Lakers headed to USCAA Small College World Series

CELINA - The Wright State University-Lake Campus baseball team journeyed to the home of skipper Chad Geier's parents in Coldwater Monday evening for a United States Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series selection show watch party.

And they had reason to celebrate.

For a fourth straight season, the Lakers (20-11) heard their name called in the World Series selection show. They earned the No. 4 seed in this year's tournament and will meet No. 5 Mississippi University for Women May 13 on the campus of Penn State DuBois.

"The guys are excited," Geier said. "You know, we're pretty young. We're only graduating three seniors. The younger guys are excited to experience it for the first time. We've got a handful of juniors and three seniors that have been there for three years. For three of them, it's going to be their fourth year in a row.

"Hopefully we can stay healthy throughout the tournament and we can make a good run."

Mississippi University for Women, also known as "The W," has a female-to-male enrollment ratio of 81%-to-19%. The Owls (16-11) return to the event for a second straight season.

At the plate, Brandon Jones leads the team with a .403 batting average, 16 runs and 19 RBIs. All-American Damain Benefield hits .397 with a .616 slugging percentage. R.J. Dell leads the pitching staff, racking up a 5-2 record and a 3.91 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 16 walks in 46 innings.

The winner will meet either top-seeded The Apprentice School, eighth-seeded Penn State Mont Alto or ninth-seeded Selma University.

"We're playing a school out of Mississippi, and they're a pretty damn good ballclub," Geier said. "We know that there's Apprentice, which is the No. 1 seed, above us. So if we play a good game and we win, there's a solid chance that we'll see those guys. I think we're ready for the challenge."

St. Marys graduate Isaac Fitzgerald (.328, 19 RBIs, five doubles), Connor Burr (.337, 13 RBIs) and Tyler Venters (.275) have been solid producers for the Lakers in their senior seasons. The Lakers have a whole bunch of .300-plus hitters, including Dustin Lewis (.380, six doubles, 21 RBIs), Stephen Hoendorf (.377, 10 doubles, three home runs, 25 RBIs), Lawrence Hines (.396, 14 RBIs), Noah Greathouse (.360, eight doubles, 26 RBIs) and Conor Schmitt (.340, 10 RBIs).

Probable Game 1 pitching starters for Lake Campus are Lucas Sheriff (right-handed sophomore, Fairfield High School) and Cross Youtsler (right-handed freshman, Bishop Fenwick High School). Sheriff is 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. Youtsler - a USCAA Pitcher of the Week selection after a no-hitter earlier in the season - is 5-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings.

Lake Campus swept Alice-Lloyd to end the regular season Sunday on Senior Day in Celina.

The Lakers had Monday off as they waited to hear their tourney fate. At Geier's parents, the team played corn hole and watched Coldwater play Wapakoneta across the street at Veterans Field.

They will be back on the grind at Montgomery Field this week.

"We've had our ups and downs," Geier said. "There was a streak where we felt really good. There was a streak towards the middle to the backend of the season where we had some guys struggling at the plate. We had three or four guys that were all just slumping at the same time and we couldn't get that big hit that we were getting at the beginning of the season. But they've really come around the last three games and it's really good to see. They're going to need all that focus and that confidence going into this type of tournament where every team up there competitive and athletic. Anybody there is capable of winning that tournament on any given day. It just depends who shows up."