MARSHALL, Texas – Hosting two post-season tournaments at Woods Field this season, #15/19 East Texas Baptist University was rewarded with a third weekend of home games as they face the University of La Verne in the NCAA Division III Marshall, Texas Super Regional. ETBU has hosted the 2023 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament and the NCAA Division III Marshall, Texas Regional Tournament.
The two teams will play a three-game series for the right to go to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament next week in Iowa. The first game will take place on Friday at 12:00 p.m. Game two will take place on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with the if-needed game 45 minutes after the second game.
"Our administration and support staff do a great job of hosting tournaments and we are very fortunate to have the facilities to do this," said head coach
Jared Hood. "We can't wait to see all the people to come out and support us. Being from Marshall, their support means the world to me. This is home for me and my family and some of these players the last four to five years. Our team does a lot to branch out into the community to bridge the gaps between ETBU and the city of Marshall and it's so awesome Marshall come out and support our team."
Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors/students, and ages five and under are free.
Game Times
Friday, May 26 12:00 PM (Game 1)
Saturday, May 27 11:00 AM (Game 2)
Game 3 (if needed) will be 45 minutes after game 2 is done
ETBU vs. La Verne
Last Meeting: First Time
Series Record: First Time
East Texas Baptist University
Location: Marshall, Texas
Head Coach:
Jared Hood (9
th season)
Record: 38-12
ASC: 24-3 (1
st)
ASC Tournament: 1
st Place – went 5-1 winning five elimination games
Road to NCAA: Automatic qualifier – host Marshall, Texas Regional Tournament
ETBU has been a strong post-season team this year going 8-2 winning the American Southwest Conference Tournament and Marshall, Texas Regional Tournament. They won five elimination games in the ASC Tournament for their first-ever tournament championship. They then went 3-1 in the Marshall, Texas, Regional with wins over Cal Lutheran and two over Trinity. They fell in the first game of the championship on Sunday, 8-6, but bounced back for a 2-1 win the final game.
Ben Lea leads the team in batting average (.413), runs scored (59), home runs (23), and total bases (154).
Jase Jones has a .380 batting average which is second on the team and leads the team with 17 doubles posting 12 home runs and 47 RBI.
Brett Wagner leads the team with 65 RBI and ahs 14 home runs, 16 doubles, 67 hits, and a .349 batting average.
Jacob Evangelista has recorded 76 hits to lead the team.
Sayers Collins leads a strong pitching staff with an 11-2 record and 2.28 ERA. He has 119 strikeouts in 86.2 innings pitched in 14 appearance.
Jagger Neely has a 3.59 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched in 18 appearances with a 2-1 record.
Peyton Miller is 3-0 with a 4.40 ERA in eight games started with 14 appearances and 52 strikeouts. while
Cole Godkin is 6-2 in seven starts with 37 strikeouts. ETBU has a team ERA of 4.49 and 390 strikeouts.
ETBU 2023 Post Season
May 5 L, 12-4 Hardin-Simmons (ASC Tournament)
May 5 W, 17-13 Concordia Texas (ASC Tournament)
May 6 W, 9-4 LeTourneau (ASC Tournament)
May 6 W, 21-2 Texas Dallas (ASC Tournament)
May 7 W, 16-8 Hardin-Simmons (ASC Tournament) – championship round
May 7 W, 8-1 Hardin-Simmons (ASC Tournament) – championship game
May 19 W, 16-6 Cal Lutheran (NCAA Tournament)
May 20 W, 9-4 Trinity (NCAA Tournament)
May 21 L, 8-6 Trinity (NCAA Tournament) – championship round
May 21 W, 2-1 Trinity (NCAA Tournament) – championship game
University of La Verne
Location: La Verne, Calif.
Head Coach: Scott Winterburn (21
st season)
Record: 31-16
SCIAC: 20-4 (1
st place)
SCIAC Tournament: 3
rd place – fell to Chapman, 16-8, in semi-final
Road to NCAA: At-Large selection; Won Birmingham, Ala. Regional Tournament
The Leopards are a team that is hot right now after just getting into the NCAA Tournament. After losing in the SCIAC semi-final gam to Chapman, they would have to wait and see if they would be selected. Their name was called as the committee sent them from the West Coast to the South Region and the Birmingham, Ala. Regional Tournament hosted by Birmingham Southern College.
They went 3-1 in the regional staying in the winner's bracket. They defeated Franklin, 8-7, on May 19, and then Lewis and Clark, 19-4, on May 20. In the regional championship, BSC won game one, 12-11, in 10 innings but UL took game two, 15-10, to win the regional.
