Point Lookout, Mo. – The 2022 NCCAA NDAG Baseball Regional Championships bracket has been released. Dallas Christian College will be the No. 7 Seed out of eight teams in the bracket and play one of the co-host schools College of the Ozarks on Monday night at 7 p.m.
Livestats and Video
Ticket Information
A single day pass will be $5 at the gate or a tournament pass may be purchased for $15. No passes will be accepted.
Kansas Christian College, who entered ranked sixth in the latest NCCAA Power Rankings will be the No. 1 Seed. College of the Ozarks is hosting on its own field, Bob Smith Field, and is the second seed that also has been receiving votes in the power rankings. Randall University slots as the No. 3 Seed. KCC and College of the Ozarks are rated 10
th and 15
th, respectively in the NCCAA Power Ratings. Randall drops to 25
th to start a trio of teams in the bracket. Arlington Baptist University is No. 4 Seed and 26
th, while Ecclesia College is No. 5 Seed and 27
th. Champion Christian College will be the No. 6 Seed and is 38
th. DCC is 42
nd and the No. 8 Seed Baptist Bible College is 44
th.
The other host for this tournament will be first-year member Baptist Bible. Games not at Bob Smith Field will be at US Baseball Park in Ozark, Missouri.
The Crusaders have played all the teams in the bracket, going 8-20 against such schools. Overall, they have a 17-37 record. They are 5-7 in games decided by one run. DCC is coming off a 6-5 victory in 11 innings over Kansas Christian College.
Marcos Franjul hit the game-tying homer in the ninth on a 3-2 pitch to keep the game alive, and
Carlos Torres sent the game-winning single to right field with the bases loaded and two outs two innings later to end the weekend on a high note. The Crusaders improved to 3-3 in extra innings. Three of those games were against Arlington Baptist, which DCC went 1-2 in. The 11-inning game was the longest the Crusaders have played this season.
PREVIOUS MATCHUP WITH THE BOBCATS
The Crusaders went 0-4 against College of the Ozarks in four games two weekends ago at Bob Smith Field. Three of the four games were back-and-forth with DCC holding leads in the sixth inning.
Game 1 Box Score (5-4)
Game 2 Box Score (10-4)
Game 3 Box Score (12-8)
Game 4 Box Score (10-0)
CRUSADERS TO WATCH/TEAM NOTABLES
-
Brandon Andrews is batting .348 with a team-leading 55 hits and 16 doubles. He is second on the team in runs scored (37), home runs (6), and runs-batted-in (36). The outfielder has put together a team-best 20 multi-hit games with 10 two-hit games to tie
Marcos Franjul. He has notched eight, three-hit games and a pair of four-hit games.
-
Stefon Reyes is hitting .294, but is near the top in total hits with 45 and leads DCC with 38 runs. He has eight doubles, three homers, and 26 RBI. His 26 walks pace the team. He has the longest on-base streak this season with 16 games.
- Franjul has clubbed a team-leading eight home runs, which two came in the previous series. The shortstop is the team-leader in runs-batted-in with 48 and has led in that category the majority of the spring.
-
Cooper Ness is hitting .344 with 44 hits, 12 doubles (2
nd on DCC), four homers, 23 runs, and 32 RBI (3
rd on DCC).
- Manny Valenzuela has the highest batting average just over .366 and 35 hits. He has the longest active on-base streak with nine.
-
Josh Freeman rounds out the hitters batting north of .300 with a .326-clip. The catcher has 30 hits, nine doubles, a triple, and 19 RBI.
- A final player with that has eclipsed 30 runs besides the big three in the middle of the lineup is
Travis Whitehurst with that number.
-
Collin Patten will be key for the starting staff, as he holds the team-lead in innings pitched with 69. He has tossed four complete games and gone at least seven innings in five outings. The senior righty has gone at least five innings in all of his starts.
-
Ryan Bailey,
Trever Smith, and
Casey Morrow have also been used in weekend starts. The previous two weekends, including the College of the Ozarks, Smith was the series-opener.
- DCC has a young relief staff with Ethan Connell,
Gavin Chamberlain,
Sean Hiller,
Julian Hernandez-Enriquez, and
James Holiday. Connelly has been used both as a starter and reliever, including closing duties. Chamberlain and Holiday have entered in high leverage situations throughout the spring, while Hernandez-Enriquez threw a combined 4.1 innings last Saturday, which included three innings in extra innings in a victory over KCC.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1) Valenzuela (LF)
2) Andrews (CF)
3) Reyes (RF)
4) Franjul (SS)
5) Ness (DH)
6) Freeman (C)
7) Stone (1B)
8) Morrow (3B)
9) Whitehurst (2B)
RESERVES MAKING STARTS
Silverio (3B)
Camarillo (INF)
Torres (OF)
Snelson (OF/DH)
Ray (C)
COURTESY RUNNERS/DEFENSIVE REPLACEMENTS
Humek (OF)
Taylor (UTL)
Rios (OF)
Morgan III (OF)
KEYS TO SUCCESS
The Crusaders have a flexible lineup that Head Coach
Denny Dixon can utilize throughout the postseason. A projected lineup is just an estimate of what he is likely to start with in game one. Whitehurst provides flexibility for second base and LF if
Jaylen Camarillo needs to be in at second. Silverio has split time with Morrow at the hot corner.
Joel Stone gives the best defensive glove, but Reyes and Ness have seen time there as well. Torres will likely be in the lineup either in the outfield or as a designated hitter.
Noah Snelson has been in that same role of late as Torres, but could also be a pinch runner.
Mitchell Ray has been catching for Bailey. Ray likely will start, while
Kolby Bradshaw and
James Montez could get a start if Freeman is used as a DH.
Defense and pitching will be crucial for the Crusaders. Their lineup can put runs together quickly and has proven that throughout the spring, with 10 games cracking double figures and were 8-2 in such games. If the team can hang on in the later innings, they could have an extended trip in Missouri.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of the entire tournament will have an automatic bid to the NCCAA Baseball World Series in Kansas City, Missouri, May 20-24. Should DCC win on Monday night, it will be in the winner's bracket against the winner of No. 3 Randall and No. 6 Champion Christian at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at College of the Ozarks.
A loss on Monday would put the Crusaders in an elimination game on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. against the loser of Randall and Champion Christian at US Ballpark. The Crusaders would require two wins on Tuesday to advance to Wednesday afternoon.
"Dallas Christian educates and mentors students to be people of influence engaging in their calling to the work of Christ in the church and in the world."
