MARSHALL, Texas – Just one step away from the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, no. 2 East Texas Baptist University hosts Williams College on Thursday and Friday in the Super Regional Tournament. The winner of the Super Regional advances to the National Championship Tournament next week at Bell Park at Taylor Field.
Below are notes for the Super Regional Tournament.
Game Details
Opponent: Williams College (Mass.)
Date: Thursday/Friday, May 23-24, 2023
Time: 2:00 p.m./1:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.
Stadium: Jason Bell Park at Taylor Field
Series: First Meeting
Williams College (26-11)
Bangor, Maine Regional Champion
NESCAC Tournament Champion
The Ephs have won eight games in a row claiming two championships on the way. They won the NESCAC Tournament with wins over Hamilton College (4-0), Bowdoin College (10-2), and Trinity College (3-0). At the Bangor, Maine Regional Tournament, they also went 3-0 picking up wins over no. 16 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 9-0, Framingham State, 6-1, and no. 20 Husson, 4-0.
Freshman Katie Blanch was just named a NFCA Division III National Freshman of the Year Finalist as a pitcher. She is 11-3 with a 1.43 ERA, two shutouts, and 66 strikeouts. Sadie Leonard is 14-1 with a 0.66 ERA, eight shutouts, and 191 strikeouts. Kelly McGuigan is the hitter with a .383 average, 46 hits, 13 dobules, six home runs and 20 RBI. Sydney Fleming leads the team with 32 RBI.
WC is 4-4 against national opponents this year. They earned wins over no. 17 Tufts (Mar. 31), 6-2, no. 15 RPI (May 1), 2-1, no. 16 RPI (May 16), 9-0, and no. 20 Husson (May 18), 4-0. They were swept by no. 25 Redlands (Mar. 21), 5-0, and 6-5, early in the season an fell to Tufts, 10-1, in game two along with a game two loss to RPI (May 1), 7-5.
East Texas Baptist (41-2)
Marshall, Texas Regional Champion
ASC Tournament Champion
ETBU is on an 18-game winning streak and is 20-0 at home this year at Ball Park at Taylor Field. They won the Marshall, Texas Regional Tournament and ASC Tournament to move to 41-2 on the year. The Regional Tournament Championship was their first since 2017 when they won the Marshall, Texas Regional. ETBU won the Marshall, Texas Regional going 3-0 with a 10-0 win over Simmons University and then two straight wins against no. 9 Texas Lutheran, 12-0, and 5-3.
Tristen Maddox,
Emma Bell,
Mary Frances Ellis, and
Tristen Maddox were named All-Tournament as
Avery Holland was the Most Outstanding Player.
This year has brought five games against ranked opponents as ETBU is 5-0. ETBU played three ranked teams in Georgia at the NFCA Leadoff Classic going 3-0. They defeated no. 8 Christopher Newport (Mar. 2), 3-1, no. 13 Case Western Reserve (Mar. 2), 4-1, and no. 3 Berry College (Mar. 3), 13-3. ETBU then defeated no. 9 TLU, twice, last week for the regional championship.
Super Regional Appearances
This will be the third Super Regional that ETBU will play in the past 10 years. They hosted the 2014 Super Regional and then travel to Tyler, Texas, in 2017. ETBU has a 2-3 record in the Super Regional winning both games in 2014. This is the second time that the Super Regional will be at Bell Park at Taylor Field and ETBU is 2-1 at home in Super Regionals.
ETBU in Super Regional (2-3)
2017 | Tyler, Texas | vs. #4 Texas Tyler
May 19 - L, 7-3
May 20 - L, 9-1
2014 | Marshall, Texas | vs. #22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
May 16 – W, 6-4
May 17, - L, 6-4
May 17, - W, 5-4 (walk-off home run)
ETBU vs. East Coast in NCAA (4-1)
Facing five different teams in the NCAA Tournament from the East Coast from Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts, ETBU is 4-1. ETBU is 2-1 vs. Massachusetts teams with wins over Eastern Nazarene University and Simmons University. The loss came to no. 1 Tufts in the 2014 National Championship Tournament in Tyler, Texas, 9-3.
