Baseball | 5/8/2015 4:37:00 PM

BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Bluefield College baseball team has garnered the No. 2 seed in the National Christian College Athletic Association's Mideast Regional, beginning play at 4 p.m., Tuesday, in Cleveland, Tennessee.
 
The Rams are seeking their second-straight NCCAA World Series appearance, and the road to Prasco Park will begin against either No. 3 Hiwassee College (24-20) or No. 6 Morthland College (5-16), who play at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
 
After dropping five-straight Appalachian Athletic Conference games late in the year, the Rams closed the regular season by splitting its last four games. Bluefield's 4-3 win over Bryan in the regular season finale put the squad at 24-24 to meet it's .500 institutional mark for NCCAA postseason play.
 
Host Lee University (32-17-1) holds the top seed for the tournament, while fourth-seeded Ohio Christian (14-18) and fifth-seeded Johnson University (2-21) round out the six-team field in a double-elimination format.
 
Should the Rams win their first game, they would play again on Wednesday at 4 p.m. A loss would drop Bluefield to the consolation bracket, to face the loser between Ohio Christian and Johnson on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.
 
Bluefield has not faced Morthland College, but is familiar with Hiwassee, having played the Tigers each of the last three years. The Rams have compiled a 5-2 mark against Hiwassee during the span, including a doubleheader split in early April. Hiwassee took the opener by an 8-6 margin—thanks in part to a six-run second inning—before the Rams came back with an 11-3 win in the finale at Bowen Field.
 
The Rams sent 10 different pitchers to the mound in the doubleheader, none of which threw more than two frames. At the plate, Chris McCollister knocked in three runs in game one, before Tyler Timmer had a five-RBI performance in the team's victory.
 
Five Rams—all but one of which are seniors—closed the regular season with a batting average above .300. Will Kane led the way at .348, but missed games down the stretch of the season due to injury. Fellow seniors Chris McCollister (.338), Tyler Timmer (.333), and Sawyer McLamb (.319), in addition to junior Garrett Schilling (.304) continue the list. Jacob Schober (.303), who missed several games due to injury but has made his return to the lineup, rounds out those above .300 for the season.
 
Timmer has put together a strong senior campaign, leading the squad in hits (52), doubles (14), home runs (6), RBI (41), and slugging percentage (.590). Of his 52 hits, nearly half (24) went for extra bases.
 
On the mound, Chaz Miller claimed six wins on the year while tossing a majority of Bluefield's mid-week games. Cory Niten compiled a 5-3 mark and held the pitching staff's best conference record at 3-2. The senior tossed a team-high 50.1 innings and maintained a team-best 3.40 earned-run-average. Dylan Cole and Dylan Ruth were also frequent tossers for 10th-year head coach Mike White, appearing in 29 and 22 games, respectively. Alex Haas had a team-high 11 starts and recorded a team-best 53 strikeouts.
 
Live stats will be available for all the Rams' games in the Mideast Regional, courtesy of Lee University.