Sports
Westminster Grad Leads Webster University to College World Series
David Mueller, who graduated from Westminster Christian Academy in 2008, has been named top pitcher in the 2012 conference as the Gorloks head to the World Series for the first time.
While David Mueller grew up in Webster Groves off of Grant Road, he rarely spent much time in town until college. Mueller’s father Richard is a Lutheran pastor of a church in North County where David attended elementary school, getting a ride every day from his father.
Mueller graduated from Town and Country's , a school well known for its baseball program. He then went to Florida Tech in Melbourne, FL, where he played baseball his freshman year.
However, he wasn’t happy at Florida Tech. If he transferred to another NCAA Division-I or Division-II school, he would have had to sit out one year. However, he could play college baseball immediately by going to a Division-III school that offered no athletic scholarships.
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That brought Mueller home. Since 2006 had the top baseball team in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). Mueller enrolled at Webster University, and for the next three years, he was the only player on the team who was actually from Webster Groves.
In 2010 despite an 8-1 record with a 2.08 ERA in 13 starts, Mueller was the second-best pitcher on the team, behind Will Savage who was 9-0 with a 1.52 ERA.
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2011 was actually an off year for Mueller when he went 6-3 with a 3.66 ERA.
In his senior year Mueller put up the best numbers of his collegiate career. He was 8-2 with a 1.91 ERA in 13 starts and 102 strikeouts in only 82 innings of work. The opposition was hitting just .196 against Mueller.
Mueller has already gained a case full of awards from just the 2012 season. The right-handed pitcher has been named the SLIAC Pitcher of the Year, to the SLIAC Conference First Team and SLIAC Tournament First Team.
Behind Mueller, Webster has posted a 35-12 record and a trip to the Division-III College World Series in Appleton, WI, starting on Friday.
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The Webster University season looked troubled early when RHP Jack Bensinger, a top recruit from Los Angeles, tore up his elbow after four games. He returned home to LA at the end of classes for “Tommy John” surgery. However, freshman LHP Issac Behme put up a 6-2 record with a 2.11 ERA. In his first start for Webster, just two days after his hometown of Harrisburg, IL, was hit by deadly tornadoes, Behme retired 22 straight hitters and picked up his first collegiate victory.
Offensively, Webster was led by senior first baseman Tom Henke (a Lindbergh High School graduate who is no relation to the former Blue Jay and Cardinal relief pitcher), who hit .397 with seven home runs and 48 RBIs.
Junior centerfielder Cody Stevenson led all of Division-III baseball for the second year in stolen bases. Stevenson stole 58 bases in 61 attempts.
The Gorloks take on Wheaton University (MA) on Friday in the opening game of the World Series. Wheaton defeated Webster 1-0 in March. Mueller is sure to get the starting assignment.