Noah Garcia leads the team with a .390 batting average recording 67 hits, 10 doubles, four triples, three home runs with 40 RBI. Cameron Slessor has 57 hits and a .326 average with 12 doubles and 40 RBI. Logan Reese leads the team with 42 RBI. Their offense is averaging 11 runs per game in the post-season and 15 runs in their last three games scoring 19 runs vs. Lewis & Clark.
Gerald Terry is the top pitcher at 11-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 117 strikeouts. He has 15 starts and 97 innings pitched walking just 22 batters. His 117 strikeouts is third in the nation just behind ETBU's
Sayers Collins 119 strikeouts. Ethan Galindo follows at 13-5 with a 5.14 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 19 appearances and 75.1 innings pitched. Austin Klopfenstein is 9-1 with an 8.24 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. The Leopards have a 4.79 team ERA with 330 strikeouts.
UL 2023 Post-Season
May 11 L, 8-4 Cal Lutheran (SCIAC Tournament)
May 12 W, 12-8 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (SCIAC Tournament)
May 13 L, 16-8 Chapman (SCIAC Tournament)
May 19 W, 8-7 Franklin (NCAA Regional)
May 20 W, 19-4 Lewis & Clark (NCAA Regional)
May 21 L, 12-11 Birmingham Southern (NCAA Regional)
May 21 W, 15-10 Birmingham Southern (NCAA Regional)
Similar Opponents
ETBU and La Verne have two opponents in common this year in Cal Lutheran and Birmingham Southern. Both have seen teams at opposite ends of the season. ETBU played Birmingham Southern on February 19 in Alabama and lost, 15-11. The Tigers then saw Cal Lutheran last week in the regional tournament winning, 16-6.
La Verne played Birmingham Southern last weekend and went 1-1 in the regional championship game. They lost the first game, 12-11, in 10 innings and then took the championship game, 15-10. They played Cal Lutheran four times this year going 3-1. They swept the Kingsman in the regular season, 5-4, 7-1, and 7-3, before losing to them in the SCIAC Tournament, 8-4, in the opening game.
Path to the Super Regionals
It has been a historic season for ETBU and the path has gone through Woods Field. ETBU was 18-4 at home before post season and has gone 8-2 since hosting. After losing their first game in the ASC Championship Tournament to Hardin-Simmons University, 12-4, they reeled off five straight elimination wins over Concordia Texas, 17-13, LeTourneau, 9-4, Texas Dallas, 21-2, and then defeated Hardin-Simmons, twice, 16-8, and 8-1 for the championship.
Last week, they won their first two games to advance to the championship round. ETBU opened with a 16-6 win over Cal Lutheran on Friday and then a 9-4 victory over Trinity (Texas) on Saturday. They faced Trinity two more times on Sunday, falling in the first game, 8-6, and then coming back for a 2-1 game in the championship game.
It is a season of firsts for ETBU, too, winning their first ASC Tournament Championship, advancing to their first-ever NCAA Tournament, and winning the program's first regional tournament. They now have a chance to continue the season of firsts as they are two wins away from advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in Iowa.
ETBU vs. California Teams
La Verne will be the third California team that ETBU has faced in their program. Along with the Leopards, ETBU has played Cal Lutheran and Chapman and holds a 3-7 record vs. those two programs. ETBU holds a 2-7 record vs. Chapman and is 1-0 vs. Cal Lutheran. The win over Cal Lutheran was the first win over a California school since Feb. 15, 2019, when ETBU won 3-0 over Chapman.
Cal Lutheran: 1-0 W, 16-6 (May 19, 2023)
Chapman: 2-7 L, 15-13 (Feb. 15, 2020)
ETBU vs. West Coast Teams
Only five teams from the West Coast have faced ETBU in Chapman and Cal Lutheran from California, Pacific University and Willamette from Oregon, and Whitworth from Washington. ETBU is 7-11 vs. West Coast Programs.
Chapman 2-7
Cal Lutheran 1-0
Pacific 2-0
Willamette 1-1
Whitworth 1-3
The ASC in Super Regionals
In 2019, NCAA Division III went to the Super Regional format. In three Super Regionals since that time, the ASC has put one team there in Concordia Texas. They took on Chapman in Orange, Calif., in 2019, and lost both games, 11-3, and 3-2.
ETBU will be the second team in ASC history to advance to a Super Regional.
