A look at the 2023 NCAA Division III College World Series in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — The NCAA Division III College World Series begins Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

The eight-team event is double elimination. Last year’s champion was Eastern Connecticut State, which is not in this year’s field.

The tournament continues Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tuesday is a scheduled off day, with championship games Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday’s games are Johns Hopkins and Misericordia at 10 a.m., Endicott and Baldwin-Wallace at 1:15 p.m., Salisbury and East Texas Baptist at 4:30 p.m. and Lynchburg and Wisconsin-LaCrosse at 7:45 p.m.

Here is a closer look at the eight schools involved by seed. Tickets to games can be purchased at the ballpark.

Johns Hopkins (44-5)

The Bluejays return to Cedar Rapids for a second straight year. The top seed lost its first game of the super regional to Wheaton (Mass.) before rallying to win twice. Outfielder Matthew Cooper (.431 batting average with 24 home runs) is a first-team all-America outfielder by D3baseball.com. Gabriel Romano (10-1, 1.76 ERA) is a second-team pitcher.

Salisbury (35-6)

The Sea Gulls are the second seed. Salisbury won the College World Series two years ago. Salisbury scored 10 and 17 runs, respectively, in its two super regional wins over Rowan (N.J.). Danny Wheeler (.400) BA is a fourth-team all-America first baseman by D3baseball.com.

Lynchburg (43-7)

The Virginia school is in in the Division III College World Series for the first time. The Hornets are a unique team offensively in that they have drawn nearly as many walks (276) as they have struck out (307). Senior pitcher Jack Bachmore has a nation-best 13 saves, an 8-1 record and 1.76 earned run average. He has 92 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings.

Endicott (45-7)

The Gulls get a rematch of a super regional last year in their first-round CWS game Friday, trying to avenge a pair of losses to Baldwin-Wallace. Gabe Van Emon (10-1, 1 save, 1.51 ERA) is a first-team all-America pitcher. Located in Beverley, Mass., Endicott leads Division III nationally with a 2.89 team ERA.

Baldwin-Wallace (36-10)

The fifth-seeded Yellow Jackets return to Cedar Rapids. First baseman/designated hitter Alexis Castillo is a fourth-team all-American who hit .388 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs. In his team’s five NCAA tournament games thus far, he is hitting .500 with a team-best 14 RBIs. Baldwin-Wallace is located in Berea, Ohio.

Wisconsin-La Crosse (36-11)

The school closest to Cedar Rapids in this tournament, the Eagles are making their third CWS appearance, also qualifying in 2015 and 2016. Sixth-seeded UWL hits .337 as a team, led by Mac Born at .417. La Crosse beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a super regional, losing Game 2 of the best-of-3 series, 24-20, but winning the winner-take-all third game, 16-10.

East Texas Baptist (40-13)

This is the first College World Series trip for the seventh-seeded Tigers. They beat LaVerne (Calif.) in the deciding third game of their super regional last week. Senior Sayers Collins is a second-team all-America pitcher who is 11-2 with a 2.64 ERA. Ben Lea is a first-team all-America outfielder. East Texas Baptist is located in Marshall, Texas.

Misericordia (39-13)

The Cougars need one win to set the school record in the department. This is the second CWS appearance for the school, located in Dallas, Pa. Outfielder Garrett McIlhenney leads Misericordia in hitting at .404. He also has walked 51 times and struck out just 30. This is the field’s No. 8 seed.

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