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For the second time in program history, Misericordia baseball is in the mix for a national championship.
And for an opener, the Cougars drew perhaps the most formidable opponent available.
Friday marks the start of the Division III College World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with Misericordia facing the nation’s top-ranked team, Johns Hopkins.
The Cougars and Blue Jays square off at 11 a.m. in the opening game of the World Series, which is comprised of two four-team, double-elimination brackets.
Misericordia and Johns Hopkins are joined by Baldwin Wallace and Endicott, who face each other at 2:15 p.m. Friday.
The opposing bracket plays in the evening with East Texas Baptist playing Salisbury at 5:30 p.m. and Wisconsin-La Crosse taking on Lynchburg at 8:45 p.m.
The winners of each bracket at the end of the weekend will then play a three-game series to decide the national champion.
For Misericordia, a victory Friday puts them in the winners bracket final against the winner of Baldwin Wallace vs. Endicott at 2:15 p.m. Saturday. A loss, however, would set up an elimination game against the loser of the other first round matchup at 11 a.m. Saturday.
It’s a tough draw for the Cougars, as the Blue Jays closed the regular season ranked No. 1 in the D3baseball.com poll, receiving 23 of 25 first-place votes.
But Misericordia enters the World Series playing some of its best baseball of the season, winning five straight games against other nationally ranked programs.
The Cougars rebounded from a loss in the final game of the MAC Freedom tournament, earning an at-large bid into the postseason and hosting a four-team Regional tournament on campus two weeks ago.
Misericordia closed that out by sweeping a doubleheader from No. 16 Salve Regina in the Regional championship round. The Cougars followed that up by going on the road for a Super Regional matchup with six-time national champ Marietta. They won the best-of-three series against the No. 11 Pioneers 2-0 last weekend in Ohio. As it was, Misericordia was the only team out of the eight left standing that was not in the top 25 at the end of the regular season, though the Cougars were just two spots out in the others receiving votes category.
None of that matters now, as the Cougars have racked up an impressive 57 runs during their five-game winning streak, which also included a win over Washington & Jefferson in the elimination bracket finals of the Regional tournament.
The Cougars have been especially aggressive on the basepaths to generate offense as they lead the nation in stolen bases with 141, complementing 153 batters who have been hit by a pitch.
Leadoff man Garrett McIlhenney embodies that by reaching in all 52 games this season and topping the country in OBP (.598), runs (77), HBP (30) and walks (51).
Derrick Vosburg is hitting .335 and set a school record with 62 RBI.
One more win will give Misericordia a team record 40 in a season.
The pitching staff will be tested against Hopkins (44-5), which boasts the country’s most prolific offense, ranked No. 1 in homers (110), runs (511) and slugging (.604).