NCAA REGIONAL INFORMATION
(Updated May 26, 10:55 AM - Due to anticipated weather in Decatur on Thursday, the opening round game between Transylvania and Webster has been moved up to 2 PM Eastern / 1 PM local time)Â
Decatur, Ill. – The Transylvania baseball team makes its long-awaited return to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships this Thursday, May 27, facing the No. 3 Webster University Gorloks at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time / 1:00 p.m. Central in the opening game of the NCAA Decatur Regional from Millikin University's Workman Family Baseball Field.
Transylvania is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 years after winning its first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship last weekend, defeating Earlham in the Championship game through the winners' bracket to clinch the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championships.
The Pioneers will travel to Millikin University, which is hosting one of eight regionals in the 48-team national tournament. The Decatur Regional features six regionally-seeded teams: No. 1 seed Washington University in St. Louis (28-3), No. 2 Webster (35-6), No. 3 Denison (23-11), No. 4 Millikin (31-14), No. 5 Transylvania, and No. 6 Illinois College (21-17).
As the No. 5 seed, Transylvania (31-10, HCAC Champions) will take on No. 2 seed Webster (35-6, St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions) to begin the double-elimination tournament, which runs May 27-30. The winner of the regional advances to the NCAA Division III World Series at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 4-9.
Adjusting for the limitations of the pandemic, the Pioneers and their conference counterparts in the HCAC contested a conference-only season this year. Transylvania reeled off a 26-10 record in regular season play to win their first HCAC regular-season crown since 2007. The Pioneers steamrolled through the HCAC Tournament to also capture their first HCAC Tournament crown since the 2008 season. Transylvania's 31 wins are also its most single-season wins in program history, matching the 31 wins by the 2008 team. The 2021 campaign served as the first time in program history that the Pioneers won both regular-season and tournament crowns in the same season.
Transylvania is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance overall in the 26-year history of the restarted program. The Pioneers will face a well-seasoned Webster program which is making its 14th overall appearance and fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The matchup pits a familiar showdown between the number-three ranked team in the nation in Webster and Transylvania. Fifth year Transylvania head coach and 2021 HCAC Coach of the Year Zack Getsee served five years as an assistant at Webster under current Gorloks head coach Bill Kurich from 2012-2016. During Getsee's tenure with Webster, the Gorloks won five regular season titles and made the College World Series three times.
Transylvania has competed against the Gorloks four times over the last two seasons, going 1-3 against the Gorloks. Their last meeting came early in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season as the then-ranked No. 2 Gorloks took an 8-3 win in 10 innings in the season opener.
Both Transylvania and Webster enter the NCAA Regionals on a tear with Webster carrying a 10-game win streak into the NCAA Tournament, while the Pioneers enter the Decatur Regional on a six-game win streak, having won nine of their last 10 games.
The opening-round matchup presents a juxtaposition of supercharged offense versus defense and elite pitching. The Pioneers are one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country this season, ranking 13th in the country in batting average (.346), 16th nationally in runs per game (9.7 runs), 32nd in on-base percentage (.429), and 40th in slugging percentage (.497). Transylvania ranks sixth nationally in total runs with 397 runs on the season.
Catalyzing the offense for Transylvania is senior infielder Hudson Chastain (Knoxville, Tenn. / Christian Academy of Knoxville), freshman outfielder/pitcher Trent Youngblood (Louisville, Ky. / Trinity HS), and senior outfielder Riley Willbur (Louisville, Ky. / Trinity HS).
Chastain ranks third in the country in hits with a program-record 79 for the 2021 campaign thus far, and led the HCAC in batting average with a sweltering .446 BA. Youngblood has the third-most hits of any freshman in the country with 70 in his collegiate debut and ranks 11th nationally in total hits. Both players were All-HCAC First Team selections while Youngblood was christened the HCAC Newcomer of the Year.
Willbur, another All-HCAC First Team selection, led the Pioneers in RBI this season with 47 runs batted in and led the HCAC in home runs with eight this season. Willbur boasts a .574 slugging percentage and tied an NCAA record earlier this season by drawing six walks in a game versus Rose-Hulman.
HCAC Pitcher of the Year, senior Jake Schmidt (Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Scioto HS) leads the charge on the mound for the Pioneers. The senior registered an 8-0 record on the hill in 67.1 innings pitched. His 88 strikeouts this season ranks 12th in the nation.
The Gorloks sport one of the best pitchers in Division III in senior Matt Mulhearn, who has 11 wins this season to his credit and leads the nation in strikeouts with 126 K's this season. Mulhearn boasts an 0.99 ERA over 91 innings of work. Webster's offense is hitting .305 at the plate in 2021 compared to Transy's .346 batting average, setting the stage for a compelling chess match on Thursday afternoon.
The winner of Thursday's opener will advance to play on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time against the winner between Denison and Millikin.
The tournament is open to the public with tickets available for $5 per game. Tickets will go on sale each day starting one hour prior to the first game.
For more on Transylvania baseball, follow @TransyBaseball on Twitter
NCAA Division III Midwest Regional hosted by Millikin University-Decatur, Illinois
May 27-30, 2021
New Times
Game 1-10 a.m.: Washington University St. Louis vs. Illinois College  Live Stats     Live Video   Â
Game 2-4:30 p.m.: Webster University vs. Transylvania University      Live Stats    Live Video       Â
Game 3- 7:45 p.m.:  Denison University vs. Millikin University          Live Stats     Live Video   Â
Friday, May 28
Game 4-11 a.m.: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2            Live Stats     Live Video                                       Â
Game 5-2:30 p.m.: Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3           Live Stats     Live Video   Â
Game 6-6 p.m.:  Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3           Live Stats    Live Video    Â
Saturday, May 29
Game 7-11 a.m..: TBA                                        Live Stats     Live Video             Â
Game 8-2:30 p.m.: TBA                                                                  Live Stats     Live Video     Â
Game 9-6 p.m.: TBA                                         Live Stats     Live Video   Â
Sunday, May 30
Game 10-1 p.m.: Championship Game                                         Live Stats     Live Video   Â
Game 11-TBA (If Necessary)
