NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Tournament – Whitewater, Wis. Regional
Penn State Harrisburg vs. No. 24 Texas Lutheran
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | BRACKET | DIGITAL PROGRAM
Thursday, May 27 | 7 p.m. EST | Wisconsin-Whitewater | Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium
For the second consecutive season and third time in program history, Penn State Harrisburg baseball will compete in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Lions earned the No. 4 seed in the Whitewater, Wis. Regional and will face nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran in their first game of regional action on Thursday night, May 27.
LIVE VIDEO
(Watch) All games will be streamed live and for free. Audio commentary will also be available.
LIVE STATS
(Follow) Fans can keep up with all the action in real time with live stats.
GOING TO THE REGIONAL
(Fan Protocols) Entry gates will open 60 minutes prior to the scheduled game time. Spectators seeking entry to Miller Stadium will need to visit the ticket window. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, $7 for students, and $5 for children under age 12 per game. Food and beverages will be available at the concession stand. Carry-in food items are not permitted. Health and safety procedures including masking and social distancing will be enforced throughout the duration of the regional.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Penn State Harrisburg (28-7) won the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship to secure an automatic berth in this year's NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 4 seed in the Whitewater Regional. The Lions defeated one nationally-ranked opponent and racked up seven wins over regionally-ranked teams this spring in Shenandoah, Keystone, and Penn State Abington. Top-seeded Adrian (32-7) claimed the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship en route to earning an automatic bid, while regional host UW-Whitewater (37-5) won its third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Title to capture the No. 2 seed. Texas Lutheran (28-12) knocked off nationally-ranked Trinity (Texas) to win the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship and claim the region's No. 3 seed. No. 5 Luther (31-14) captured the American Rivers Conference Title to punch its ticket to the tournament, while sixth-seeded Salem State (13-8) secured an automatic berth thanks to winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championship.
HARRISBURG IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Penn State Harrisburg is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance after earning an at-large bid in 2019 and securing an automatic berth in 2013 thanks to a NEAC Title. All of the program's NCAA Tournament appearances have come under the guidance of ninth-year head coach Ryan Bown. The Lions went 1-2 in the tournament in 2019, defeating Alvernia to earn the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory and falling twice to Tufts. In 2013, the Blue & White fell to top-seeded Kean before bowing out against Johns Hopkins. Penn State Harrisburg is 1-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
LAST TIME OUT
(Recap) In a battle of regionally-ranked teams, Penn State Harrisburg won the 2021 NEAC Championship in thrilling fashion thanks to a doubleheader sweep of Penn State Abington that included a walk-off victory in the deciding game on Sunday, May 16. The hometown Lions were dominant in a 13-4 game one win before capturing the conference title and securing an automatic NCAA Tournament berth with a heart-stopping 6-5 victory in the clincher, capped off by a bases-loaded, two-RBI single from Matt Parks in the bottom of the ninth inning.
TWO TROPHIES
(History) This spring, the Lions clinched the NEAC Regular Season Title before capturing their second NEAC Championship after also achieving the feat in 2013. Penn State Harrisburg returned to the NEAC in 2020 after competing as a member of the Capital Athletic Conference (now Coast-to-Coast Conference) from 2014-2019.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
(SOS) According to D3baseball.com, Penn State Harrisburg played the 13th-toughest schedule in the nation this spring. The Lions' strength of schedule was the hardest among teams competing in the Whitewater Regional and the second toughest among all teams in the NCAA's Mid-Atlantic Region, ranking behind only that of Keystone.
WILLIAMS, HARSHBARGER EARN NEAC'S TOP HONORS
(Story) Earlier this month, Bret Williams was named the NEAC Player of the Year and Drew Harshbarger was named the NEAC Pitcher of the Year. For Williams, it is the second career conference player of the year award he's earned after being named the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Player of the Year in 2019, while Harshbarger is the first hurler in program history to earn a conference pitcher of the year accolade. Williams and Harshbarger joined teammates Dallas Hite and Matt Parks on the NEAC All-Conference First Team, while Zach Gettys and Chase Smith earned second-team all-conference recognition.
WILLIAMS' FAREWELL TOUR
Bret Williams is going out with a bang. The senior recently became just the fifth player in NCAA Division III history to hit 60 career home runs and his total currently stands at 63 (tied for fourth-best all-time). In terms of career totals, the Mount Carmel, Pa. native ranks second all-time in total bases (541), fifth all-time in RBI (247), tied for sixth all-time in runs (227), and eighth all-time in hits (283). This season, Williams leads the nation in walks (41) and ranks third in RBI (64), fourth in home runs (17), fourth in slugging percentage (.991), and seventh in on-base percentage (.608).
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
(Statistics) As a team, Penn State Harrisburg leads the nation in home runs per game (1.51) and ranks fourth in the country in total home runs (53), eighth in scoring (10.1 runs per game), eighth in on-base percentage (.451), ninth in walks (214), 11th in slugging percentage (.540), and 13th in runs scored (353).
REGIONAL DARKHORSE
(Story) D3baseball.com recently released its 2021 NCAA Tournament Preview and named Penn State Harrisburg its "Dark Horse" of the Whitewater Regional. UW-Whitewater was tabbed the regional favorite, while Luther was dubbed most likely to play the role of "Cinderella."
AT THE POLLS
(National Poll) Fresh off winning a conference championship, Penn State Harrisburg climbed to No. 3 in the final NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings of the season. Nationally-ranked Rowan claimed the top spot in the region, while Keystone followed in second. In terms of teams competing in the Whitewater Regional, the hosts rank fifth nationally in the latest D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll, while top-seeded Adrian is No. 10 this week. Texas Lutheran is the third team to earn a national ranking, coming in at No. 24.
LOOKING AHEAD
(Schedule) The regional is double elimination format and a Penn State Harrisburg victory would guarantee them at least one more game. The winner of Thursday's contest between the Lions and Texas Lutheran will play the winner of the UW-Whitewater vs. Luther matchup on Friday at 6 p.m. The loser will take on the winner of the Adrian vs. Salem State contest on Friday at 2:30 p.m.