The NCAA Division III baseball poll has teams ranked from 1-25, with the Salisbury Sea Gulls (16-0) from Maryland currently holding down the top spot.
On the rosters of those 25 ranked teams are a total of 11 area graduates, although that number would shrink to four if current No. 24 Augustana goes into a slump and falls out of the rankings.
Here’s the who’s who of Lake County baseball on the nation’s best Division III teams.
Wisconsin-Whitewater: The Warhawks (12-1) are ranked No. 3, and on the roster is sophomore pitcher Matt Langlie from Mundelein. He has pitched in three games in relief, worked 2.2 innings and has an ERA of 6.75.
Wisconsin-Stevenson Point: The Pointers (11-30 are ranked No. 7, and their team includes freshman pitcher Cole Erickson from Deerfield.
He’s started two games, relieved in one, and has a 2-0 record and 0.87 ERA. He has worked 10 innings, and allowed one run on six hits and six walks.
Baldwin-Wallace: The Yellow Jackets (13-4) are ranked 16th. Carmel grad Eric Baumgart is a freshman pitcher on the Ohio team, but he hasn’t played in a game yet.
Emory: The school in Atlanta is ranked 22nd. Stevenson grad Jack Karras is a junior shortstop for Emory (16-10) and is hitting .188 while playing regularly.
Augustana: The Vikings (17-4) are ranked 24th, and the top area performer on the team is junior right-handed relief pitcher Dar Townsend from Libertyville.
He’s appeared in seven games, worked 12 innings, and allowed two earned runs on three hits and five walks. He’s fanned 13 and his ERA is 1.50.
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Also on the team are sophomore pitcher Michael Rogers from Libertyville, junior pitcher Jimmy Nickell from Warren, sophomore pitcher Casey Weir from Warren, sophomore pitcher Luke Turelli from Lake Forest, freshman pitcher Vinny Rotunno from Lakes, and freshman outfielder Matt Loeffl from Grayslake Central.
Loeffl has batted six times and has two hits and three RBIs.
As for how that total of 11 area players compares with the number of local grads on NCAA Division III softball’s top 25 teams, the answer is … it doesn’t.
In softball, 14th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater (11-3) has two area grads on the team, and that is it.
On the Whitewater squad are Mundelein grad and sophomore outfielder Haley Morelli, and Warren grad and sophomore first baseman Amy Ricci.
Morelli is 4-for-14 at the plate (.286) with one RBI.
Ricci is a starter and is hitting .205 with a homer and 11 RBIs.