CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – And then there were eight.
 
Webster University opened up play in the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament nearly two weeks ago in Whitewater, Wis., as one of 56 teams vying for a National Championship and now that number has dwindled to eight as the 18th-ranked Gorloks are set to open play in the 2019 NCAA Division III World Series here Friday, May 31 at 1:15 p.m. against 22nd-ranked UMass-Boston in Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
 
The Gorloks (37-11), who earned its spot in Cedar Rapids after sweeping two games last weekend at top-ranked Concordia-Chicago to claim the Midwest Super Regional title, are making their fourth trip to the Division III World Series and first since 2015 when the series was played in Appleton, Wis. In fact, all three of Webster's previous trips to the World Series were in Appleton.
 
This is the first year that the Division III World Series is being played in Cedar Rapids at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The facility is the home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels, who are the Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins in the Midwest League.
 
Webster and UMass-Boston are two of the four teams competing in Pool A as the other two teams in Pool A kick off the World Series on Friday at 10 a.m. as sixth-ranked Chapman (38-11) faces Washington & Jefferson (36-10) in the first of four opening rounds games on Friday. The four teams will play a double-elimination format with the winner advancing to the best-of-three championship series against the winner of the other bracket – Pool B - to determine the 2019 National Champion.
 
The other bracket – Pool B - features Babson (38-8) facing 21st-ranked Johns Hopkins (34-11) at 4:30 p.m. Friday and the final opening round match-up has 17th-ranked Birmingham-Southern (39-13) facing Heidelberg (35-13) at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. 
 
Webster comes into the Division III World Series having won three straight and 11 of its last 12 games overall with the lone loss being a 14-9 setback to North Central (Ill.) in the first championship game of the NCAA Whitewater Regional on May 19, including sweeping both of its Midwest Super Regional games at Concordia-Chicago. The Gorloks opened the Super Regional with a 4-3 win last Friday and then picked up a 17-6 win in Saturday's second game to earn the Super Regional title and spot in the World Series.
 
The Gorloks, who captured their 13th consecutive regular season St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and also took home its second straight SLIAC Tournament title,  are making its third consecutive and 13th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament this season, including its eighth appearance in the last nine seasons. The Gorloks are 28-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2-6 in three previous trips to the D-III World Series. Webster is 28-22 in the NCAA Tournament under 13th-year head coach Bill Kurich.

Meanwhile, UMass-Boston comes into Friday's World Series opener with the Gorloks sporting a 35-12 record and are making its third all-time appearance in the D-III World Series and first since 2017 and have won 20 of its last 22 games, including opening the postseason with eight straight wins. The Beacons, who were champions of the Little East Conference, earned its spot in the World Series after needing three games to defeat New England College in the New England Super Regional in Boston to earn the Super Region title and the trip to Cedar Rapids. In the third and final game of the New England Super Regional, the Beacons won 6-2 to claim the title.
 
Friday's match-up will be the second this season between the two schools as Webster earned a 6-4 win over UMass-Boston in Kissimmee, Fla., on March 13 during its trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. In that game, Webster's offense benefited from 13 walks from UMB pitching, including a school-record tying four walks issued to sophomore shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) and two hit batsmen as they recorded eight hits and scored six runs. Junior Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) pitched into the seventh and allowed 10 hits and four runs, while striking out nine and walking none in his 107-pitch outing and senior closer Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton CC) pitched the final three innings and allowed one hit, while walking three and fanning five to earn his then second save of the season. 
 
UMB is making its fifth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance this season and they are 19-9 all-time in the tournament, including posting a 1-2 record at the 2017 D-III World Series. UMB's senior class will be playing their 40th career postseason game on Friday against the Gorloks as they have compiled a 29-10 record in the postseason.
 
The Gorloks enter the Division III World Series with a strong pitching staff that is second in Division III Baseball in ERA at 2.86 and has a defense that leads D-III in fielding percentage at .979. The Gorloks pitching staff has allowed just 150 runs in 400 innings of work and has tossed seven complete games, five shutouts and has recorded 354 strikeouts and walked 121 opposing batters. Webster's opponents are hitting just .237 against the Gorloks pitching staff this year. On defense, Webster has committed just 36 errors in 1,700 fielding chances and has turned 40 double plays, which is 18th-best in Division III and just four short of the school's single season record of 44 set in both 2015 and 2018.
 
