Diamond Jubilee

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III     >> Good Friday Morning. Are you old enough to remember 10-Cent Beer Night in Cleveland? See below. >> Today's Word Count: 1,128. Getting you ready for the weekend. >> Thanks for reading. May I ask a favor? Share this with a friend or colleague today and invite them to subscribe.   Sign Up for Free: D3Playbook TOP STORY 1. Diamond Jubilee The 45th NCAA Division III baseball championship tournament begins this morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. By the next time we meet, four teams will already be on their way home while four others will continue on. Here is a preview. #1 Washington, Mo. (32-4) vs. Johns Hopkins (15-4), 10 a.m. The top-ranked Bears are led by a pair of All-America pitchers in Ryan Loutos and Jared Fong. Loutos has 11 mound wins and has struck out 110 batters, while Fong leads DIII in saves (10). The Blue Jays, the only non-ranked team in the field, turn to Peter Schaefer who has a 1.58 ERA with 73 punchouts in 51.1 innings. #19 St. Thomas, Minn. (34-8) vs. #10 Adrian (36-8), 1:15 p.m. The Tommies' ace Graham Laubscher, a second-team All-American, is 8-2 with a 2.11 ERA. St. Thomas has won two national championships (2001-09). The Bulldogs return to the finals for the first time since 2008. Gunnar Rainey hit 410-4-44 and was named second-team All-America at catcher. #7 Rowan (29-4) vs. #12 Wheaton, Mass. (20-5), 4:30 p.m. The Profs are back at the championships for the first time since 2005. OF Ryan Murphy was named third-team All-America after hitting 409-5-25. The Lyons turn the ball over in the late innings to honorable mention All-America pitcher Gavin Reily who compiled a 5-2 record, a 2.17 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. #6 Salisbury (29-4) vs. #15 Cortland (31-7), 7:45 p.m. The Sea Gulls are in the World Series for the first time in 20 years. Second-team All-America RHP Clayton Dwyer leads the pitching staff with a 10-0 record and 96 strikeouts in 70 innings of work. The Red Dragons make their 15th trip to the finals. OF Scott Giordano earned All-America honors after registering 414-6-35 numbers. all times CDT Below is the complete championship schedule Friday, June 4 | Finals | 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com  Saturday, June 5 | Finals | 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com Sunday, June 6 | Finals | 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com Monday, June 7 | Finals | 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com Tuesday, June 8 | Finals | 12 p.m. ET on NCAA.com Wednesday, June 9 | Finals | 12 p.m. ET on NCAA.com (if necessary) >> Live Video   TRACK AND FIELD 2. Athletes of the Year The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its Division III Athletes of the Year for the 2021 outdoor track and field season. Men's Track Athlete of the Year Matthew Wilkinson, Carleton Women's Track Athlete of the Year Emily Pomainville, Geneseo Men's Field Athlete of the Year Marcus Weaver, UW-Eau Claire Women's Field Athlete of the Year Isabel Maletich, Chicago >> Read More   WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 3.  International 3-Point Line Approved   The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved moving the 3-point line to the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches in women’s basketball, beginning with the 2021-22 season. The NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee proposed the change after studying statistical trends that showed the number of attempted and successful 3-point field goal attempts reached all-time high levels in all three divisions during the 2020-21 season. Elsewhere ... The panel approved allowing the transmission of live statistics to the bench area for coaching purposes. The panel approved two adjustments to the replay rules in effect during the last two minutes of the game and added a third replay situation. Officials now may use instant replay on an out-of-bounds play, regardless of the number of players involved. Coaches now may challenge two additional plays that would require officials to use instant replay to review them. >> Continue Reading   MEN'S BASKETBALL 4.  Bench Gets Live Stats     The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved allowing the transmission of live statistics to the bench area for coaching purposes in men’s basketball, beginning with the 2021-22 season. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee supported an experimental rule for the upcoming season to allow teams to view live video and preloaded video on their bench during conference games only should the conference submit a waiver request for the experimental rule.  If a conference chooses to use this experimental rule, it will be a conference’s decision as to the type of appropriate technology that may be used. Other proposals ...  The panel approved allowing shot clocks to have tenths of seconds be displayed next season. It would not be required, but schools could choose to use this optional rule. The panel did not support a proposal that would have allowed officials to immediately assess a Class B technical foul to a player who faked being fouled. The recommendation would have eliminated the warning officials must currently give before assessing a technical foul. After receiving feedback from the membership, the Men’s Basketball Rules Committee rescinded a proposal regarding the structure of media timeouts. >> Read More   BASEBALL 5.  All-America The American Baseball Coaches Association has announced the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III All-America teams. Five players from this year's All-America teams are participating in the 2021 NCAA Div. III World Series which begins today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. First Team C-Adam Zebrowski, St. John Fisher 1B-Tyler Calvert, Berry 2B-Colby Martin, Shenandoah 3B-Sam Beers, Concordia (Wis.) SS-Jake Reinhardt, North Park OF-Bret Williams, Penn State Harrisburg OF-Avery Neaves, Lynchburg OF-Turner Hill, Marietta DH-Kevin Bushnell, Benedictine U-T.J. Johnson, Coe P-Matt Mulhearn, Webster P-Ryan Loutos, Washington (Mo.) P-Matt O'Sullivan, UW-Whitewater P-Jordy Allard, Babson P-Sam Mathews, Marietta >> Complete Team   NCAA 6.  Calendar June 7 - Men's Basketball Committee 7-9 - Regional Rules Seminar 8 - Faculty Athletics Representatives Advisory Group 9 - Track and Field Committee 14-15 - Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports 15 - Strategic Planning and Finance Committee 16 - Interpretations and Legislation Committee 21-22 - Championships Committee 23-24 - Membership Committee courtesy of NCAA   TRANSACTIONS 7. Comings and Goings   AUGSBURG - Jake Short named head women's wrestling coach EMORY & HENRY - Khalil Shakir named assistant men's basketball coach NVU-JOHNSON - Andrew Lafrenz named head men's soccer coach ST. OLAF - Del Ciucci named director of athletic performance SIMPSON - Dave Cleveland resigned as head track and field coach and assistant athletic director. Heath Moenck named director of track and field and cross country TUFTS - Lance Greene named assistant director of recreation and club sports VASSAR - Matt Giunto named associate head men's soccer coach WIDENER - Kevin Burdick named head baseball coach   1 THING 8. 10-Cent Beer Night Today is the 47th anniversary of the infamous "10-Cent Beer Night" at Cleveland Stadium. Yes, you read that right. 10-Cent Beer. It was exactly what it sounds like: the Cleveland Indians did a promotion that gave unhappy people who rooted for a bad team unlimited quantities of nearly-free alcohol which, amazingly, turned into utter chaos. Why could’ve seen that coming? >> The Backstory >> ESPN Remembers (video)    Thanks for starting your day with us and enjoy your weekend. Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook.    Sign Up for Free: D3Playbook

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