CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — It was, without a doubt, the greatest season Baldwin Wallace baseball has ever had. Even though it didn't end they way they wanted it to, the Yellow Jackets still have a lot to be proud of.
BW's 2023 campaign officially came to a close Monday evening with an 8-2 loss to top-ranked Johns Hopkins in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III College World Series. The Jackets won three times in the eight-team tournament and found themselves just one victory away from the championship round, but their luck finally ran out against the powerful Blue Jays.
Baldwin Wallace began its second straight World Series journey after beating Aurora, Illinois, in the super regionals, and unlike last year's two-and-out showing, began this year's ride with a 13-9 win over Endicot. A 10-6 loss to Johns Hopkins put them on the brink of elimination, but the Yellow Jackets responded in their next matchup by scoring seven runs in the first inning against Misericordia, en route to a 13-8 triumph.
The big win earned BW another date with Hopkins in the semifinals, where the Jackets would have to beat the Jays twice to advance. A loss in the first game Monday morning would've knocked Brian Harrison's team out of the double-elimination bracket, but instead, Berea native Kade Swisher threw 135 pitches in a complete game effort to lead his team to a 6-3 victory, forcing a winner-take-all Game 2 hours later.
Unfortunately, things would not go nearly as well for Baldwin Wallace (39-12) in the decisive matchup, as Johns Hopkins (47-6) blew the game open with six unanswered runs. Matt Savedoff also struck out seven in a complete game of his own, putting the Blue Jays into the best-of-three championship series against Lynchburg.
Though they will not be coming home with a national title trophy, the Yellow Jackets can still hang their heads high knowing they made the national semifinals for the first time in program history. During the squad's five World Series games, senior outfielder Andrew Parker batted .304 with three home runs and nine RBIs, while infielder Luke Vonderhaar hit .429 with a homer and seven runs scored.
The Division III Men's College World Series championship series begins Wednesday afternoon from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.