Eastern Nazarene (Mass.) | 1-0
2021: May 21 (Marshall, TX) W, 10-2 (5)
Salisbury (Md.) | 1-0
2021: May 23 (Marshall, TX) W, 2-1
Simmons University (Mass.) | 1-0
2024: May 16 (Marshall, TX) W, 10-0 (5)
SUNY-Geneseo (NY) | 1-0
2023: May 18 (Marshall, TX) W, 6-0
Tufts (Mass.) | 0-1
2014: May 22 (Tyler, TX) L, 9-3
ETBU at Home in NCAA Tournament (15-12)
Receiving the bid to host the Super Regionals, playing post season at Bell Park at Taylor Field has become a tradition in the post-season. ETBU has hosted several regional tournaments and now will have their second Super Regional. Since 2009, ETBU is 15-12 at home in the NCAA Tournament. In the last four years, they are 8-6.
Year-by-Year Results at home
2024: W, 5-3, #9 Texas Lutheran
2024: W, 12-0, #9 Texas Lutheran
2024: W, 10-0, Simmons University
2023: L, 4-3, #8 Texas Lutheran
2023: L, 4-0, Belhaven
2023: W, 6-0, SUNY Geneseo
2022: L, 7-5, #6 Linfield
2022: L, 4-3, #5 Belhaven
2022: W, 7-2, #6 Linfield
2021: L, 3-1, #5 Birmingham Southern
2021: W, 2-1, #9 Salisbury
2021: L, 3-2, #5 Birmingham Southern
2021: W, 6-1, Redlands
2021: W, 10-2, Eastern Nazarene
2019: L, 6-1, #8 Texas Lutheran
2019: L, 7-4, #6 Birmingham Southern
2017: W, 7-5, #17 Whitworth
2017: L, 3-1, #17 Whitworth
2017: W, 5-3, #6 Texas Dallas
2017: W, 6-3, #17 Whitworth
2014: W, 5-4, #22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – Super Regional Championship
2014: L, 6-4, #22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
2014: W, 5-4, #22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
2009: L, 2-1, Linfield
2009: L, 1-0, Texas Tyler
2009: W, 1-0, Louisiana College
2009: W, 9-0, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Tigers at Home
ETBU loves playing at their home field of Bell Park at Taylor Field. Over the past two years, ETBU is 49-2 at home posting a perfect 20-0 record this year and went 28-0 during the regular season last year and 29-2 overall. In the past five years, including the shortened COVID season, ETBU is 58-10 on their field. The past 11 seasons have brought 191 wins and an 87.6 percent winning percentage at home.
Record at Home (11 seasons)
2024 20-0 (14-0 regular season)
2023 29-2 (28-0 regular season)
2022 15-2 (13-1 regular season)
2021 19-5 (16-3 regular season)
2020 6-0 (CoVID season)
2019 24-4 (21-2 regular season)
2018 17-1 (17-1 regular season)
2017 23-5 (20-4 regular season)
2016 13-3 (13-3 regular season)
2015 15-2 (15-2 regular season)
2014 22-3 (20-2 regular season)
Total: 191-27 (183-18)
In the Circle
The last 14 games have brought attention to the ETBU pitching staff with six shutouts and eight five-inning games. ETBU's pitching staff has only given up 16 runs with 12 runs earned. In four of the six post-season games, ETBU has recorded three shutouts as all three came in a row. ETBU shutout Concordia Texas, 8-0, in the ASC Championship game and then won 10-0 over Simmons and 12-0 vs. no. 9 Texas Lutheran in the NCAA Tournament.
In the post-season, ETBU has only given up seven runs as six are earned.
Post Season Shutouts
May 11 vs. Concordia Texas W, 8-0
May 16 vs. Simmons W, 10-0
May 17 vs. no. 9 TLU W, 12-0
Scoring Runs
In the post season, ETBU's offense has been on fire scoring 53 runs in six games averaging almost nine runs per game. In that time, ETBU has hit eight home runs and has hit a home run in eight straight games. ETBU has had 14 extra base hits and 58 hits with collecting 16 hits vs. Texas Lutheran.
