SAUGET, Ill. - Webster University will begin its quest for its fourth regional championship here Thursday afternoon as the seventh-ranked and top-seeded Gorloks will face eighth-seeded Thomas More College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Central Regional Tournament at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch for Thursday's game is slated for a 1:15 p.m. start and will be the second of four first round games Thursday.

Along with Webster's game against Thomas More, other first round games on Thursday include No. 4 seed Rhodes (29-14) facing No. 5 seeded and 13th-ranked Franklin (Ind.) (38-3) at 10 a.m., while No. 3 seeded Texas-Tyler (29-16) meets No. 6 seed Aurora (30-13) at 4:30 p.m. and the final game of the first round is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. and will feature No. 1 ranked and No. 2 seeded Wisconsin-Whitewater (31-6) facing No. 7 seed Monmouth (Ill.). (28-12-1). The tournament is double elimination and the championship round is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, with the if necessary game scheduled for Monday, May 21. 

The Gorloks are making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament and is hosting the Central Regional Tournament for the third straight year, are making its 12th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its seventh appearance in the last eight seasons. Webster enters the NCAA Tournament having recorded a 21-23 record in the tournament, including a 21-19 mark in the NCAA Tournament under current 12th-year Gorlok head coach Bill Kurich. Webster's 21 wins in the NCAA Tournament are the third most among this year's Central Regional field, while its 12 appearances is second most among the eight qualifiers in the Central Regional.

Webster, who won regional titles in 2012, 2013 and 2015, enters the Central Regional Tournament sporting a 36-8 overall record and they have won 21 of its last 22 games with the only setback being a 9-4 loss to Greenville in the first game of last Saturday's championship round of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Webster earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after claiming its ninth all-time SLIAC Tournament title and first since 2014 with an 8-0 win over Greenville in the second championship round game. 

Meanwhile, Thomas More comes into the NCAA Tournament sporting a 24-18 overall record after claiming the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament title and earning an automatic tournament berth last Saturday with a 7-5 win at Washington & Jefferson. The Saints enter the NCAA Tournament having won six of its last seven games with the only loss being an 8-7 setback to Washington & Jefferson in the PAC's first championship round game.

The Gorloks, who need one more win to tie the school's single season mark for victories with 37, enters the NCAA Tournament riding an offense that is hitting .327 and has recorded 465 hits, scored 348 runs, is averaging 7.9 runs per game and has hit 94 doubles, 11 triples and 26 home runs and has stolen 114 bases as they are 112-for-144 on stolen bases on the year. The .327 batting average is third best among the eight Central Regional teams, while the 348 runs are third best among the Central Regional field. 

In addition to a strong offense, Webster's pitching staff has also been strong this season as they enter the NCAA Tournament sporting a 3.46 ERA and have four pitchers with an ERA under 3.00, including sophomore closer Shane Donovan (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) posting a team-best 1.80 ERA. On the year, Webster's pitchers has tossed 367 innings and have allowed 337 hits, allowed 162 runs, 141 earned runs and has recorded 303 strikeouts and walked just 114. The Gorloks are 23rd in Division III with a 2.66 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year. 

Leading the way offensively for the Gorloks is sophomore first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro), who is hitting .435 and leads the team in hits (77), runs scored (43), doubles (17), home runs (6) and RBI (43). Kent's 77 hits has set a new a new single season school mark for hits and bettered the old mark of 75 hits set by Tom Henke in 2012. In addition to Kent, four other Gorloks are hitting over .320 on the season.

Freshman third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) is hitting .363 and has recorded 58 hits, scored 43 runs, hit 17 doubles, two triples and has 37 RBI and is 18-for-21 on stolen bases, while junior second baseman Danny Strohm (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University) is hitting .336 with 42 hits, 23 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple and is second in RBI with 39. Sophomore rightfielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's) is hitting 359 with 23 hits, 35 runs scored, five doubles, one triple, two home runs and is 18-for-22 on stolen base and senior leftfielder Mike Wick (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) is hitting .324 on the year and has had 46 hits, scored 40 runs, hit two triples, four doubles, three home runs and 28 RBI.

In addition to those four hitters, two other Gorloks are hitting over .300 as senior centerfielder Conner Wardlaw (Arnold, Mo./Jefferson College) is hitting .317 and has had 46 hits, scored 31 runs, 24 RBI and is 12-for-18 in stolen bases and junior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) is hitting .305 with 40 hits, 33 runs scored, has hit 11 doubles and is 9-for-10 on stolen bases. 

