WHITEWATER, Wis. – Webster University will begin its quest for a regional championship here Friday morning as the 18th-ranked and top-seeded Gorloks will face fourth-seeded Bethany Lutheran College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Whitewater Regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and held at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium. First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 11 a.m. and is the first of two first round games in the Whitewater Regional.
 
Along with Webster's game against Bethany Lutheran, the other first round game on Friday will feature No. 2 seeded and host school Wisconsin-Whitewater (34-9) will face No. 3 seeded North Central (Ill.) College (31-11) at 2 p.m. The tournament is double elimination and the championship is scheduled for Sunday, May 19 at 12 p.m., with the if necessary game to follow at 4 p.m. The winner of the Whitewater Regional will advance to the super regional round next weekend as will face the winner of the Chicago, Ill., Regional hosted by Concordia-Chicago.
 
The Gorloks are making its third consecutive and 13th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its eighth appearance in the last nine seasons. Webster enters the NCAA Tournament having recorded a 23-25 record in the tournament, including a 23-21 mark in the NCAA Tournament 13th-year Gorlok head coach Bill Kurich. Webster's 23 wins are the second most among the four teams in the Whitewater Regional, while its 13 appearances are third most among the field of four teams.

Webster, who won regional titles in 2012, 2013 and 2015, enters the Whitewater Regional sporting a 32-10 overall record and the Gorloks have won six straight games and 17 of its last 19 games overall with the only losses coming in back-to-back shutouts against Fontbonne (9-0) on April 28 and top-ranked Concordia-Chicago (1-0) on May 3. Webster earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after claiming its second consecutive and 10th all-time St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title with a 10-5 win over Spalding in the championship game.

Meanwhile, Bethany Lutheran comes into the NCAA Tournament sporting a 23-16 overall record after claiming its second consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament title and earning an automatic bid last Saturday with a 7-2 win over Wisconsin-Superior in the championship game. The Vikings enter the NCAA Tournament having won five straight games and seven of its last eight overall with the only loss being an 11-7 setback at home to the College of St. Scholastica on May 4. BLC is making its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament as they went 0-2 at last year's Midwest Regional Tournament hosted by the College of Scholastica and held in Duluth, Minn.

The Gorloks are making its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament thanks to a pitching staff that is second in NCAA Division III Baseball in ERA (2.52) and a defense that leads all of D-III Baseball in fielding percentage (.980). The Gorloks pitching staff has allowed just 118 runs in 346 innings of work and has tossed seven complete games, five shutouts and has recorded 310 strikeouts and walked just 107 opposing batters. Webster's opponents are hitting just .229 against the Gorloks this season. On defense, Webster has committed just 29 errors in 1,480 fielding chances and has also turned 38 double plays, which is 19th-best in Division III.  

While its pitching staff and defense have been the key component to Webster's success this season, the Gorloks still have a strong offense as they enter the NCAA Tournament hitting .288 as a team as they have recorded 376 hits, scored 272 runs, hit 76 doubles, five triples, 24 home runs and has had 243 RBI. Additionally, Webster is 102-for-126 on stolen bases and has drawn 176 walks and been hit by 69 pitches, which is 19th in Division III. Over its last five games, Webster's offense has begun picking up the pace as they are hitting .321 with 51 hits, 38 runs, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 35 RBI and is 13-for-17 on stolen bases, including scoring double-digit runs in two of its three SLIAC Tournament games last weekend.

Leading the way for Webster's pitching staff is junior Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic). Mulhearn, who was named a First-Team All-SLIAC selection, enters the NCAA Tournament leading the Gorloks in wins (10), starts (12), complete games (5), innings pitched (84.1), strikeouts (86) and is second in appearances (15) and third in ERA (2.13). Mulhearn is 10-2 on the year and currently ranks fourth in D-III in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.56), fourth in wins (10), 17th in complete games (5) and 18th in strikeouts (86) and has recorded six or more strikeouts in eight of his 15 outings, including two double-digit strikeout performances.

In addition to Mulhearn, sophomore Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch), who was named a Third-Team All-SLIAC selection and the MVP of the SLIAC Tournament, is 6-3 with a 1.89 ERA. He has made 11 appearances and 10 starts and in 66.2 innings of work, Beaver has struck out 61 and walked 18. He has allowed two runs or less in eight of his last 11 appearances, including allowing no runs in five of those eight outings.
On the season, Webster's starters are sporting a 2.68 ERA as they are 19-8 on the year and in 221.2 innings, they have allowed 205 hits, 85 runs, 66 earned runs, 57 walks and has struck out 196.

