AURORA, Illinois — For the second consecutive year, Baldwin Wallace has earned a spot in Division III baseball's ultimate show.
The Yellow Jackets punched their ticket to the Men's College World Series Saturday, besting Aurora University out of Illinois in the super regionals 16-6. BW swept the favored Spartans in the best-of-three series.
After coming from behind to win 6-5 Friday, Baldwin Wallace (36-10) thoroughly dominated today, racing out to a 10-0 lead and never looking back. Senior Alexis Castillo led the way with a home run, five RBIs, and four runs scored, while Parma native Sean Kolenich crossed the plate four times on his own and tallied six hits. Andrew Parker and Willowick product Nick Clark also drove in three runs apiece.
Aurora (42-6) entered the tournament as one of the top teams in the country and actually beat John Carroll in the regional bracket, but now sees its season come crashing to an end. Starting pitcher Justin Zimmerman suffered just his second loss of the year after allowing four runs on six hits over three innings.
BW entered the tourney as an at-large team which had lost four of six before ripping off five straight wins — three in the regionals (including two over host Denison) and now two in the supers. This will be the Jackets' third College World Series appearance, all under head coach and St. Edward alum Brian Harrison.
Baldwin Wallace will look to improve on its 2022 World Series performance, when it was eliminated after losing its first two games. The Yellow Jackets have never advanced past the championship tournament's second round and sport an all-time record of only 1-4.
BW's first opponent in the eight-team World Series has not yet been announced.
