WSC Baseball Heading to NCBA World Series
May 13, 2010 -- After beating the University of Wyoming, the Western State College of Colorado (WSC) baseball team is on its way to Johnstown, Pa., for a shot at becoming national champions in the National Club Baseball Association Division II (NCBA DII) World Series held May 21 to 25.
Back: Coach Martinez, Josh Finney, Mark Schichtel, Kyle Hobbs, Marcus May, Tyler McQueen, Brock Robinson, Justin Fuller, Joseph Maestas, Austin Harper, Dylan Huyck. Front: Curt Aumiller, Charlie Davidson, Ryan Horton, Ben Furtner, Josh King, Brian Carney.
Looking to bring the momentum of an incredible finish to the regular and post seasons, WSC baseball will be the fourth-seeded team going into the NCBA DII World Series. A member of the NCBA Region VIII South conference, Western competed against the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), Colorado College and Fort Lewis College.
Western managed an overall record of 12-2 in the regular season (the fourth best-winning percentage in the country) and played UCCS for the Region VIII South conference playoffs. The team dominated the series by beating UCCS by 10 runs in each game.
With wins over UCCS cementing their title as Region VIII South conference champs, Western took on the Region VIII North champs, the University of Wyoming Cowboys. Ranked No. 2 in the country and with a student population of 13,000, the Wyoming Cowboys looked to pressure Western out of post-season play. Western met Wyoming at Fort Collins’ City Park baseball field where Western had to win two of the possible three games to advance to the World Series. In the first encounter, Western kept their streak of strong defense and held the Cowboys to the outfield resulting in a 5-3 win. In the second game, Western had pinned down the Cowboys with a score of 4-1, but with two outs left in the 7th inning, the Cowboys brought in eight runs to end the game at 9-4, forcing a third game. The final game saw Western hit with fury; WSC sophomore Tyler McQueen sent two crushing home runs, one down the right-field fence and the other past the 378-feet leading to the center-field wall. With a final score of 14-4, Western is travelling to Johnstown with a record of 14-3.
As the fourth seed in the DII World Series, Western will face the champions of the seven other NCBA regions. As every other team at the World Series will outnumber Western in student population by at least 8,000, the WSC baseball team looks to bring the proven combination of determination, defense and offensive power to the national stage.
Western baseball is looking for contributions to help with costs of the World Series trip. To make a donation, contact the WSC Foundation at (970) 641-2237.
Story by Greg White, club sports assistant coordinator, gwhite@western.edu
