The 2004 Boyd High School graduate returned from Sauget, Ill. last week after pitching in the NCAA Division II Championships. Baron, a junior lefthander, pitches for the Ouachita Baptist Tigers in Arkadelphia, Ark. OBU finished second to eventual national champion Mount Olive, losing in the championship game to Mount Olive 6-2
The Tigers earned a bid to the championship series with a four-game sweep in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament in mid-May.
OBU had been eliminated from the Gulf South Conference Tournament in Millington, Tenn., a week earlier. Its only chance of being invited to the Regional Tournament in Cleveland depended on an at-large bid. The Tigers received the bid from the NCAA and entered the six-team tournament as the final team invited and the No. 5 seed.
OBU, which had an amazing 43-14 season record, was ranked No. 26 nationally at the start of the regional tournament. The group won four games over No. 7 Southern Arkansas University, No. 10 Abilene Christian University and No. 1 Delta State University twice.
At the championship series in Sauget, the Tigers were the eighth seed and faced No. 1 Mount Olive in the first game. In a heartbreaker that lasted two days due to rain delay, the Tigers gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth and lost 6-5.
In the losers bracket and facing elimination, the Tigers repeated their performance in Cleveland and ran off four straight wins. They shocked the No. 3 team - and two time defending national champions - Tampa 12-0 to send them home for the season.
Next for Baron and company was a 12-5 victory over Ashland to pull within one win of reaching the national title game. All that the Tigers had to do to reach the National Championship game was to defeat No. 2 ranked and undefeated Sonoma State twice in the double elimination tournament.
Misson accomplished.
In outstanding performances by the pitching staffs of both teams, Ouachita Baptist won both games by identical 2-1 scores to advance to the championship game against Mount Olive.
Baron started the second game against Sonoma State and was the winning pitcher. He gave up three hits, no runs and struck out six batters in a little more than six innings of work.
"That was a great, gutty win from our team," OBU head coach Scott Norwood said. "We did a great job today scrapping for runs. Chase did a great job on the mound."
OBU finished the season with a record of 51-16, the most wins in school history.
Baron, a transfer from Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla., started 17 games for OBU this season. He finished the year with a record of 10-3, pitched 90 innings with 81 strikeouts. He was selected to the Gulf South Conference Western Division All Conference Second team.
Baron was a two year starter at Redlands with a 11-3 record. He recorded a collegiate career-high 13 strikeouts against Western Oklahoma State. Redlands won the regular season conference championship as well as the conference tournament title both years that he played. He was the winning pitcher each year in the title games.
While at Boyd, Baron was selected District 12-2A Pitcher of the Year in 2004 and Wise County Pitcher of the Year in 2003 and 2004 Baron He recorded a career-best 18 strikeouts against Jacksboro in 2003.