While its pitching staff and defense have carried the way this season for the Gorloks, Webster's offense has really stepped it up in the postseason as Webster enters the Division III World Series hitting .304 on the season, but is hitting .378 in its nine postseason games, including hitting .397 in its six NCAA Tournament games. In the NCAA Tournament, Webster has recorded 89 hits, scored 59 runs, hit 16 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 55 RBI and is 9-for-12 on stolen bases. On the season, Webster has recorded 465 hits, has scored 331 runs, has hit 92 doubles and is scoring 6.9 runs per games and are averaging nearly 10 hits per game and have scored 10 or more runs in five of its nine postseason games.
 
Leading the way for Websters pitching staff is junior Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic). Mulhearn, who was a named an Honorable Mention D3Baseball.com All-American on Tuesday and was named the MVP of the NCAA Whitewater Regional, enters the D-III World Series leading the Gorloks in wins (12), starts (14), complete games (5), ERA (1.99), innings pitched (97.1) and strikeouts (100) and is second in appearances (18) and is one of just three pitchers in school history to record 100 or more strikeouts in a season. Mulhearn, who won two of WU's three games at the Whitewater Regional, is 12-2 on the year and is second in D-III in wins (12), fourth in starts (14), fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.09), 10th in strikeouts (100), 14th in WHIP (0.91) and 17th in complete games (17) and has recorded six or more strikeouts in 10 of his 18 outings, including two game of 10 or more strikeouts. Mulhearn's 12 wins and 99.1 innings pitched this season are both school records, while his 14 starts are second most in a single season.

In addition to Mulhearn, sophomore Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch), who was named a Third-Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region selection earlier this week, is 8-3 with a 2.30 ERA. He has made 13 appearances and 12 starts and in 82.1 innings of work, Beaver has struck out 68 and walked 21. He has allowed two earned runs or less in nine of his last 13 appearances, including allowing no earned runs in five of those nine outings. In six postseason games in Beaver's career, the right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.92 ERA as in 42.2 innings of work, he has allowed 42 hits, 12 runs, nine earned runs, while walking just three and striking out 27.

On the season, Webster's starters are sporting a 2.88 ERA as they are 23-9 on the year and in 253 innings, they have allowed 239 hits, 102 runs, 81 earned runs, 63 walks and has struck out 219.

The Gorloks bullpen has been equally effective heading into the D-III World Series as they are sporting a 2.82 ERA as they have tossed 147 innings and have allowed 107 hits, 48 runs, 46 earned runs, walked 58 and have struck out 135 and are 14-2 with 10 saves. The 10 saves this season are second-most in school history.

Webster's bullpen has been led by senior Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton College) as Santiago, who was named a Second-Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region selection, enters the D-III World Series with an 8-2 record and a 2.36 ERA. In addition, he has recorded a single season school record nine saves. Santiago has made a team-best 25 appearances, which is one short of Steven Dooley's school record 26 appearances and in 53.1 innings, he has struck out 55 and walked just 19 and opposing hitters are hitting just .180 against Santiago. On the year, Santiago has allowed one run or less in 22 of his 25 appearances, including allowing no runs in 14 of those outings.
 
On the offense side, Webster has six regulars in its line-up hitting over .300 on the year, including sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) hitting a team-leading .361 and over his last 10 games, he is hitting .524, including hitting .647 en route to earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the NCAA Whitewater Regional. The other five Gorloks hitting over .300 this season are junior left fielder A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin), senior right fielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC), sophomore shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine), sophomore designated hitter Kellen Quigley (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and junior catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West). Smith is hitting .333, while Tholl is hitting .325, Staker is hitting .309, Quigley is hitting .302 and Swanson is hitting .301 on the year.
 
Swords, who was named First-Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region selection on Tuesday, leads the Gorloks in at-bats (180), hits (65), runs scored (52), doubles (20) and RBI (52) and is tied for the team lead in home runs with seven and is second in walks (28) and is 15-for-17 on stolen bases, while Tholl is third in hits (51) and is second in doubles (14) and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 23 (23-for-27) and has been hit by a team-high 18 pitches, while Smith is fourth in hits (49), second in runs scored (38) and leads the teams in walks with 29.
 
