LIVONIA, Mich. - - For the first time in program history, the No. 16-ranked Madonna University baseball team will begin NAIA World Series Opening Round play on Tuesday (May 12) at 2pm (EDT) against No. 13-ranked Fresno Pacific at Lewis & Clark Park in Sioux City, Iowa.

Rounding out the field in Sioux City is: No. 1-seed Bellevue, No. 4-seed Jamestown and the No. 5-seed Nebraska Wesleyan.

Action gets underway on Tuesday (May 11) when Jamestown and Nebraska Wesleyan will square off in the 4/5 game at 11am (EDT) with the winner advancing on to face Bellevue.

 

Scouting the Field
No. 1 Bellevue - The Bruins advanced to the Opening Round as the champions of the Midlands Collegiate Conference and come into the tournament 39-10, ranked at No. 11 in the final Coaches' Poll. 

Louie Templeton leads the Bruins with a .418 average while Justin Long and Jerrod White lead the way with 11 and 10 home runs respectively. On the mound Long sports a 7-4 record with 10 starts and a 2.45 earned run average in 12 appearances. Chris Williamson has posted four saves for head coach Mike Evans thus far in 2009.

 

No. 2 Fresno Pacific - The Sunbirds were an at-large selection out of the Golden State Athletic Conference and are one of five GSAC schools in the 46-team pool. Ranked at No. 13 in the final poll, FPU finished second in the GSAC regular season and third in the league tournament.

Case Rigby leads FPU with a .387 average, 16 doubles and has eight home runs to go along with 39 runs batted in. Justin Keeney posts just a .270 average but has a team best nine home runs to go along with 38 RBI.

Kelyn Schellenberg is the Sunbirds' top hurler, posting a 2.39 ERA in 79 innings, striking out 35 while allowing just 16 free passes. Brian Oliver has been the closer for FPU, posting 12 saves in 29 appearances to go along with a 2-4 record and a 2.25 ERA for head coach Oscar Hirschkorn.

 

No. 3 Madonna - The Crusaders come into the Opening Round as the third team selected for an at-

large bid after winning the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular season championship and posting a 38-10 overall mark thus far in 2009.

Head coach Greg Haeger - the 2008 and 2009 WHAC Coach of the Year - and his squad are led at the plate by junior catcher/designated hitter Zach Flavin (Novi, Mich.) and his .444 average. Senior second baseman Ryan Morrow (Taylor, Mich.) and senior third baseman Aaron Hacias (Sterling Heights, Mich.) - both of whom were named to the All-WHAC first team - join Flavin with averages above .400 as Morrow is hitting .415 while Hacias sports a .409 average. Senior first baseman Kevin Zerbo (Farmington, Mich.) leads the power barrage for MU, as he has hit a team best 15 home runs and driven in 53. Sophomore rightfielder Matt Kay (Canton, Mich.) is right behind Zerbo with 14 long balls and leads the Crusaders with 56 RBI.

On the mound, WHAC Pitcher of the Year Jeff Sonnenberg (Lansing, Mich.) leads MU with a 2.15 ERA in 71 innings pitched. He has recorded 57 strike outs while allowing just eight walks and has a 10-2 record. Junior right hander Kyle Bolton (Burlington, Ont.) and freshman lefty Tom Hansen (Rochester Hills, Mich.) join Sonnenberg at the front end of the Crusader rotation with 7-2 and 8-1 records respectively.

 

No. 4 Jamestown - The Jimmies come into the tournament with a 25-9 record and earned the Dakota Athletic Conference's automatic bid. Jamestown is led by All-DAC infielder Bryan Renfrow and his .382 average. Jeremy Newman boasts of a .444 average in just 99 at-bats and a team best nine home runs. 

On the mound, Alex Kreis has posted a 5-0 record in nine appearances and has a 4.06 ERA in 37 innings. Kries is averaging a strike out per inning. Steve Hirchert posted a 4-3 record with a 4.98 ERA, joining Kreis as the only Jimmie hurler to have more than three victories this season for head coach Tom Hager.

 

No. 5 Nebraska Wesleyan - The Prairie Wolves qualified for the Opening Round as the regular season champion of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. At 28-11, NWU is led by junior first baseman Boo Fields and his .400 average. Fields has driven in 15, while hitting four doubles. Max Hubka leads NWU with 33 RBI while Cory Peterson has clubbed five home runs for head coach Bill Fagler.

The winner of the Opening Round advances to the 10-team NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, that starts on May 22.