2007 CCIW Baseball Tournament Preview

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan, Carthage, Augustana and Elmhurst baseball teams will take part in the four-team CCIW Baseball Tournament this weekend at Illinois Wesleyan’s Jack Horenberger Field to determine who will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The first round begins Thursday, May 10, with No. 1 seed and tournament host Illinois Wesleyan (30-9, 20-1 in the CCIW) facing No. 4 seed Elmhurst (16-20, 10-11) at 3 p.m., while No. 2 seed Carthage (28-11, 16-5) plays No. 3 seed Augustana (30-10, 13-8) at 6 p.m. The tournament will be a double-elimination format with the championship game taking place on Saturday, May 12. The rain date will be Sunday, May 13.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the tournament having won more conference games (20) in a single season than any other team in the history of the CCIW. The previous record was 19 wins by Carthage last season. The Titans are led by Ricky Angel, who led the conference with a .480 batting average in 2007, as well as eight home runs and 26 RBI. Illinois Wesleyan has three pitchers in the top four in conference earned run average this season. Matt Aronson leads all CCIW pitchers with a 0.69 ERA in six appearances, while teammate Jesse Foster is second in the conference in ERA with a 1.59 average in six appearances. Robert Inzinga is fourth with an average of 2.45 in six appearances.

No. 2 seed Carthage has its share of pitching dominance as well. Jeff Livek finished the regular season third in the conference with a 2.35 ERA, going 4-1 in six appearances. Chris Krepline finished fifth in the CCIW with a 2.77 ERA and a 4-1 record in six appearances. Tyler Yapp was Carthage’s most steadiest bat throughout the season as he played in all 21 conference games and hit .407 with 20 RBI. Boe Baitinger was limited to just 17 games after an ankle injury towards the end of the season. He still managed to hit .338 with 13 RBI and is expected back for the conference tournament.

Augustana had two players finish in the top 10 in conference batting average respectively. Marc Blakeley appeared in all 21 games for the Vikings, batting .393 with six doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI. Don Hansen also had a stellar season at the plate, finishing with a .390 average in 21 games. Eric Knott was the Vikings’ top pitcher, going 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA in six appearances.

Elmhurst head coach Joel Southern, in his first season at the helm, guided his Bluejays into the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed. Greg Williams batted .406 in 17 conference games this season, good enough for fifth in the CCIW. Reigning CCIW Player of the Year Anthony Contaldo was also steady at the plate for the Bluejays as he batted .319 in 19 games this season with an on-base percentage of .405.

The winner of the CCIW Tournament advances to the NCAA Regional, which will take place May 16-20. The NCAA will select regional sites and any at-large bids to the tournament on Monday, May 14 at 2 a.m. ET.