BEREA, Ohio — The Baldwin Wallace baseball team has an overall record of 31-10. You don't stumble into that many wins by chance.
"We find a way to win," says senior Ryan Guggenheim.
That's become the Yellow Jackets' identity.
"We play with a lot of poise. We don't get easily rattled. We play hard, try to put pressure on the other team, make them make mistakes and take advantage of those mistakes," said senior Luke Vonderhaar.
Baldwin Wallace won the Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season title this season after earning a program-record 15 conference wins.
"Our conference is one of the best in the country. We think we're the SEC of Division III baseball, so any time you can make a run like that, these guys are competitive. They're good. They're tough," said Baldwin Wallace Head Coach Brian Harrison.
He would know. Harrison is in his 13th season at the helm of the program, and the Yellow Jackets are now set to make their 10th NCAA tournament appearance and 6th under his leadership.
"When your best players are your best leaders, great things happen. These kids have been incredible, and I'm excited to see them make a run here in the next couple weeks," said Harrison.
Harrison, the OAC Coach of the Year, has them prepared for a solid postseason run.
"We had the expectation that we would come back with this group of guys and compete at this level. I think that's the level we've worked at all year to get to this point to have a chance to compete in the NCAA tournament and give us a chance to go out there and win games," said Vonderhaar.
"I think if we do the things we do and play against ourselves, we can stand a chance with any team in this country," says Guggenheim.
"I'll bet on our guys. I like our guys," declares Harrison.
Baldwin Wallace will take on Spalding University on Friday. The four-team, double-elimination regional is being hosted at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
Carly Mascitti is a sports anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @carlymascitti.
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