provided plenty of power to the middle of the lineup, leading the league with seven home runs and 45 RBI. On the mound for Transy, junior Adam Wilkins (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) holds a 3.77 ERA and a 7-2 mark, while senior Ben Luking (Louisville, Ky./Ballard) stands 7-1 with a 4.80 ERA.
The two squads will meet in Lexington for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 PM before completing the three-game set on Sunday at 12:00 PM.
In other conference action…
Mount St. Joseph will hope for some help from Transylvania against Rose-Hulman as the Lions host Defiance for a three game set. The Mount (21-15, 13-5 HCAC) won two of three against Manchester last weekend and posted a 4-2 win over Hanover to stay hot. They will look to improve upon their nine wins in their last 11 games as the Jackets (5-25, 1-18 HCAC) come to Cincinnati. Freshman Ben Stroube (North Bend, Ohio/St. Xavier) is batting .396 with three triples, three home runs, a league-best 16 doubles, and 21 RBI. Freshman outfielder Ryan Rodriguez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) is chipping in a .367 average with 40 runs scored, 12 doubles, five home runs, and 32 RBI. Junior pitcher Todd Schwertman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) has been the leader of the Lions’ staff with a 2.57 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Sophomore Steve Matre (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) has been solid out of the bullpen, holding a 0.71 ERA, eight saves, and 35 strikeouts in 17 appearances.
Franklin travels to Hanover to finish a three game set with the Panthers on Saturday. The two squads met Thursday night in Indianapolis at Victory Field as the Grizzlies earned a 4-0 victory in the series opener. Franklin (23-12, 14-6 HCAC) will need two wins on Saturday against Hanover (8-25, 3-17 HCAC) to stay alive for the conference title. Junior outfielder Joel Chrobak (LaPorte, Ind./H.S.) is batting .374, while ranking among the conference leaders in home runs (7), RBI (42), and slugging percentage (.667). Junior Lance Noel (Union, Ky./Ryle) has joined Chrobak in the middle of the order with a .355 average, 42 runs scored, nine doubles, five homers, and 23 RBI. The Franklin pitching staff has made a living striking out batters all season long. Senior Andy Clark (Louisville, Ky./Seneca) and junior Jared Applegate (Scottsburg, Ind./H.S.) have ranked at the top of the conference leader board all season in the strikeout category. Clark holds a 3.54 ERA and a 9-2 record with a league-best 82 punch outs. Applegate has countered with 78 strikeouts of his own and holds a 5-2 mark for FC.
Anderson has been eliminated from the conference championship hunt but still holds hope of making the four-team conference post-season tournament. The Ravens (21-14, 11-8 HCAC) earned a sweep of Defiance last week as their offense exploded for 23 runs in the first game of the doubleheader and 28 runs in the second game. AU will face Bluffton (15-20, 7-12 HCAC) in a three game set on each of the school’s campuses this weekend. Sophomore shortstop Daniel Hiatt (Elwood, Ind./Madison-Grant) leads the team with a .389 average at the plate and has driven in 31 runs. Junior catcher Brad Lantz (Lapel, Ind./H.S.) is batting .350 with 33 runs scored, seven doubles, six home runs, and 31 RBI. Sophomore pitcher Aaron Vogel (Fairmount, Ind./Madison-Grant) leads the pitching staff with a 3.35 ERA and a 3-0 record.
Baseball Schedule May 2-May 5
May 2 |
Defiance at Mount St. Joseph |
6:00 PM |
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May 3 |
Manchester at Centre (DH) |
12:00 PM |
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Bluffton at Anderson (DH) |
12:00 PM |
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Defiance at Mount St. Joseph (DH) |
12:00 PM |
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Franklin at Hanover (DH) |
1:00 PM |
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Rose-Hulman at Transylvania (DH) |
1:00 PM |
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May 4 |
Rose-Hulman at Transylvania |
12:00 PM |
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Anderson at Bluffton |
5:00 PM |
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May 5 |
Transylvania at Thomas More |
4:00 PM |