Barry baseball team closing in on first-ever trip to Division II College World Series
The Barry University men’s baseball program – which started playing in 1985 – is two wins away from reaching the NCAA Division II College World Series for the first time.
Barry will travel to Orlando this weekend to play host Rollins in a best-of-three series that begins on Friday.
This past weekend in Pensacola, unranked Barry (35-17) went 3-0 in regional play, defeating 15th-ranked Montevallo 10-3 and beating seventh-ranked West Florida 6-1 and 11-6.
Prior to those three games, Barry hadn’t defeated a ranked team all season.
“We didn’t go up there for a ‘good showing’,” Barry coach Juan Ranero said. “We went up there to win.”
The Bucs did just that, overcoming a six-hour, 10-minute rain delay to beat Montevallo. Barry’s Trevor Baker, starting just his second game of the season, earned the win, allowing two runs in six innings.
In the 6-1 win over West Florida, senior left-hander Mike Reagan led the Bucs by pitching his first complete game of the year. Reagan struck out 15 batters – second most in program. history – and walked none.
“He was completely dominant,” Ranero said of Reagan, who improved to 10-1 with a 3.12 ERA. “I don’t know how he didn’t make first-team All-Conference.
“Mike is one of the best pitchers in the country, regardless of division. Many West Florida parents told me they had never seen anyone that dominant.”
The 11-6 finale win gave Barry its first-ever regional title, although the format has changed over the years. The Bucs now have their eyes on beating Rollins to advance to the CWS June 3-10 in Cary, North Carolina.
“Our guys are loose and having fun,” Ranero said. “Any time we have a big play, they gather in the dugout and say, ‘Photo! Photo! Photo!’ Then, they act like they’re taking a picture.”
So far, the photos are developing quite nicely for the Bucs.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Olivia Gronborg, a freshman from Denmark, last week became the fourth women’s golfer in Nova Southeastern University history to win an individual NCAA Division II national title. She joins Sandra Changkija (2010), Taylor Collins (2011) and Abbey Gittings (2012).
Gronberg finished six-under par for the three rounds played in Eureka, Missouri. She won by four strokes.
▪ FIU’s first baseball season under coach Rich Witten ended this past weekend with a 21-34 record overall. The Panthers finished tied for last in Conference USA with an 8-22 mark. They went 18-17 at home but just 3-17 on the road.
▪ Tennis players Alejandro Palacios and Alejandro Ibanez Gallego share a unique distinction as they are the only two athletes in Barry history to win four national titles in any sport. Barry has won 28 team national titles, 23 of them since 2004.
▪ St. Thomas University’s women’s tennis team finished its season with a 20-7 record, advancing to the NAIA national quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
▪ STU’s flag football team, after going 15-15 in its first two seasons, went 14-6 in Year 3, advancing to the NAIA national quarterfinals and losing 27-26 to Keiser.