Two of the hottest hitters for the Gorloks entering the D-III World Series are Staker and junior All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro). In the NCAA Tournament, Staker and Kent are hitting a combined .462 with 22 hits, 15 runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, 16 RBI and have stuck out four times in 48 at-bats. Staker is hitting .500 in the postseason with 11 hits, six runs scored, one double, 8 RBI, three hit by pitches and Kent, who is the midst of a career-high 11 game hit streak, has had 11 hits, nine runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, 8 RBI and two walks.
 
On the season, Webster has recorded 117 multi-hit games, including Swords, Kent and Smith leading the way with 20, 15 and 15 multi-hit games respectively. In addition, the Gorloks have hit 92 doubles and have hit 26 home runs.

Webster is also one of the top base stealing teams in Division III as the Gorloks are 111-138 on stolen bases this season and the 111 steals are 10th in Division III. On the year, four Gorloks have recorded 12 or more steals, including center fielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) and Tholl leading the way with 23 steals apiece as both Hopp and Tholl are 23-for-27 on steals this year. In addition, Swords is 15-for-17 on steals and Smith is 12-for-16.
 
The Gorloks opponent in Friday's D-III World Series opener, UMass-Boston, comes into the D-III World Series hitting .309 as a team and have an ERA of 3.35. The Beacons have hit 114 doubles, a school record 26 triples and 29 home runs and is 93-for-107 on stolen bases. The 114 doubles are fourth most in Division III, while the 26 triples are second-most in Division III. On the mound, UMB, who has won 35 games this season, is 15th in ERA (3.35) and has tossed four shutouts and has struck out 362 and walked 178 batters in 413.2 innings.

Leading the way offensively for the Beacons senior outfielder Nick Herzog, who was named a Second-Team D3Baseball.com All-American, is hitting .378 on the season with 73 hits, 58 runs scored, 14 doubles, 12 triples, 11 home runs, 55 RBI, is slugging .746 and is 23-for-25 on stolen bases. Herzog has played a school record 185 games and has already set a new single season school mark for total bases with 144. In addition to Herzog, senior infielder Kyle Boudrias is hitting .354 with 67 hits, 33 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 39 RBI, while junior outfielder Nick Cotraro is hitting .342 with 38 hits, has scored 21 run and has had 31 RBI. As a team, UMB has six starters hitting over .300 on the season and five Beacons have recorded 10 or more doubles.
 
UMass-Boston's pitching staff is led by senior right hander Fernando Burgos, who is 8-0 with a 3.08 ERA and has made 14 appearances and 12 starts and in 73 innings, he has recorded 51 strikeouts and 22 walks and holds the school's all-time record for strikeouts with 172, while freshman Dylan Fashempour is 7-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 15 appearances and 10 starts. He has had 53 strikeouts and has walked 24 and opposing hitters are batting .210 against Fashempour.
 
Perhaps the strength of UMB's pitching staff is its bullpen as three of their top relievers have ERA under 2.00, including senior closer Bobby Tramondozzi leading the way with a 1.47 ERA. Tramondozzi, who was named a Fourth-Team D3Baseball.com All-American on Tuesday, has recorded 12 saves, which is second-most in Division III and has struck out 43 and walked just seven in 36.2 innings and 24 appearances. In addition to Tramondozzi, junior Ben Gottesman (5-0) has a 1.83 ERA and has recorded 58 strikeouts in 54 innings and sophomore Tylor Arruda (7-1) has a 1.94 ERA and is second in innings pitched with 60.1.

Beacons are coached by Brendan Eygabroat, who is in his 15th season with the Beacons this season. He has led UMB to three World Series appearances, four Little East Conference Tournament titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Eygabroat is the winningest coach in Beacons history and won his 350th game at UMB in the second game of this year's UMass-Boston Regional and is 353-280-1 as UMB's coach.
 
