May 24, 2017 - The Cougar baseball team arrived in Appleton, WI on Wednesday evening and will practice on Thursday, making final preparations before opening the 2017 NCAA III World series at 10 a.m. on Friday with a game against Washington and Jefferson College from Washington, PA.

Concordia-Chicago (33-11), winners of their last 14 games, is seeded fourth overall in the eight-team field and second-seeded of the four teams in Pool A. The format will consist of pool play for the first three days of the tournament. Barring any deciding games for pool play or weather-related issues, the winners of Pool A and Pool B will begin a best-of-three series on Monday to determine the champion.

Washington and Jefferson College, like CUC, is also making their first appearance at the D-III World Series. The Presidents (38-11) made it to Appleton by winning the Mideast Regional on their home field They defeated Cortland State (NY) University in the deciding championship game, stopping the Red Dragons' bid for a third consecutive trip to the World Series.

The Presidents are hitting a collective .351 and putting up nearly nine runs per game. They are led by a pair of senior outfielders, Nick Vento (.44, 8 HR, 57 RBI) and Nick Gatins (.424, 6 HR,38 RBI). Catcher Derek Helbing has been a power source for the Presidents, hitting 11 homers to go with 53 RBIs. On the mound, a trio of righties lead the way in Riley Groves (10-2, 2.03), Bryce Schnatterly (8-0, 3>15) and Trevor Kerr (5-4, 3.36).

The Cougars come into this game with several players on fire. Pitcher Mike Formella was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Regional for his three saves, 9 1/3 innings and 12 strikeouts while allowing just one run. Also on the All-Regional team were shortstop Bryan VanDuser for his overall play as the sparkplug at the top of the batting order, and third baseman Doug Matthews, who hit .533 and put on a power display in the clinching game against UW-LaCrosse with two homers and four RBIs. Second baseman Mitch Wilson, who led the ay in the conference tournament with a .727 average, brings a 14-game hitting streak and .366 batting average into the tournament.

All of the Cougars' games can be viewed via live stats and live video. You can find the live links here