The ASC in the NCAA Tournament
ETBU is the 10
th ASC member (former and current) to make the NCAA Tournament. Concordia Texas has made six appearances while former member Texas Tyler had eight appearances and were the 2018 national champions. Texas Dallas, LeTourneau, McMurry, Sul Ross State, and former members Texas Lutheran and Mississippi College all made the NCAA Tournament for the ASC.
Concordia Texas (2002) and Texas Tyler (2018) are the only two teams to advance onto the NCAA Championship tournament. Concordia went 0-2 in 2002 with losses to Eastern Connecticut State and Lakeland for seventh place. Texas Tyler went 5-1 in the national championship tournament in 2018 to win the championship over Texas Lutheran.
Concordia Texas 12-13 2019, 2018, 2017, 2012, 2011, 2002
Texas Dallas 6-9 2022, 2021, 2018, 2007
LeTourneau 1-2 2014
McMurry 1-8 2008, 2004, 2001, 1998
Sul Ross State 0-2 1999
Former Members
Texas Tyler 17-16 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009
Texas Lutheran 7-8 2013, 2007, 2006, 2005
Mississippi College 5-4 2010, 2003
Hood in the Post Season
In nine years as head coach,
Jared Hood has taken his team to the post season eight times as the 2020 season was cancelled. He has been to the American Southwest Conference Tournament all eight years, played in four ASC Tournament Championship series and winning it in 2023. Overall, he now has a 25-16 for a .610 winning percentage. In the NCAA Tournament, he is 3-1 after last weekend. He has now coached in five championship games with four ASC Tournament and one regional tournament.
ASC Tournament
2023: 5-1 – ASC Tournament Champions
2022: 4-2 – ASC Tournament runners-up
2021: 3-2 – ASC Tournament runners-up
2019: 2-2
2018: 0-2
2017: 3-2 – ASC Tournament runners-up
2016: 3-2
2015: 2-2
Total: 22-15
NCAA Tournament
2023: 3-1 – Marshall, Texas Regional Champion
ETBU vs. Former National Champions
In the NCAA Tournament this year, ETBU has taken on taken on two programs that have won national championships and are storied programs. Cal Lutheran won the national championship in 2017 and Trinity in 2016. ETBU will now see a third team, La Verne, who won a NCAA Division III national championship in 1995.
Win Streak
Setting a new program record earlier this season, ETBU had a 14-game winning streak in March. From March 18 through April 18, ETBU swept four American Southwest Conference series while also defeating Howard Payne and Centenary. The streak started after ETBU fell, 2-1, in game one of a double header in Brownwood to HPU. In the second game, ETBU held off the YellowJackets, 6-4, which was the first win of 14 straight games. The streak followed with nine straight wins of scoring 10 or more runs in a game with 15 runs in three of the games.
UMHB series – ETBU opened up with a 10-1 win and earned a 13-3 and 15-6 on Saturday, March 25. They had 36 hits scoring 38 runs.
McM series – the next sweep came on March 31 and April 1 as ETBU collected 37 runs and 42 hits. They won on Friday, 15-6, and then took the Saturday games, 11-1, and 14-1.
LeTourneau series – ETBU scored 15 runs in two of the three games with a combined 40 runs and 38 hits. Game one was a shutout, 10-0, and then two 15-run games followed with 15-7 and 15-1 wins.
Hardin-Simmons series – The runs slowed down some in this series as ETBU won 3-1 in game one with just four hits. In game two on that day, ETBU won 9-4 with eight hits. April 15 brought a 16-1 win in the final game with 18 hits.
Centenary – a midweek game that ETBU won, 7-5, in Shreveport, La., with nine hits.
The streak came to an end on April 21 when Texas Dallas won in game one in Richardson, 10-7.
Overall, ETBU scored 156 runs in 14 games for an average of 11.1 runs per game. They posted 167 hits with 23 home runs averaging 11.9 hits per game.
Lea Breaks 46 Year-Old Record; Boasts 26-game Hit Streak
Sophomore
Ben Lea surpassed a record that looked to be untouchable from 1977. Harold Slate hit 21 home runs that season and his record stood until 2023. On May 6 against LeTourneau, he went 2-of-4 and in his third at-bat he broke open the game. Tied at four in the fifth inning, he was the first batter of the inning and hit a solo home run that put ETBU up, 5-4. That started a four-run inning as ETBU went on for a 9-4 win.
He then hit no. 22 in the championship tournament game one vs. Hardin-Simmons to put ETBU up, 15-6. No. 23 then came against Trinity in their first meeting of the NCAA Tournament, 9-4, in the sixth inning for a 4-2 lead.
