With all their hard work behind them, the reward lays right in front of the Tiffin University baseball team. After posting the best winning percentage in the history of Tiffin baseball this year, the Dragons will look to continue their trend setting ways on Thursday May 11, with a win in the GLIAC Tournament.
Location: Athletes In Action Sports Complex - 1197 S. Detroit Street, Xenia, OH 45385
Dimensions - LF - 320' / LC - 340' / CF - 387' / RC - 385' / RF - 314'
Tiffin vs. Walsh - May 11 - 5:30 PM
Media - For Live Radio Broadcast - Click Here - The broadcast is provided by Ohio Dominican University.
Live Stats - Click Here
Head To Head - For the first time since the 2011-12 season, the Cavaliers and Dragons didn't meet in the regular season. Since the 2013 regular season, the Cavaliers hold an 8-4 series lead over Tiffin.
Walsh – 32-16, 19-11 GLIAC - The Cavaliers are making the second straight appearance in the tournament, advancing all the way to the championship game last season before falling to Grand Valley State.
Bring out the bats – In the GLIAC the Cavaliers rank 2nd in runs, 1st in homers, 2nd in RBIs, and 3rd in doubles.
Slug It Out – The Cavaliers are 20th in the nation in slugging percentage, posting a .504 mark. Walsh has a total of 171 extra base hits, including 106 doubles and 59 home runs.
Dent The Plate – The Cavaliers are averaging 7.5 runs per game, 34th in the nation. Walsh has scored 359 runs this year, 51 more than Tiffin.
Contact – Having a team full of power hitters usually means strikeouts, but the Cavaliers are an exception to the rule. Walsh has struck out only 267 times, 2nd fewest in the GLIAC.
Blank You – The Cavaliers lead the GLIAC in shutouts with six.
No Walks For You – Walsh is allowing only 2.95 walks per nine innings, 22nd in the nation and tops in the GLIAC. Their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.49 is 36th in the nation and tops in the GLIAC.
Gloveless in Canton – Of the 259 NCAA Division II teams, Walsh ranks 214th with a .948 fielding percentage. The Cavaliers have committed 86 errors this season, 13 more than the Dragons.
Tiffin – 29-20, 21-11 GLIAC – The Dragons have won the most GLIAC games in program history, posted the best winning percentage in the program's 49-year history, and will make their 3rd appearance in the GLIAC Tournament.
Ho Hum Dragons – If you look at the stats, there's not one singular stat you can find that the Dragons are dominant in, and that's just the way Tiffin likes it. The Dragons finished the year with the 2nd fewest extra base hits in the GLIAC, but they were in the top third of the GLIAC in sacrifice flies and sacrifice bunts.
Better Under Pressure – One area where Tiffin is sneaky good is hitting with runners in scoring position and with two outs. With runners in scoring position, Tiffin is hitting at a .312 clip, and with two outs they're hitting .285 as a team. Of their 270 runs batted in, 41% have come with two outs.
In Play - A year ago Tiffin hitters led the GLIAC in strikeouts with 347. This season has seen a change, with the Dragons striking out 76 less times, or 1.55 less strikeout per game.
Oh Happy May - In a month by month breakdown, the Dragons posted their best batting average in May at .397. Granted it is a small sample size, but Tiffin's average has increased every month of the season. February - .286 / March - .297 / April - .302 / May - .397.
Get Out Of The Gate – When the Dragons score first this season, they're 21-8. When the opposition scores first, the Dragons are 8-12.
2nd Best – The Dragons have scored 308 runs this season with the 2nd inning being the best for Tiffin. The Dragons have scored 18% of their total runs this year in the 2nd inning, and have outscored their opponents 56-25 in the inning.
Strikeouts Are Up – The Dragons' pitching staff has punched out 310 batters this season, the 2nd most since Tiffin has been competing at the NCAA Division II level.