Game Time...Northwestern College will host Midland for the GPAC Baseball Tournament Championship on Wednesday night, May 9 at 5pm. Northwestern, the top seed after winning the GPAC regular season title, has won five straight and 12 of its last 14 games for a 29-18 overall record. Midland, the No.2 seed, has won 11 straight games and owns a 32-19 overall record. 

Follow the games live, via the NWC webcast, at this link: Watch Now!

Listen live to the games, via the KSOU broadcast: Listen Live!

GPAC Tournament Bracket | 

Postseason Tournament Trail...Both Northwestern and Midland are 3-0 in the postseason:

        Northwestern def. Briar Cliff, 8-7
        Northwestern def. Hastings, 7-1
        Northwestern def. Morningside, 11-8

        Midland def. Mount Marty, 12-8
        Midland def. Doane, 6-3
        Midland def. Mount Marty, 16-0

At Stake...The GPAC Tournament Baseball postseason championship...Northwestern has won two postseason titles (2010 and 2013) while Midland is the defending GPAC postseason champion and has won four postseason titles (2001, 2006, 2014 and 2017). The Warriors have played for the postseason title in each of the last six years (since 2013). 

Both teams have claimed both the regular season and postseason titles in their history...Northwestern was the last team in the GPAC to accomplish the double championship (2013) while Midland won both in 2006. Dakota Wesleyan is the only other team to win both title in the same season (2005). 

Northwestern and Midland have both secured automatic bids into the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round...the Red Raiders by winning the regular season title and Midland being the regular season runner-up.

Earlier This Season...Northwestern went 3-1 against Midland during the regular season, splitting at home on March 30 and sweeping the Warriors in Fremont on April 2.

    March 30 Recap | April 2 Recap

Scouting Reports...

    Midland Warriors: 16-10, 2nd GPAC, 32-19 overall        Head Coach: Chad Miller (4th year)

Midland finished second in the GPAC regular season with a 16-10 record, closing with a four-game sweep against Doane to gain sole possession of second place. They have won 11 straight games coming into Wednesday night, winning the final eight games of the regular season and earning wins in their first three postseason games. Midland owns a 32-19 overall record and has not lost since April 22.

Miller returns five starters and seven players from a 2017 team that finished second in the GPAC with an 18-10 record and won the postseason title. They went 2-2 in the NAIA Opening Round to finish the year at 42-20.

By the Numbers:   (GPAC rank / NAIA rank if top 10)
    Batting Average: .279 (7th)     Opponent Batting Average: .256 (1st)
    Runs / Game: 6 (3rd )              Runs Given Up / Game: 4.2 (1st)
    Hits / Game: 8.2 (7th)              Hits Given Up / Game: 7.2 (4th)
    Stolen Bases: 73/97 (1st)        Stolen Bases by Opponent: 46/57

    Individual Players:
    Armando Fajardo: .356 BA, 21 runs, 11 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBIs
    Tanner Bos (All-Conference): .335 BA, 35 runs, 16 2B, 39 RBIs (T4th)
    Andrew Brooks: .292 BA, 6 runs, 2 HR, 16 RBIs
    Buddy Balsino: .282 BA, 36 runs, 7 HR, 39 RBIs (T4th)

    Billy Brand: 4-1, 0.64 ERA, 4 saves (5th)  28 IP, 7 BB, 38 K's
    Hayden Bailey: 3-2, 2.39 ERA, 1 Save  37.2 IP, 16 BB, 33 K's
    Torrey Escamilla (2x All-Conference): 7-2, 2.66 ERA, 84.2 IP, 20 BB, 90 K's (4th)
    Dakota Cortese: 6-4, 3.36 ERA  75 IP, 31 BB, 95 K's

Northwestern College: 19-7 (1st), 29-18     Head Coach: Brian Wede (12th year)

The Red Raiders have won five straight and 12 of their last 14 games for a 29-18 overall record. They won the GPAC regular season title with a 19-7 record, their fourth under head coach Brian Wede. 

Wede returns eight starters and 15 players from a 2017 team that went 8-20 in the GPAC, 17-30 overall.

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank)
    Batting Average: .294 (T3)     Opponent Batting Average: .277 (4th)
    Runs / Game: 6 (4th)              Runs Given Up / Game: 4.9 (3rd)
    Hits / Game: 8.7 (5th)             Hits Given Up / Game: 8.2 (5th)
    Stolen Bases: 34/58 (7th)       Stolen Bases by Opponent: 54/66

    Individual Players:
   Zachary Rosson: .352 BA (9th), 6 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBIs
   Christian Stekl: .342 BA, 40 runs (4th), 3 HR, 20 RBIs
    Matt Martin: .327 BA, 28 runs, 6 HR (8th), 36 RBIs (8th)
    Reed Smith (2x All-Conference): .327 BA, 39 runs (5th), 5 HR, 27 RBIs
    Dustin Gaither (All-Conference): .322 BA, 26 runs, 32 RBIs
    
    Noah McBride: 6-2, 3.48 ERA  64.2 IP, 29 BB, 57 K's
    Mitchell Kresnik: 6-2, 3.97 ERA  56.2 IP, 9 BB, 39 K's
    Victor Mena: 3-3, 4.25 ERA, 42.1 IP, 11 BB, 37 K's
    Alec Rickabaugh: 2-4, 4.25 ERA   42.1 IP, 13 BB, 15 K's