Along with the home run record, he set a new ETBU record for consecutive games with a hit. He went 26 games with a hit starting on March 7 vs. Hendrix all the way through April 28 vs. Ozarks. In game two vs. Ozarks, he didn't have a hit in five at-bats ending the streak.
Collins Hits 300 Ks; Breaks ASC Pitcher of the Week Record
Setting new records at ETBU in his career, Collins broke the 300-strikeout barrier against Concordia Texas in the ASC Tournament. He now has 308 career strikeouts and 119 on the year. The ETBU record of 121 strikeouts in a season was set last year by Collins as he approaches breaking that record this year. He has 10 games in his career with 10 or more strikeouts with a career-high of 15 vs. Texas Dallas last year to win the ASC regular season championship in Marshall. He is 27-6 overall in 44 appearances with 12 complete games in 217.1 innings pitched.
This year, he broke the ASC record for winning Pitcher of the Week awards earning five this year to give him 10. He surpassed Texas Lutheran's Brad Orosey's from 2009 to 2012 when he won it nine times.
Double Digit Ks in a Game (10)
April 10, 2021 vs. Louisiana College – 11
Feb. 13, 2022 vs. Belhaven – 13
Feb. 19, 2022 vs. Ozarks – 10
Feb. 27, 2022 vs. Howard Payne – 12
Mar. 5, 2022 vs. Hardin-Simmons – 11
Mar. 25, 2022 vs. Sul Ross State – 11
Apr. 23, 2022 vs. Texas Dallas – 15
Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Howard Payne – 10
Mar. 25 , 2023 vs. UMHB – 11
Apr. 14, 2023 vs. Hardin-Simmons - 13
ETBU in National Tournaments
It was 22 years since ETBU had been in a national tournament last playing in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) World Series in 2001. They made three appearances in 1999, 2000, and 2001 and were the NCCAA World Series runners-up in 2001. ETBU went 30-15 that year. Overall, they are 4-4 in the NCCAA National Tournament and now are 7-5 in two national tournaments.
NCAA Tournament Appearance
2023
ETBU 16, Cal Lutheran 6
ETBU 9, Trinity 4
Trinity 8, ETBU 6
ETBU 2, Trinity 1
NCCAA World Series Appearance
2001
Faulkner 5, ETBU 4
ETBU 4, Mount Vernon Nazarene 2
ETBU 13, Malone 3
ETBU 3, Gardner Webb 2
2000
Olivet Nazarene 6, ETBU 3
Malone 9, ETBU 2
ETBU 6, Indiana Wesleyan 4
1999
Hillsdale Baptist 4, ETBU 3
Emmanuel College 3, ETBU 2
ETBU in the NCAA
ETBU is in nine NCAA categories ranked in the top 20. They are second in the nation in doubles with 119 and are second in home runs at 50. Rounding out the top five, they are fourth in runs scored at 468 and fifth in home runs per game (1.50).
Individually,
Ben Lea leads the nation in home runs (23) and is second total bases (154) by one base behind John Hopkins Matthew Cooper with 155. Cooper is also tied with Lea for the lead in home runs, too. Lea is also seventh in slugging percentage (.922).
Sayers Collins is second in the nation in strikeouts with 119 while
Brett Wagner is then 9
th in RBI with 65.
Jacob Evangelista is in the top 20 for hits with 76 and is nine away from ETBU's single season record of 85.
Team
Doubles – T-2
nd (119)
Home Runs – 2
nd (75)
Runs – T-4
th (468)
Home Runs Per Game – 5
th (1.50)
Slugging Percentage – 6
th (.557)
Double Plays – T-6
th (42)
Hits - 7
th (564)
Batting Average – 18
th (.336)
Scoring – 18
th (9.4)
ERA – 48
th (4.38)
Ben Lea
Home Runs – T-1
st (22)
Total Bases – 2
nd (154)
Home Runs Per Game – 4
th (0.46)
Slugging Percentage - 7
th (.922)
Runs – 27
th (59)
Brett Wagner
RBI – 9
th (65)
Home Runs – 23
rd (14)
Sayers Collins
Strikeouts – 2
nd (119)
Jacob Evangelista
Hits – 17
th (76)
ETBU in National Polls
ETBU is currently in two NCAA Division III National Polls being 15
th in one and 19
th in the other as of Tuesday night, May 24th. ETBU fell one spot to 15
th in an off week in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll and moved up three spots in the D3baseball.com poll. This is the sixth week in a row to be ranked in the CBN poll and second week in the D3baseball.com.
CBN Poll
American Baseball Coaches Assn.
NCAA Div. 3 Baseball Poll (As of May 16, 2023)
