FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 23 Indiana Tech baseball team will look to continue its hot start to both the season and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play on Friday as they travel to Cornerstone in a weather-shortened series.
 
Indiana Tech (22-3, 6-0 WHAC)
 
Friday, April 1, 2 p.m. at Cornerstone (7-18, 1-5 WHAC) – Grand Rapids, Michigan (DeWitt Field) – Nine innings
Friday, April 1, Game two at Cornerstone (7-18, 1-5 WHAC) – Grand Rapids, Michigan (DeWitt Field) – Seven innings
 
Head Coach Kip McWilliams: Now in his ninth season at the helm for the Warriors baseball program, McWilliams as an overall record of 270-180-1, with eight appearances in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Championship game and six trips to the NAIA National Tournament. While at Tech, the Indiana graduate has won four WHAC Tournament titles and one regular season title in addition to making postseason appearances six times, once in the old regional format and five times making to the NAIA Opening Round. He has coached 74 WHAC All-Academic honorees, 36 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes, 30 WHAC Players of the Week, 27 Honorable Mention All-WHAC selections, 22 All-Conference WHAC members, 11 WHAC Gold Glove recipients, three WHAC Players of the Year, three Honorable Mention All-Americans, two Warriors of the Month, one WHAC Pitcher of the Year, one Preseason All-American and one Second-Team All-American in 2015 graduate Romer Portes.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Cornerstone – The Golden Eagles head into the weekend having lost five in a row, including a doubleheader sweep to Davenport on Wednesday. Jacob Klemme leads the team in hitting with a slash line of .321/.367/.643 with seven home runs, the second most in the WHAC and a team-best 21 RBI's. Ben Sheckler has been dominant on the mound for Cornerstone, posting a 1.41 ERA and holding opposing batters to just a .189 average while striking out 39 hitters in 32 innings. Ryan Harris have three saves in his six appearances with eight strikeouts in 10.2 innings out of the bullpen.
 
Series Notes: Cornerstone – Tech is 10-2 all-time against the Golden Eagles after taking three out of four in the season series a year ago. The Warriors last visit to DeWitt Field came back during the 2013 campaign when the Orange and Black also took three out of four.
 
Racking up the Awards: Senior catcher/third baseman Brian Hakes was named the WHAC Player of the Week on March 28 after a monster week at the plate, going 12-21 for a .571 batting average and reaching base over 67% of the time he was up. The Decatur, Indiana native knocked in 13 runs with two home runs, two doubles and a triple while walking four times. He also scored six runs over the week, stole two bases and only struck out once.
 
Hot Start: Tech has been one of the hottest teams in the country since opening their season back on Feb. 20, winning 22 of their first 25 games and opening WHAC play 6-0. The Warriors three losses are the third-fewest in the country right now, trailing only No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett (one) and No. 8 Jamestown (two) while having the most overall wins in the conference.
 
Just Keep Winning: The Orange and Black have won nine straight games and haven't lost since March 16, when Webber International won on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth in Babson Park, Florida.
 
Ranked Again: The Warriors hot start has gotten them attention nationally and vaulted them to number 23 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll this week as they got 125 points. It is the first time since April 24, 2012 that the Orange and Black have been ranked among the top 25 in the country. It is the 26^th time that Tech has been ranked during McWilliams' nine years at the helm.
 
Heart of the Order: Senior Brian Hakes has been a force in the third position of the lineup card for the Warriors, hitting a team-best .468 while reaching base at a .604 clip and slugging .844, leading the WHAC in every category while ranking ninth in slugging and 10^th in batting in the country. He has driven in 33 runs, tied for most in the conference while slugging four home runs and 13 doubles, averaging the eighth-most in the nation (0.52).
 
Picking up the Miles: Tech has only played inside the friendly confines of Warrior Stadium just three times (six games) this season and will play 13 of their next 15 contests on the road. The Warriors will take on Lourdes next Wednesday before getting back on the road for Concordia, Northwestern Ohio and Davenport.
 
 Potent Offense: Tech ranks among the top-25 in the nation in several offensive categories, including: third in doubles per game (2.7) and RBI's per game (8.4), fourth in runs scored per game (9.3), 10^th in slugging percentage (0.512), 11^th in hits per game (10.96), 15^th in batting average (0.340), 19^th in stolen bases per game (2.1), 21^st in doubles (68) and 24^th in at-bats per game (32.2).
 
No-Hitting the Rivals: Senior right-hander James McReynolds threw a nine-inning no-hitter on March 19 against crosstown rival Saint Francis in a neutral-site game in Emerson, Georgia as the Warriors wrapped up a 6-1 Spring Break trip. He struck out seven batters against the Cougars while allowing two, the first not being till the bottom of the seventh. He was named the WHAC Pitcher of the Week two days later for his performance.
 
Top of the Rotation Guys: Senior James McReynolds and junior Jared Harvey have been workhorses for the Warriors all season long, with the latter leading the team in innings pitched (29.2) and strikeouts (30) while posting a 2-0 record and 3.03 ERA. McReynolds is 4-0 on the season with a 1.53 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 29.1 innings of work and is holding opposing batters to just a .126 average, the best in the nation. Junior Johnny Crawford has been stellar all season long as well, holding opponents to just a .196 batting average while recording a 1.95 ERA, 28 strikeouts and a record of 3-0.
 
Bombs Away: Junior outfielders Charlie Sipe and Peyton Newsom has both smashed five home runs this season to lead the team while having the third-most in the WHAC. Sipe is second on the team in batting average with a .422 while knocking in 24 runs and recording seven doubles. Newsom is hitting a robust .363 while driving in 33 runs, tied for first in the conference.
 
Dr. Relief: Junior Josh Wiesman has been a shutdown man out of the bullpen for McWilliams with a 0.00 ERA in 16 innings of work. He's struck out 22 batters while allowing just three walks in six appearances.
 
Stealing everywhere they go: Tech has been a thief all over the diamond with 53 stolen bases, the most in the conference and has the two of the top four in Kyle Mead (14) and Mark Carpenter (10). Mead is 14-17 on the season while Carpenter has yet to be thrown out.
 
Power Arms: Just as the Orange and Black offense has been dominant at the plate, so has Tech's pitchers been on the hill. McWilliams' staff is fifth in the nation in ERA (2.63) while holding opponents to just a .233 average, the sixth-best mark in the country.
 
Playing Against the Best: The Warriors have never shied away from playing against some of the best teams in the country under McWilliams tenure, with 178 games against teams ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Poll. 40 of those opponents have been in the top 10. This season is no different as the Orange and Black faces three teams ranked over receiving votes in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, #6 Davenport, #17 UNOH and (RV) Madonna. #14 Tennessee Wesleyan and (RV) St. Catharine also dotted the schedule, but those games were cancelled due to weather.
 
Regional Team: Tech is loaded with players not only from the Hoosier State, but also around the Midwest. 17 Warriors are home-grown, six call the Buckeye State home, four come from Illinois and three hail from Michigan. The Orange and Black also feature five players from California while one player is from Canada.
 
Poll Thoughts: The Warriors were picked to finish fourth in the WHAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the same place they finished the 2015 campaign. Defending tournament champion Davenport was picked to finish first, while regular season champion UNOH was voted second. Madonna was slotted one slot ahead of Tech while Cornerstone was one spot behind. Aquinas, Siena Heights, Concordia, Lourdes and Marygrove round out the poll.