Tom Heeman Farmingdale State College	Sean Karpen The College of Wooster	Sean Killeen Trinity College	Mike Moceri Kean University
Tristan Phillips Chapman University	Trace Ruffie Carthage College	Matt Schuld University of St. Thomas	Greg Van Sickler Shenandoah University

May 21, 2009 • Grand Chute, Wis.

There’s the traditional powers seeking their first titles, the two most recent national champions, the first-timers and the two championship programs that are among the winningest of the past decade.

When comparing the participants in the 2009 NCAA Division III baseball championship, there’s no need to look further than the first round pairings. Each of the eight teams can look at its opening round opponent for a mirror image of its own tournament history.

Those conveniently arranged matchups give the 2009 championship a unique flavor when the 34th annual event takes place at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis. for the 10th consecutive year on May 22-26. The event is co-hosted by Lawrence University and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Carthage College and the College of Wooster have combined to make 12 trips to the finals, but both are seeking their first national title. Carthage is in its seventh trip, including its second in three seasons, while Wooster made its most recent appearance in 2005. The teams met on March 16 in Florida with Wooster claiming a 9-5 victory in 11 innings.

Carthage had winning streaks of 12 and 13 games during the season and brings a 36-7 record into the tournament, having won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season and tournament titles. Senior catcher Mike Hughes was the conference’s Co-Hitter of the Year and leads the Red Men with nine home runs and 55 RBI’s while batting .356. Junior Trace Ruffie was the league’s Pitcher of the Year and carries a 5-1 record with a 3.07 ERA. Junior Jordan Jaehne-Llanas earned Most Valuable Player honors in the regional after throwing a complete game win in an 8-3 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the title game. Jaehne-Llanas has an 8-2 record with a 1.99 ERA for the season.

Wooster scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a dramatic 4-3 win over Marietta in the regional championship game. The Scots won the North Coast Athletic Conference crown with a 39-9 overall record and are led by senior outfielder Sean Karpen who earned NCAC Player of the Year laurels for the second straight year. The team’s leadoff hitter, Karpen hit .424 and had hits in 46 of the team’s 48 games. Junior Matt Groezinger leads the team with 11 home runs and 68 RBI’s. Sophomore Justin McDowell was the regional MVP and received NCAC Pitcher of the Year accolades while leading the country in victories with a 12-2 record and 2.27 ERA.

Trinity College is back to defend its title and looks to become the first repeat champion since Rowan University in 1978-79. Division III baseball has gone the longest of any of the NCAA’s 88 championships without a repeat champion after the Bantams’ first round opponent, Kean University, failed to come home with last year’s title after winning in 2007. The Cougars are making their third straight trip to the finals.

Trinity made headlines in 2008 with a 45-1 record and the only loss coming in the national finals to Johns Hopkins. The Bantams are 32-5 this season and opened 2009 with seven straight wins before its 50-game regular season winning streak was snapped in a loss to Denison University on March 20. Trinity’s pitching staff ranks third in the country with a 2.67 ERA and is led by senior Jeremiah Bayer, who leads the nation in wins and ERA with a 12-0 record and 0.49 ERA. Bayer earned regional Most Valuable Player honors and was the New England Small College Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. Senior catcher Sean Killeen was the league’s Player of the Year and has 53 RBI’s with 11 home runs, including an eighth-inning grand slam in the conference title game against Tufts University. Killeen has a .467 average, while junior first baseman Kent Graham is hitting .426 with 10 home runs and 54 RBI’s.

Kean rolled through the regional undefeated for the third straight year, ousting Keystone College 12-6 in the title game. The Cougars, who are 38-9, won the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the third straight year and are led by conference Player of the Year Michael Moceri. A junior second baseman, Moceri drove in 57 runs and hit .436 with 82 hits and just eight strikeouts in 188 at-bats. Senior catcher Mike Manganiello hit .362 and was the regional Most Valuable Player. The Cougars feature a deep pitching staff with seven players with at least three wins. Junior Joel Bartlinski was the NJAC Pitcher of the Year and owns a 7-3 record with a 4.05 ERA, while senior Brandon Aich is among the nation’s leaders with 10 saves.

Two squads make their first appearance in the finals as Shenandoah University went undefeated through its regional in its first tournament appearance and Farmingdale State College rallied to upend Rensselaer Poly Institute twice to claim a berth in its second trip to the tournament.

Shenandoah reached the Fox Cities Stadium by riding an offense that averages 10.8 runs per game and has posted a .364 batting average. The Hornets are 37-8 and rolled through the regional behind leading hitter Scott Lambert, who was the regional Most Valuable Player. Lambert, a senior catcher, hit .410 with 43 RBI’s and slugged his first home run of the season in the team’s 11-7 regional final win over last year’s runner-up, Johns Hopkins University. Sophomore Greg Van Sickler hit .393 with a team-best 60 RBI’s, while also posting an 8-2 record and 3.06 ERA on the mound.

Farmingdale State won just three of its first 10 games of the season, but turned things around quickly to win the Skyline Conference championship and take a 30-15 record into the finals. Senior Tom Heeman threw a complete game shutout in the Rams’ 8-0 regional title game victory and was named the regional Most Valuable Player. Heeman owns an 8-3 record and 2.49 ERA for the season. Junior outfielder Frank Yera leads the team with a .425 average while sophomore first baseman Kevin Curtis is hitting .409 with 44 RBI’s. The Rams hit only 13 home runs all season, but rank second nationally with 32 triples and have 103 stolen bases.

Chapman University has been a constant in the finals, making its fifth straight appearance and ninth overall. The Panthers, who won the 2003 title, have made all 12 of their NCAA tournament appearances within the past 12 years. Their first opponent, the University of St. Thomas, has similarly made 15 of its 16 national tournament appearances since 1994 and is back in the finals for the first time since winning the 2001 NCAA title.

Chapman is traditionally one of the nation’s top pitching teams, but this year’s squad reached the finals with a .344 team batting average and a .972 fielding percentage. The Panthers have just 49 errors in 45 games and rank third nationally in defense. Senior Tristan Phillips has been red-hot all season with a .433 average and a team-best 63 RBI’s. Sophomore John Semel has a team-high 11 home runs and drove in 49 runs while hitting .415. Semel is also the team’s top reliever with eight saves and a 2.82 ERA. Senior pitcher Wayde Kitchens, a 2008 first-team All-American, has led the staff again this year with a 6-1 record and 2.19 ERA.

St. Thomas turned the tables on Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival St. Olaf College, avenging two losses on the final day of the conference tournament by sweeping the Oles on the last day of the regional tournament to take a 36-12 record into the finals. The Tommies have committed just 39 errors in 48 games to lead the country with a .976 fielding percentage. Junior pitcher Matt Schuld posted a 10-1 record and a 3.40 ERA for the season, including a win over Big Ten runner-up Minnesota. Sophomore outfielder Matt McQullan leads a balanced offense with a .373 average and senior Brian Schmitz has a team-high 36 RBI’s with a .360 average. Sophomore Tayler Rahm was the regional Most Valuable Player and homered in the bottom of the 17th inning to end the longest game in NCAA tournament history when the Tommies beat the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 5-4 in the first round.