LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Central Methodist University head baseball coach Nate Breland told his team at the end of Sunday's final workout before this week's NAIA Baseball Opening Round tournament at the Grizzly Baseball Complex, "Now that we're here, let's get the job done and win this thing!" The Eagles will attempt to take the first step toward advancing to CMU's first-ever trip to the Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho on May 26-June 2 when the Eagles face Webber International University (Fla.) Monday at 2 p.m. CST.
The CMU-Webber International game will be one of three contests in the Lawrenceville Bracket on Monday, as five teams battle in the double-elimination tournament for the title and a spot in the World Series. In the other games on Monday, No. 4-seed The Master's (Calif.) (35-21) will face No. 5-seed LSU-Shreveport (38-19) at 10 a.m. CST. The winner of that game will battle No. 1-seed and host Georgia Gwinnett (38-19) at 7 p.m.
Central Methodist (42-15) is the No. 3 seed in the Lawrenceville Bracket received one of the 15 at-large bids and is one of the 45 teams that will open play on Monday across the country. Webber International (38-15) is the No. 2 seed in the Opening Round bracket.
All the Lawrenceville Opening Round games will be played at the Grizzly Baseball Complex and they will feature free live video and live stats at the links below.
FOLLOW THE GAME
MONDAY, MAY 15 – NAIA Lawrenceville Opening Round
#3 Central Methodist (42-15) vs. #2 Webber International (Fla.), 2 p.m. CST
For FREE live video – CLICK HERE
For FREE live stats – CLICK HERE
Current Central Methodist Statistics – CLICK HERE
Current Webber International Statistics – CLICK HERE
Central Methodist Roster – CLICK HERE
Webber International Roster – CLICK HERE
Final Regular Season Poll – CLICK HERE
NAIA Opening Round Schedule/Results – CLICK HERE
Lawrenceville Opening Round Central – CLICK HERE
Lawrenceville Opening Round Bracket – CLICK HERE
This will be the first-ever meeting between Central Methodist and Webber International. CMU, which was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation this season, coming in at No. 15. The Eagles are making their third trip to the NAIA Opening Round and are 1-4 all-time. CMU will be looking for its first Opening Round tournament title.
Webber International also received an at-large bid to the tournament. The Warriors are ranked No. 17 in the nation and are making their first appearance in the Opening Round in the history of the program.
LEADING CENTRAL METHODIST
Central Methodist is led offensively by Dustyn Macaluso (SR/Sacramento, Calif.). Macaluso ranks No. 6 in the nation in total hits (91), No. 9 in runs scored (70), No. 12 in hits per game (1.6), No. 13 in batting average (.440), No. 14 in runs scored per game (1.23) and No. 15 in total bases (145). He has 17 doubles, two triples and 11 home runs on the season, driving in 59 runs. He also has a slugging percentage of .700.
Zach Beckner (SR/Versailles, Kent.) is hitting .374 on the season, with 51 runs on 71 hits. He has tagged 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, with 64 runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .642.
Quinn Conley (SR/Thousand Oaks, Calif.) is hitting .373 on the season, with 42 runs on 66 hits. He has connected with 16 doubles, one home run, while driving in 50 runs.
The Eagles have a strong pitching staff, with five pitchers with earned run averages under 4.00. Chris Danielson (SR/Saugus, Calif.) has a 2.72 ERA, while posting a 7-1 record in seven starts. He has posted five complete games, with a pair of shutouts, striking out 63 and walking 17 in 59.2 innings.
Kyle Fulton (JR/Monroe City, Mo.) is 5-0, with an earned run average of 3.00. He has pitched 42 innings, picking up a save, while striking out 57 and walking 20. Dariel Checo (SO/New York, NY) is 8-1 on the year, while recording an ERA of 3.75. In 69.2 innings he has fanned 89, while walking only 26. As a team, CMU has an earned run average of 4.44.
After a four-game losing streak early in the season, Central Methodist went on a program-record 20-game winning streak to post a 23-4 record in the midst of league competition. The Heart of America Athletic Conference Southern Division champions enter the playoffs having won five of their last seven games and nine of their last 12.
LEADING THE WARRIORS ATTACK
Mark Martinez leads the Webber International offense with a .366 batting average. He posted 30 hits, including four doubles and nine RBIs. Sjaghbar Martis posted a .337 average at the dish, with 53 runs on 69 hits. He added 17 doubles, a triple and seven home runs, while pushing 52 runs in. Marcus Begg had a .335 batting average, with 35 runs on 72 hits. He posted 11 doubles, four triples and 10 home runs, while pushing in 48 runs.
Anthony Hunter is the top pitcher on the Webber International staff, with a 2.51 earned run average in 82.1 innings on the hill. He has struck out 54 batters, while walking 35, while posting a 6-3 record. Zach Gary has pitched 46 innings, with a 2.74 ERA and a 4-2 season record. He has pitched 46 innings, fanning 38 batters and walking only 14.
The Warriors aren't exactly on a roll, having lost five of their last seven games. Webber started the season with a seven-game winning streak, followed by winning streaks of five, seven and six games later in the year.
THE OTHER TOURNEY TEAMS
Three of the five teams in the Lawrenceville Bracket are nationally ranked at the end of the regular season. Georgia Gwinnett, which qualified as the Association of Independent Institutions Tournament Champion, is ranked No. 14. The Grizzlies are making their fourth appearance in the tournament and are 9-5 all-time in the opening round. They won an Opening Round tournament once.
The Master's (Calif.) enters the playoffs unranked, but was the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament champions.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE EAGLES?
A victory over Webber International, will put Central Methodist University in the winners' bracket and will match the Eagles against the winner of No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett and the winner of The Master's/LSU Shreveport game that comes Monday night. That second-round game will be played Tuesday at 3 p.m.
A CMU loss to Webber will match the Eagles against the loser of the The Master's/LSU-Shreveport on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Central Methodist would have to win that game to stay alive and the Eagles would then play again on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
LAWRENCEVILLE BRACKET
(5-Team Double-Elimination)
Monday, May 15
FIRST ROUND
GM 1: #4 The Master's (Calif.) (35-21) vs. #5 LSU-Shreveport (38-19), 10 a.m. CST
GM 2: #2 Webber International (Fla.) (38-15) vs. #3 Central Methodist (Mo.) (42-15), 2 p.m. CST
GM 3: #1 Georgia Gwinnett (38-19) vs. Winner of Game 1, 6 p.m. CST
Tuesday, May 16
GM 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m. CST (elimination game)
SECOND ROUND
GM 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 2 p.m. CST
GM 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3, 6 p.m. CST (elimination game)
Wednesday, May 17
GM 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 10 a.m. CST (elimination game)
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
GM 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 2 p.m. CST
Thursday, May 18 (if necessary)
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2
GM 9: Teams play again if neither team has 2 losses, 11 a.m. CST
CMU Baseball Contact: John Krueger
Phone: 936-332-9332 | jkrueger@centralmethodist.edu
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