Yellow Jacket Baseball Gears Up For HCAC Tournament

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College baseball team qualified for the 2013 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2004 with a pair of wins at Transylvania over the weekend. The two victories gave DC 20 victories on the season, the most of any Defiance baseball team since 1995.

This year's Purple and Gold squad is looking to make school-history, as no Defiance College baseball team has ever won a game in the HCAC Tournament. The Jackets have a 0-4 mark in the postseason as a member of the Heartland.

DC is set to face top-seeded Manchester University in the first round of the tourney on Thursday, May 9 at noon in North Manchester, Ind. This meeting will mark the second time that the two teams have played each other in the HCAC Tournament. Manchester defeated Defiance in the opening round of the 2004 tourney.

The Spartans enter the postseason ranked No. 13 in the country and boasts the conference's best offense, defense and pitching staff. However, Manchester is not unbeatable, as the hosts have lost games to Anderson, Rose-Hulman and Transylvania this season.

The Yellow Jackets come into the game with a resilience and toughness that many teams do not have. Defiance has a remarkable 9-3 record in one-run games and is 16-8 in contests decided by three runs or less. The Purple and Gold has won six games this season in its final at-bat and are a perfect 4-0 in extra innings. If the Jackets can keep the Manchester game close, they will have a good opportunity of pulling off the upset.

Pitching has played a major role in DC's success. The Yellow Jackets are fourth in the Heartland for fewest earned runs given up this season. Defiance's bullpen has also been great all year, as the Jackets are 14-3 when leading after the sixth inning, 9-2 after the seventh and 10-0 after the eighth.

Individually, Jake Taylor, Darin Waterman and Alex Schomaeker all rank among the HCAC's elite. Taylor is fourth in the league in wins with six and Waterman's 57 strikeouts place him fourth in the conference. Schomaeker, Defiance's all-time career and single-season saves leader, is the only closer in the Heartland with 10 saves on the season.

Performing at the plate will be a major factor in Defiance's success in the tournament. Defiance is an unblemished 12-0 when it records more hits than the opposition. Furthermore, the Purple and Gold is 19-7 when scoring at least three runs in games.

At the dish, the Yellow Jackets are led by Waterman, who paces the team in slugging percentage, runs scored, RBIs, doubles, and home runs. Another notable offensive performer is outfielder Aaron Helland. The junior leads the Heartland in stolen bases, as Helland has swiped 25 bags in 2013.

A DC victory in the opening round would put the Jackets one win away from the championship game. The Jackets would play the winner of the Anderson versus Franklin matchup on Friday at 9:30 a.m. If the Purple and Gold lose game one, they will play the loser of Anderson and Franklin on Friday at 12:30 p.m. in an elimination game.