Meanwhile, on the mound, the Gorloks have three pitchers with ERA's under 2.50, including Donovan's team-best 1.80. On the season, Donovan is 6-0 in 22 appearances and has recorded a Webster single-season tying seven saves. In those 22 appearances, Donovan has thrown 50 innings and has struck out 26 and walked 11 and opposing hitters are hitting .214 against the righthander. In addition to Donovan, freshman Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) has a 2.34 ERA and a 5-1 record. In 50 innings and 16 appearances, along with six starts, he has struck out 50 and walked seven and senior Austin Beccue (Red Bud, Ill./Gibault Catholic), who is Webster's No. 3 starter, is 4-2 with a 2.45 ERA as he has struck out 27 and walked just six in 44 innings of work. 

Webster's No. 1 starter this season has been sophomore Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) as he is 9-2 with a 2.86 ERA. On the season, Mulhearn has made 13 appearances and 12 starts and in 78.2 innings of work, he has struck out a team-best 71 and walked just 14. 

Along with Mulhearn, the other top starter this season for Webster has been senior C.J. Lee (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), who is 7-2 with a 4.28 ERA. He, like Mulhearn, has made 13 appearances and 12 starts and in 69.1 innings of work, he has struck out 70 and walked 23. In SLIAC play, Lee was even more dominant as he went 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA and in seven appearances and six starts, he tossed 35.1 innings and recorded 41 strikeouts and walked 12. 

The Gorloks opponent on Thursday, Thomas More comes into the postseason hitting .327 as a team and have recorded a team ERA of 4.34. Thomas More is making its eighth al-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2016. 

Leading the way offensively for the Saints is junior catcher Sam Hauer. On the season, Hauer is hitting .387 with 63 hits, 28 runs scored, 13 doubles, five home runs and 43 RBI. In addition to Hauer, junior utility player Sean Lawrence is hitting .384 with 63 hits, 39 runs scored, 15 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 40 RBI, while senior second baseman Ben Laumann, who was named the PAC Player of the Year, is hitting .345 with 58 hits, 55 runs scored, 16 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 36 RBI and has walked 25 times and stole 17 bases in 19 attempts. 

The Saints pitching staff is led by junior Jonathan Breeden, who is 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA. He has made 16 appearances and in 37.1 innings, he has struck out 37 and walked 18, while their top starter is senior Jayson Essell, who is 7-2 with a 2.50 ERA. In 10 starts, he has thrown three complete games and in 75.2 innings of work, Essell has walked eight and struck out 35. 

Thursday's meeting will be the first-ever between the two schools. 

TOURNAMENT QUICK NOTES: The eight teams competing in this year's Central Regional have posted a combined record of 245-207-1 on the season and have a combined record of 157-149 all-time in the NCAA Tournament... The eight teams in this year's Central Regional have made a combined 80 all-time appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including Aurora and Wisconsin-Whitewater having made 21 appearances each in the NCAA Tournament... The eight teams have also made a combined 16 appearance in the Division III World Series and one school, Wisconsin-Whitewater has won two national titles with the most recent coming in 2014... Three of the teams in the field are nationally ranked as Wisconsin-Whitewater is the No. 1 ranked team in both the Collegiate Baseball and D3Baseball.com polls, while Webster is seventh and 18th and Franklin is 13th and 12th respectively in those same polls... The eight teams have a combined batting average of .324 and a combined ERA of 3.87... Franklin (Ind.) comes into the NCAA Tournament leading Division III in batting average (.360), scoring (7.9 runs per game), home runs (62), home runs per game (1.51), on-base percentage (.469) and won/lost percentage (.927)... Four of the eight teams in the field (Franklin, Webster, Aurora and Wisconsin-Whitewater) have won 30 games on the year, while Rhodes and Texas-Tyler need one more win this season to post a 30-win campaign. 

Listed below is the Central Regional Tournament schedule.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Game 1 - No. 4 Rhodes (29-14) vs. No. 5 Franklin (38-3), 10 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 1 Webster (36-8) vs. No. 8 Thomas More (24-18), 1:15 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 3 Texas-Tyler (29-16) vs. No. 6 Aurora (30-13), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 2 Wisconsin-Whitewater (31-6) vs. No. 7 Monmouth (Ill.) (28-12-1), 7:45 p.m.
Friday, May 18, 2018
Game 5 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 6 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 1:15 p.m.
Game 7 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Game 9 - Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7, 10 a.m.
Game 10 - Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 8, 1:15 p.m.
Game 11 - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 4:30 p.m.
Game 12 - Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 7:45 p.m.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Game 13 - Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 14 - Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 13, 3:30 p.m. (Championship #1)
Monday, May 21, 2018
Game 15 - Winner of Game 14 vs. Loser of Game 14 (if necessary), TBD (Championship #2)