Tabor Bluejays Baseball

Notes from the Dugout, by Coach Chad Newhard

It was nice to get a split over Kansas Wesleyan University. They are right now the top team in our league, so that means a lot to our program at this point

We’re going to need to need to sweep St. Mary, who is second in the league right now, and get some help to make the conference tournament.

The two best conference regular season records make the NAIA regional while teams three through six play in the conference tournament to see who gets the last bid from our conference for the regional.

The seventh place team does not make the conference tournament and that is where we set right now.

First and foremost we need to take care of business against St. Mary!

This Week: The Battle for a Berth in the KCAC Tournament

Notes from the Dugout

By Head Coach Chad Newhard

What an incredible opportunity for our program Thursday night in Wichita!

I am so thankful to the Wichita State baseball program for providing our student athletes a chance to compete against a college baseball powerhouse. I feel like we represented our school well. We were competitive and played relaxed and did not allow the moment to overwhelm us.

I like to challenge our team with high-level competition because I feel it allows our team to realize what has to be done to have success against good teams, and that’s going to prepare us to compete in post-season, which is our goal every year.

I also appreciate the support that we received from the Tabor community. We had a good following at the game and many people around campus have been complimentary of our performance.

As we look ahead, our season is winding down and we have a major climb ahead of us if we are going to compete in the KCAC tournament. We will travel to Kansas Wesleyan and will host St. Mary next week. As of right now these are the two top teams in our conference, so that will be a challenge for us.

We are going to have to play very well and catch some breaks next week just to get into the tournament.

This season has provided a lot of memories for our team and it would be great to finish it out with a solid team performance.

Tabor Coach Chad Newhard and WSU Coach Gene Stephenson discuss grounds rules before Thursday night’s game.

The Tabor College baseball team played a strong game against one of the nation’s best programs Thursday night before dropping a 10-1 decision to No. 5 Wichita State University in Wichita.It was a great night for the college!

The Bluejays began the game with hot bats and tough pitching despite cold and blustery conditions. Throughout the contest, the radio broadcasters were complementary of the Tabor baseball program.

Congratulations to Coach Chad Newhard and the Bluejays team.

Regular season action for the baseball team continues at home at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, Kansas Wesleyan. The Bluejays play their final home game of the regular season, versus University of Saint Mary, at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26. The KCAC Tournament will be played May 1-3 at locations to be announced.

Click here to listen to a podcast of the game on Radio 1330

To save the podcast, go to http://knss.radiotown.com/audio/podcast/wsu/wsu.mp3 to download the game to your computer.

See Photos

BY PAUL SUELLENTROP
The Wichita Eagle

Not every college baseball coach would cram a game against an NAIA school into a crowded schedule.

Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson isn’t about to get cheated on his 56-game limit. He wants to play and he wants to give his players a chance to play. The seventh-ranked Shockers meet Tabor tonight in a game added to replace the Oklahoma rainout last week.

“We’ll give some guys an opportunity to play and pitch that really need an opportunity to get out on that mound and that field,” Stephenson said Tuesday before a 3-0 loss at Nebraska. “We’re going to see some guys that we need to look at.”Freshman lefty Clint Maune, who hasn’t pitched since April 2, will start. Justin Kemp (last outing March 30), Clinton McKeever (two-thirds of an inning this season) and Matt Smith (no throws since March 28) are likely to come out of the bullpen tonight.

The starting lineup will not change much. Stephenson would like to sub in position players, if the situation allows.

“It all depends on how we go about our business,” Stephenson said. “I’ll get with all the guys that are starters, ahead of time, to find out if they really want to play and if they’re emotionally excited about it. If they’re not, we’ll just start somebody else out there because we have guys, I know, that are excited about the opportunity to play.”

The Shockers returned to Wichita early Wednesday morning after playing four games in four days in Nebraska. Friday, they start a three-game series against Southern Illinois at Eck Stadium.

Stephenson said he wanted to play Oklahoma tonight, but the Sooners weren’t interested. OU won a 12-inning game at TCU on Tuesday and played Southern Nazarene at home Wednesday afternoon. The Sooners play No. 6 Missouri in Norman this weekend.

Tabor is even busier than WSU. The Bluejays dropped a doubleheader to Ottawa on Tuesday and played another doubleheader at Sterling on Wednesday.find out results form doubleheader?

Tabor scouting report

Notes

• WSU and Tabor played twice in 1979 with the Shockers winning 21-2 and 16-3.

• Tabor had lost six straight entering Wednesday’s doubleheader at Sterling. Tuesday, Ottawa outscored Tabor 32-11 in a doubleheader.

• LF Alfred Wilson leads Tabor with a .362 batting average. C Chris Brown has six home runs and 38 RBIs.

• WSU did not have many highlights in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss at Nebraska. SS Dusty Coleman went 2 for 4, his first multiple-hit game since April 6. He doubled in the ninth, his second extra-base hit in his past 13 games. His double was the only extra-base hit for either team.

• LHP Logan Hoch pitched three hitless innings in relief against Nebraska. He has not allowed an earned run in six straight innings.

From the Newton Kansan

PUBLISHED: Thursday, April 17, 2008

HILLSBORO — The Tabor College baseball team dropped two games Wednesday at home to Ottawa in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

Ottawa won the first game 19-5 in five innings on the 10-run rule.

