Webster Vies For D-3 College World Series Bid

Conference Player of the Year Anthony Gemma

​The Webster University baseball team pulled off an upset this week in the 2011 NCAA Division III South Regional Championship tournament by knocking off No. 1 seed Christopher Newport, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation by D3baseball.com. After dropping their next game to Salisbury University, it's do-or-die for the Gorlocks, who must sweep through the rest of the tournament today and tomorrow in order to advance to the eight-team Division III national tournament, to be held next week in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Each year, the Gorlocks are heavy favorites to win the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; the team has advanced to the NCAA's South Regional Championship six out of the last seven seasons. This year the Gorlocks, who notched a 31-11 regular-season record, have excelled behind the play of senior shortstop Anthony Genna of Willow Springs, Illinois, who was named conference player of the year, and freshman southpaw Zach Schneider of Grayslake, Illinois, who boasts a 1.86 ERA and held Christopher Newport to one run on Wednesday.

The first pitch of today's game against Piedmont was thrown at noon in Millington, Tennessee, near Memphis. (Get the live stats here.) If Webster wins, it will play an evening game against Shenandoah before tomorrow's regional finale.