BEREA, OHIO --  The Baldwin-Wallace College spring sport teams have had an outstanding spring season.  The Yellow Jacket track and field teams have two weeks of competition yet to go and hope to bring national acclaim to the Berea based campus.

Every B-W spring team has either finished the regular season or the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament in the top three of one of the top NCAA Division III conferences in the country.

In track, the Yellow Jacket women placed second and the men third at last weekend's OAC Championship Meet at The George Finnie Stadium.  In addition, the women won two invitational meet titles and the men one during the regular season.  With two weeks left, the B-W women already have seven women qualified for the 2003 NCAA Division III National Championship Meet and the men have one qualifier.

In baseball and softball, B-W had a pair of teams that each won more than 20 games and made a run at the single-season win record in each sport.  In baseball, B-W had its third straight 20-win season and finished 24-17 overall which was one win shy of the single-season win mark.  The Yellow Jacket diamondmen were third during the OAC regular season and qualified for the four-team OAC Tournament last weekend at Heidelberg.  In softball, B-W won 25 games, finished 25-17 and fell three victories shy of the single-season record.  The Yellow Jacket softballers finished second during the OAC regular season and second at the OAC Tournament when they lost in the OAC Championship Game, 3-2.

In tennis, the B-W men had their first-ever 20-win season, finished 20-4 overall and lost in the OAC Championship Match, 4-3, in a final set tie-breaker.  The Yellow Jacket men have now had 14 straight seasons with 10 or more wins and return their entire lineup next year.  The B-W women were 11-11 overall for their eighth straight .500 or better season and placed third during the OAC regular season and third at the OAC Tournament.  Despite losing one solid senior starter, the Yellow Jackets will return their number one singles player from two years ago who missed this season of competition due to academic requirements in the Conservatory of Music.

The B-W men's and women's tennis teams will be two squads that will have to be reconned with next year.  The men placed third at the OAC Tournament, will return OAC medalist Steve Weir (Brunswick) as well as the entire lineup.  The B-W women were third at the OAC Championship Tournament and also return the entire lineup.

For more information on any of the B-W sports teams, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by phone at (440) 826-2327, fax (440) 826-2325, or by e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.