Alfred Wilson went three for three hitting for Tabor with two runs scored, three RBIs and a home run.

Eric Cordell went the distance for Ottawa, striking out eight. All nine Ottawa batters had at least one hit. Blake Burks, Joe Summers and Michael Frank each had three hits. Summers, Derek Sparks and Frank had three RBIs each. Ottawa had four home runs in the game.

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The Tabor College baseball team will travel to Wichita to take on 5th ranked (ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll) Wichita State University next Thursday, April 17th at 7 p.m. A pre-game tailgate gathering is scheduled for Tabor alums at the pavilion located in the outfield at the ballpark.

The game was scheduled last week as a makeup to WSU’s rainout last night against Oklahoma. Those who can’t come to the game can listen live on Wichita-based 1330 AM radio, or log-on to a live audio feed at www.goshockers.com

“We are excited to get the opportunity to compete against one of the elite college baseball program’s in the country.” said Tabor Coach Chad Newhard. “I would encourage anyone who is in the area to come out and support our Jays next Thursday. This is an opportunity that doesn’t come around every day and would be a great chance to see us play in one of the elite college baseball facilities in the midwest.”

Newhard is enjoying his first season as head coach.

“We’re entering the stretch run of the season, we have ten conference games left and are still battling for a chance to play in post-season,” he said. “We have had some incredible moments as a team this year”

The Bluejays defeated a nationally-ranked NAIA opponent in Bethany College and had three remarkable come-from-behind victories.

“Those wins have been character-defining moments for our program,” Newhard said. “I am extremely excited about the direction that our program is going and trust that we can build off the momentum that this team has generated throughout the course of the season.”

(From the Hillsboro Free Press)

After being shut out twice by Kansas Wesleyan March 31 in Hillsboro, the Tabor College baseball team went 2-3 last week, scoring 22 runs in five games.

Tabor hammered Manhattan Christian 10-0 April 2, then dropped the first game of a doubleheader 3-2 against Central Christian on their home field Friday. The second game went to Tabor 7-5 as pitcher Dustin Dick improved his record to 2-0.

At Bethany on Saturday, the Swedes hammered Tabor 11-1 in the opener. The second game was considerably more competitive on account of high quality pitching, but marginal defense teamed up with anemic offense to spoil Andrew Cook’s solid outing in a 6-2 loss.

“Defense and protecting the baseball has been a recurring theme for us,” coach Chad Newhard said.

Cook held Bethany to two earned runs, but was scratched for four unearned markers thanks to three Bluejay errors.

Designated hitter Clayton Kessler recorded two of Tabor’s five hits in the contest.

Coming—Tabor (5-9) has a doubleheader on the road Saturday at Friends. Tabor hosts Ottawa Tuesday.

“Right now, one game separates third from seventh in our conference,” Newhard said. “We’re still very much in control of our postseason destiny.”

March 28, 2008

(From The Hillsboro Free Press)

The Tabor College baseball team was picked to finish seventh out of seven teams in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

But first-year head coach Chad Newhard has his players firing on all cylinders in the early going, and the Bluejays shot to the top of the standings in the first weeks of conference play.

Tabor has posted a 3-3 record against conference opponents after finishing 9-15 in the KCAC in 2007.

Tabor swept Ottawa and stole a game from Friends—picked second in the conference—then lost back-to-back games against Sterling Saturday.

But even with the recent dry spell, Tabor’s start to the conference schedule has been at least as strong as last year’s.

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The Tabor College baseball team will be host a free baseball clinic on Saturday, April 26th from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Tabor College baseball field. The camp is open to all from grades 3-12. The camp will cover basic hitting, pitching, infield, and outfield fundamentals. If you have any questions, please contact Tabor Baseball Coach Chad Newhard at 947-3121 ext. 1313.

This clinic will be run rain or shine.

March 28, 2008

Westminster (Colo.) High School seniors Josh Pfeifer and Derek McBride have signed letters of intent to play baseball at Tabor College next season.

Josh is a three year starting utility player for Westminster and was fifth in the conference last season in batting average and led the team in RBI’s. He is the son of Doug Pfeifer and Melinda Gerard

Derek is a catcher for Westminster and was voted to the second team Metro North all region team last season. Last season Derek led the team in batting average, RBI’s, runs and stolen bases.

“We are excited to add both of these young men to our program,” said Tabor Head Coach Chad Newhard. “Both will add athleticism to our team and the ability for both of them to play multiple positions on the diamond is a plus. I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with both of them this upcoming season.”

Josh Pfeifer signs a letter of intent to play baseball at Tabor College next season. Present at the signing ceremony are from left, Westminster Baseball Coach Nick Rodriguez, Josh’s father Doug, along with Westminster football coaches Kerry Dennison and Mike Beach. Rodriguez, Dennison and Beach attended Tabor College.

Derek McBride will attend Tabor College to play baseball next season. Joining him at the signing ceremony are from left, Westminster Baseball Coach Nick Rodriguez and Assistant Baseball Coach Doug Pfeifer. They are joined by Westminster football coaches Kerry Dennison and Mike Beach.

See additional Bluejays’ signees here