BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The No. 18-ranked and second-seeded Indiana Tech baseball team gets back in action Monday as they open up the NAIA National Championship Opening Round against third-seeded Bryan College in the Bartlesville Bracket.
The Warriors will be looking to punch their ticket to the AVISTA-NAIA World Series for the first time since the 2003 season as they take on an Opening Round featuring top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan, Bryan, fourth-seeded Midland and fifth-seeded St. Ambrose, with Bryan and Midland receiving votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Last Time Out: The Warriors went 0-2 at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament, falling to Concordia (Mich.) and eventual champion University of Northwestern Ohio, 7-2, and 4-0, respectively.
Following the Warriors: Links to live stats and video (PPV) will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com, provided by Oklahoma Wesleyan University. You can also keep up on the action by following @INTechWarriors and @INTechBaseball on Twitter.
Head Coach Kip McWilliams: Now in his 10th season at the helm for the Warriors, McWilliams holds a 351-225-1 heading into the 2017 postseason. Tech has made NAIA postseason eight times under McWilliams, seven times in the current Opening Round format and once under the old regional format.
Series Notes: This is the first-ever matchup on the diamond between the two schools.
Scouting the Opposition: The Lions come into the postseason following a lost in the semifinals of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament, falling to Truett McConnell, but picked up an at-large berth like the Warriors. AAC Player of the Year Justin Morhardt leads the team in batting average (.448), hits (82), doubles (19), walks (44) and on-base percentage (.558) while his is one of five players to have double-digit home runs. Chad Burrows leads the rotation with a 10-1 record, seven saves, 3.64 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 64.1 innings after starting the year off in the closers spot but moving to the rotation in the second half of the season.
WHAC Honors: The Warriors had several players named to the WHAC All-Conference Teams as
Glen McClain (1B),
Matt Bandor (3B),
Keith Tatum (C),
Tighe Koehring (DH),
Cody Kellar (P),
Charlie Sipe (CF) and
Peyton Newsom (RF) garnering either First or Second-Team honors. McClain and
Dante Biagini (SS) also won the Gold Glove award at their respective positions.
Power Surge: Leadoff man and centerfielder
Charlie Sipe finished the regular season on a home-run crazy, smashing six long balls in the last four games of the regular season, including three in the Warriors home finale against Siena Heights on May 1. Sipe has doubled his total to a team-best 13 and is now slugging .706 for the season.
Getting it Done in the Classroom: The Warriors have been just as successful in the classroom this season as they have been on the field, as
Matt Bandor,
Glen McClain and
Keith Tatum were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. The trio were also three of 16 players that garnered All-Academic Team honors from the WHAC.
Tourney Time: The Warriors hold a 9-12 record all-time in the Opening Round format, with their last appearance coming in 2016 as a number three seed. Tech went 1-2 at Kingsport, defeating Middle Georgia State, but falling twice to University of Rio Grande. Overall in the NAIA postseason, the Orange and Black are 9-14 under McWilliams.
Force to Be Reckoned With: The Orange and Black have been one of the best offenses in the WHAC and the NAIA all-season long, leading the conference in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.537), hits (635), RBI's (432), doubles (130) and home runs (55). The Warriors rank in the top-seven in the nation in every category except for home runs.
Pick Your Poison: The Warriors have plenty of depth in their starting lineup, with seven of their starting nine hitting over .300 and four hitting over .375. Leading the way is the corner infield duo of
Matt Bandor and
Glen McClain, hitting .450 and .437, respectively, with the latter leading the team in hits (86), triples (5), RBI's (60), and OBP (.519), while the former paces the team in slugging (.738).
Steady as They Come: Senior right-hander
Cody Kellar has led the Warriors pitching staff all season long as he sports a 10-4 record with a 2.02 ERA and 55 strikeouts 93.1 innings.
Model of Consistency: Under McWilliams tenure the Warriors have never finished lower than fourth in the WHAC, and finished third or better eight times while they won the regular season title back in 2012.
We're Going Streaking: Glen McClain has reached base in 31 straight games, the longest of the year for any Warrior...McClain also holds the longest current hitting streak at six.
Always Bouncing Back: Tech hasn't lost more than two games in a row at any point this season, with the team suffering back-to-back losses to the University of Northwestern Ohio (Oct. 8, DH), Georgia Gwinnett/Campbellsville (March 12/14), Davenport (April 8, DH) and Concordia/UNOH (May 7/8).
