The NCAA Division III baseball tournament selection committee announced the seeding for the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships.
The Spartans of Aurora University will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for the Regional hosted by Washington University. Making their 22nd appearance overall and second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, the Spartans are the No. 3 seed in the four-team region and will take on Coe College on Friday, May 17 with a first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The teams that will participate in the regional are as follows:
- - No. 1 Washington University (31-5-1)
- - No. 2 Coe College (33-5)
- - No. 3 Aurora University (34-9)
- - No. 4 Cornell College (24-16)
The Spartans earned their place in the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships after winning the 2019 Northern Athletics Conference Conference (NACC) tournament championship. The Spartans have a 34-9 overall record.
AU is led by a strong pitching core led by seniors
Chris Roycroft and
Nicholas Mathey, and juniors
Kyle Blunt and
Carter Turnquist. Offensively, the Spartans are led by senior shortstop
Jeff Mayes, sophomore catcher
Jett Wedekind, junior
AJ Gill and senior outfielder
Davis Purviance.
Roycroft leads the AU pitching staff with a 7-2 record and a 2.69 earned run average, having thrown 70-1/3 innings and allowing hitters to hit just .218 against. Mathey locks down the back end of the games with a 1-0 record and 12 saves, which ties a single season record dating back to 2006, with a 2.27 earned run average with 44 strikeouts in 39-2/3 innings pitched. Blunt is 7-0 with a 3.55 earned run average while Turnquist is 6-2 with a 3.05 earned run average. As a staff, the Spartans have a 3.52 earned run average and opponents hit .254 against.
Mayes, the AU all-time hits leader, is batting .409 on the season with 74 total hits, 14 doubles and one triple while scoring 39 runs and driving in 30. Wedekind is hitting .333 with eight doubles, two home runs, 34 runs scored and 22 runs batted in. Gill is hitting .363 with nine doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 45 runs scored and 52 runs batted in. Purviance is hitting .333 with 46 runs scored, 34 runs batted in, 15 doubles, six triples and five home runs. As a team the Spartans are hitting .321 and having scored 321 runs with 19 home runs, 19 triples and 98 doubles.