The Gorloks bullpen has been equally effective as they are sporting a 2.24 ERA as they have tossed 124.1 innings and have allowed 80 hits, 33 runs, 31 earned runs, walked 50 and have struck out 114.

Webster's bullpen has been led by senior Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton College) as he enters the NCAA Tournament with a 7-2 record and a 2.25 ERA. In addition, he has recorded seven saves, which is tied for second on the school's single season list. Santiago, who was named a Third-Team All-SLIAC honoree, has made a team-best 21 appearances and in 48 innings, he has struck out 46 and walked just 19 and opposing hitters are hitting just 172 against Santiago. On the year, Santiago has allowed one run or less in 18 of his 21 appearances, including allowing no run in 13 of those outings.

Webster's offense, which is averaging 6.5 runs per game on the year, has three regulars in its line-up hitting over .300 on the year, including junior leftfielder A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) hitting .341. In addition to Smith, the other Gorloks hitting over .300 on the year are sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) and senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) as both of them are hitting .300 this year.

Swords leads the team in hits (51), runs scored (42), doubles (16), RBI (40) and is tied for team lead in home runs (5) and walks (25), while Tholl is second in hits (43), doubles (12) and stolen bases (20) and Smith is second in runs scored (33), third in hits (42) and is tied for team lead in walks with 25.

On the season, Webster has recoded 90 multi-hit games, including Swords and Smith leading the way with 15 and 13 multi-hit games. In addition, Webster's 76 doubles lead the SLIAC as five Gorloks have hit seven doubles on the year.

Webster is also one of the top base stealing teams in Division III as the Gorloks are 102-for-126 on stolen bases this season and the 102 steals are 15th in Division III. On the year, four Gorloks have recorded 10 or more steals, including junior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) leading the way with 21 steals as he is 21-for-25. In addition to Hopp, Tholl has had 20 steals (20-for-23), while Swords is a perfect 14-for-14 and Smith is 12-for-16.

The Gorloks opponent on Friday, Bethany Lutheran comes into the postseason hitting .337 as a team and have recorded an ERA of 7.05, which is the highest among the four teams competing in the Whitewater Regional. The Vikings are making just its second all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament as they also qualified last season.

Leading the way offensively for the Vikings is sophomore outfielder Ross Beumer, who his hitting .411 with 63 hits, 44 runs scored, 14 doubles, two triples, 41 RBI and is slugging .556 and is 12-for-14 on stolen bases. In addition to Beumer, senior shortstop is hitting .416 with 64 hits, 46 runs scored, 16 doubles, 10 home runs and has had 53 RBI and is slugging .714, which is 33rd in Division III. As a team, BLC has six regulars in its line-up hitting over .325 on the season.

The Vikings pitching staff is led by sophomore Dallas McBroom, who has a 4.01 ERA and is 4-2 on the season. McBroom has made 11 appearances and 10 starts this season and in 58.1 innings, he has allowed 45 hits, 34 runs (26 earned runs), while walking 27 and striking out 37. The leading winner for the Vikings is sophomore Adam Fjerstad, who is 7-3 on the year and has recorded a 6.14 ERA. Fjerstad also lead the Vikings in strikeouts with 59 and innings pitched (63.0).

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

TOURNAMENT QUICK NOTES: The four teams competing in this year's Whitewater Regional have posted a combined record of 122-46 on the season and have a combined record of 114-87 all-time in the NCAA Tournament… The four teams in the Whitewater Regional have made a combined 48 all-time appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including Wisconsin-Whitewater having made 22 appearances… The four teams in the Whitewater Regional have made a combined 12 appearances in the Division III World Series and one school, Wisconsin-Whitewater has won two national titles with the most recent coming in 2014… Two of the teams in the field are nationally ranked as Wisconsin-Whitewater is ranked 12th in both the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball and D3Baseball.com polls, while Webster is ranked 18th in both of those same polls… The four teams have a combined batting average of .318 and a combined ERA of 3.95… Two of the teams in the field, Webster and Wisconsin-Whitewater, rank in the Top 4 in Division III in pitching ERA as Webster is No. 2 with a 2.52 ERA and UWW is fourth with an ERA of 2.86… Three of the four teams (Webster, UW-Whitewater and North Central) have each won 30 games this season.

Listed below is the Whitewater Regional Tournament schedule.