Mary Hardin-Baylor will make its first appearance in the NCAA Division III softball tournament after the Lady Crusaders received an at-large bid when the 59-team field was announced Monday morning.
“We are really excited about the opportunity to play in the national tournament,” Lady Crusaders coach Kasey Blomquist said. “I am so proud of our players and coaches, and we look forward to the chance to go play against some of the best softball programs in the country.”
UMHB (32-9) is the No. 3 seed in the Texas-Tyler regional and will face sixth-seeded Chapman (Calif.) in a first-round game at noon Thursday.
Also at the seven-team, double-elimination regional are American Southwest Conference champion Louisiana College, defending national champion Linfield (Ore.), host UT-Tyler, Redlands (Calif.) and La Verne (Calif.).
The regional champion, to be decided Sunday, will advance to the Division III Softball World Series to be held May 16-20 in Salem, Va.
Gaddy earns TABC honor
Tilmon Gaddy added to his list of accomplishments by being named Small College Player of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The award recognizes the state’s most outstanding player in NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA.
Gaddy, a junior out of Harker Heights, averaged 14.7 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Crusaders, who went 26-4, won the ASC championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
Gaddy - the ASC’s Newcomer of the Year and MVP of the conference tournament - shot 50 percent from the field and had 43 steals. He joined UMHB coach Ken DeWeese - the Small College Coach of the Year - as TABC award winners.
“It is a tremendous honor for Tilmon and for our program,” DeWeese said, “especially when you consider the number of programs in Texas.”
Four Crusaders on All-West first team
UMHB had four first-team selections and eight picks overall when the ASC All-West Division baseball team was announced Monday. Also, Crusaders coach Micah Wells was named as a tri-coach of the year in the West after his team went 28-12 and tied for the division title.
Junior R.B. Garza earned first-team spots as a starting pitcher and utility player after going 6-3 with 74 strikeouts and a 4.67 ERA. He also batted .277 with four home runs and 24 RBI.
Outfielders Joseph Villegas and Marcus Volz joined Garza on the first team. Villegas, a sophomore, batted .427 with 44 RBI. He totaled 21 doubles, seven triples and eight homers while slugging .772. Volz, a junior, hit .400 with 22 doubles, three triples, four homers and 33 RBI. He also stole 17 bases.
Senior first baseman Steven Reinlie, senior second baseman Adam Froeschl and sophomore third baseman Andrew White were named to the second team, and senior outfielder Earnest Pena received honorable mention.
Also, Howard Payne sophomore Kyle Lloyd of Jarrell and Texas Lutheran senior Robert Conley - a Temple College transfer from Cameron - received honorable mention in the West. Texas-Dallas sophomore Adam Spinn of Holland received honorable mention in the East Division.
