Indianapolis, Ind. – The NCAA Division II Baseball Committee announced the field of 56 on Sunday (5/15) night that will take part in the 2022 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. There are a total of 16 regionals, eight of which host three teams, while the other eight host four teams. All regionals are double elimination, with the winners of the regionals advancing to a super-regional best-of-three series. The super-regional winners advance to Cary, North Carolina for the championship finals June 4-11.

The Hawks (33-22) received an at-large bid after losing to the Illinois – Springfield Prairie Stars in the GLVC Tournament Championship game. They are the 4 seed in Midwest Region #1 and travel to the GLIAC Tournament Champions, Davenport University (35-21), who is the 1 seed. The third team in Midwest Region #1 is the Northwood University Timberwolves (30-21-1), who received an at-large bid out of the GLIAC.

Quincy will open regional play on Thursday (5/19) against the 5^th-seeded Northwood Timberwolves at 11:00 AM central time at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex in Caldeonia, Michigan. The top seeded Davenport Panthers await the loser of the Quincy/Northwood game at 3:00 PM central time.

The Hawks and Timberwolves last matched up back in the 2017 regional, when the Hawks defeated them twice to win the region and advance to the World Series.  
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Panthers enter the regional as the GLIAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions. They defeated Purdue – Northwest twice on Sunday (5/15) by the scores of 6-4 and 2-1 to capture the title. Davenport is led offensively by First Team D2CCA selection Nolan Anspaugh. The senior outfielder comes in batting .392, while starting in all 56 games for the Panthers. He has 16 doubles, 12 triples and 7 home runs, while knocking in 46 RBIs. Once he gets on base, he has swiped 29 bases in 37 attempts.

Their pitching staff is led by starter Derek Eddington who is 5-4 while making 12 starts. Eddington has a 4.99 ERA in 56.2 IP, with 76 strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, Spencer Vainavicz has a 3.86 ERA in 26 appearances.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Quincy enters the regional for the seventh consecutive season, this time as an at-large bid. In the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, the Hawks went 3-2 after falling to Illinois – Springfield in the championship game. The Hawks are led by First Team D2CCA selection Luke Napleton who has belted 18 home runs, which is tied for 2^nd most in a single season. Napleton comes in batting .337 on the year and has a team leading 61 RBIs. The Sophomore Catcher has taken control of the Hawk pitching staff as well. Behind the plate, he has only committed three errors, while allowing eight passed balls.

On the mound for the Hawks, Senior Spencer Walker leads the way with a 2.87 ERA, while compiling a record of 9-1 in 13 starts. The Mapleton, Illinois native has thrown 84.2 innings, striking out 77, and allowing 21 walks. Walker has thrown three complete games on the season. He was named second team D2CCA All-Region. Out of the bullpen, Cruz Meier has made 15 appearances with a 2.57 ERA in 28 innings. He has struck out 22 batters, with 8 walks.

SCOUTING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Northwood enters the Midwest Regional for the fifth straight season, earning an at-large bid, The Timberwolves went 1-2 in the GLIAC tournament with losses to Wayne State and Davenport. Their lone win in the tournament was over Grand Valley State. At the plate, Matt Magno leads the Timberwolves with a .379 average. He has 13 doubles, 3 triples and 3 home runs in 195 at-bats. Jacob Rybicki and Khale Showers lead the team with 9 home runs apiece.

Jayden Dentler leads the starting pitchers with a 7-2 record in 13 starts. Dentler has a 2.62 ERA in 86 innings pitched, while striking out 64 batters. He has only allowed 20 extra base hits in 327 at-bats. Grant Smith leads the way out of the bullpen with 16.1 innings thrown and a 2.20 ERA in 11 appearances.