NCAA DIVISION III WORLD SERIES QUICK NOTES: This is 44th edition of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships and the first year the championship will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa… The D-III World Series is scheduled to be in Cedar Rapids until at least 2022 as the American Rivers Conference, Cedar Rapids Tourism and the Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball Club are serving as the hosts for the Division III World Series… The eight teams competing in this year's D-III World Series have posted a combined record of 292-89 this season and have a combined record of 236-166 all-time in the NCAA Tournament… All eight of the teams in Cedar Rapids have won at least 34 games with Birmingham-Southern having the most wins with 39 and Johns Hopkins has won 34 games… Johns Hopkins has made the most NCAA Tournament appearances among the eight teams in the field as they are making its 23rd trip to the postseason… In fact, three other teams in this year's D-III World Series field have also made double-digit tournament appearances… The eight teams competing in Cedar Rapids this year have made a combined 28 appearances in the D-II World Series, including making its 11th trip to the World Series… Six of the eight teams in this year's championship field have made at least one trip previously to the D-III World Series… Babson and Birmingham-Southern are making their first-ever trip to Division III World Series this year… One team in this year's field, Chapman, has won a national title (2003) and three other schools in the field have finished as national runners-up – Chapman (2011), Washington & Jefferson (2017) and Johns Hopkins (2008)… The six teams in this year's D-III World Series field have posted a 34-37 record all-time in the championships, including Chapman recording an 18-19 record in the D-III World Series… There are no team in this year's field that advanced to the D-III World Series last season… The eight team field in the D-III World Series this season have a combined batting average of .302 and a combined team ERA of 3.47… Pool A, which features Webster and Chapman, have top of the top pitching staffs in Division III as Webster is second in D-III in ERA (2.86) and Chapman is fourth in D-III in ERA (2.92)… Chapman leads Division III in pitching strikeouts with 482, while Johns Hopkins leads D-III in home runs with 80 and Webster leads D-III in fielding percentage (.979)… UMass-Boston and Washington & Jefferson played in the D-III World Series most recently in 2017, while Webster returns for the first time since 2015, Chapman last played in 2011 and Heidelberg and Johns Hopkins each played in the series in 2010.
 
Listed below is the complete 2019 NCAA Division III World Series schedule.
 
Friday, May 31, 2019
Pool A
Game 1 – Chapman (38-11) vs. Washington & Jefferson (36-10), 10 a.m.
Game 2 – Webster (37-11) vs. UMass-Boston (35-12), 1:15 p.m.
Pool B
Game 3 – Babson (38-8) vs. Johns Hopkins (34-11), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Birmingham-Southern (39-13) vs. Heidelberg (35-13), 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Pool A
Game 5 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m. (Loser eliminated)
Game 6 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 1:15 p.m.
Pool B
Game 7 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 4:30 p.m. (Loser eliminated)
Game 8 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7:45 p.m.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Pool A
Game 9 – Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 5, 10 a.m. (Loser eliminated)
Game 11 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 4:30 p.m.
Pool B
Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 7, 1:15 p.m. (Loser eliminated)
Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 7:45 p.m.
If Both Pools Need If Necessary Game
Monday, June 3, 2019
Game 13 (If Necessary Game) – Winner of Game 11 vs. Loser of Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 14 (If Necessary Game) – Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 12, 12 or 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Game 15 – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 11 a.m. (Game #1 of best-of-three series)
Game 16 – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 2:30 p.m. (Game #2 of best-of-three series)
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Game 17 (If Necessary) – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 11 a.m. (Game #3 of best-of-three series)
If One Pool Needs If Necessary Game
Monday, June 3, 2019
Game 13 – Pool A or Pool B If Necessary Game, 12 p.m.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Game 14 – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 11 a.m. (Game #1 of best-of-three series)
Game 15 – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 2:30 p.m. (Game #2 of best-of-three series)
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Game 17 (If Necessary) – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 11 a.m. (Game #3 of best-of-three series)
If No If Necessary Game Needed
Monday, June 3, 2019
Game 13 – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 12 p.m. (Game #1 of best-of-three series)
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Game 14 - Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 11 a.m. (Game #2 of best-of-three series)
Game 15 (If Necessary) - Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 2:30 p.m. (Game #3 of best-of-three series)