Adrian College Men's Baseball

Rainey '89 begins his 24th season guiding the highly-successful Adrian College baseball program that he has built to new heights since his arrival in 1994. The Bulldogs strung together eight straight NCAA Division III Championship appearances from 2008 to 2015 and a record of 265-100 (.726) during that eight-year span. During the stretch, Adrian won seven Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season championships and the first four MIAA Tournament titles. Rainey has guided the program to nine consecutive 30-win seasons--including a school-record 37 wins in 2012-- en route to a 585-388 school and career mark (.601) at his alma mater. The team has also had 14 winning seasons in a row under Rainey. The Bulldogs have won or shared 10 of the last 12 MIAA championships. The 2016 Bulldogs wound up 30-12 overall and 24-4 in conference play--winning the league by six games and tying a MIAA-record with their eighth-consecutive MIAA crown. (Alma College was the MIAA champion from 1951 to 1958.) Adrian swept the individual player awards as All-American Ryan Dorow earned the MIAA Position Player of the Year for the second time in three years and Tommy Parsons was named the Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore. Led by all-region standouts Ian Mikowski, Dorow and Parsons, Adrian set school records with a NCAA Division III-topping .438 on-base percentage, 228 walks and 366 runs scored among other team/individual benchmarks. In 2015, Adrian finished the season with a 33-12 record and was 23-5 in the MIAA which won the MIAA regular season championship.  The Bulldogs once again took home the MIAA tournament as well defeating three straight opponents on the way to clinching another berth in the NCAA tournament.  However they would exit the tournament in the opening round of the Mideast Regional after losses to Shenandoah University (5-1) and Washington & Jefferson College (9-3). In 2014, Adrian finished the season with a 33-15 record and were 21-7 in the MIAA which was enough to win the MIAA regular season crown.  They would go on to win the MIAA tournament in convincing fashion winning three straight games to clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament. In 2013, Adrian finished the season with a 32-15 record and was 20-8 in the MIAA which was good enough for a share of the regular season crown. The Bulldogs were ranked 13th nationally in the preseason D3Baseball.com poll. The team had to go on the road for the MIAA Tournament at Hope and came away with a 3-2 win in 10 innings over Trine sending them to the Central Regional in Rock Island, Illinois. Adrian defeated Wartburg 5-4 in 12 innings in their first game before dropping the next two. Dan Heatherly was named MIAA Position Player of the Year and Heatherly along with Anthony Sergi and Sam Fischer were named All-Mideast Region by D3Baseball.com. In 2012, Adrian compiled a record of 37-10 and were ranked 26th in the preseason. The Bulldogs had a strong spring trip and ascended to No. 11 in the polls. Adrian finished the season ranked 12th in NCAA Division III. Adrian advanced to the NCAA Mideast Regional held at Marietta and won twice over Wooster and La Roche before bowing to the eventual national champion host Pioneers. In 2011, Adrian captured its third straight MIAA title under Rainey. The Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 31-11 and were 24-4 in conference games. The team advanced to the Mideast Regional in Marietta, Ohio, and dropped a pair of heartbreaking one-run games in the ninth inning each time. Brian Bilius was named MIAA Position Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American at third base. David Partyka was named MIAA Pitcher of the Year. Four other players were named First Team All-MIAA in 2011. Bilius and Partyka were also named All-Region as well as Ryan Domschot. In 2010, Adrian compiled a team batting average of .341 which ranked 56th in Division III. In addition, the Bulldogs ranked 21st in team ERA. Adrian was 13-5 at Nicolay Field and won 12 straight games during the season from Apr. 1 to Apr. 17. AC advanced to the Mideast Regional hosted by Marietta and defeated Washington & Jefferson in 10 innings in game one. They then dropped close contests to Heidelberg and Thomas More. Adrian has won at least one game in every regional under Rainey. Coach Rainey coached the MIAA Player of the Year, Alex Cowart, and Pitcher of the Year, Josh Lancaster. Cowart also was named ABCA Second Team All-American. In 2009, Adrian set an MIAA record by winning the league with a 25-3 record. The team hosted the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional at Nicolay Field for the first time in school history and finished third. Adrian was bounced out of the regionals by eventual national runner-up College of Wooster, but did pick up wins against Rose-Hulman (9-8) and Heidelberg (3-1). AC bounced back after an opening game loss to Marietta to win those two games and finish the regional at 2-2. The team went 33-11 overall and Rainey coached both the MIAA Pitcher of the Year in Domschot and co-MIAA Position Players of the Year in Todd Meyers and Alex Cowart. Cowart and Domschot were also named All-Americans in 2009. Rainey and the Bulldogs accomplished a lot of positive things in 2008 and made a name for themselves on both a regional and national stage. The Bulldogs compiled a 36-13 overall record and received an at-large bid into the Mideast Regional hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana. Adrian made history by becoming the first MIAA team to advance to the NCAA Nationals in Appleton, Wisconsin by winning the regional. The Bulldogs then compiled two wins in the nationals over Linfield and Kean on their way to finishing fourth in Division III after a third-place game loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater. Rainey was named Mideast Regional Coach of the Year. In 20 seasons at the helm, Rainey has become the programs winningest coach. In 2006, the Bulldogs won their second straight MIAA crown, sharing the title with co-champion Hope College. Ranked fifth in the Mideast region at seasons end, the 2006 squad was 25-15 overall and 21-7 in the conference. The 2005 squad won the MIAA title and made the schools first NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2005 Bulldogs set school records for wins (27) and ended the season ranked fourth in the Mideast region. Rainey has mentored 37 all-region performers, as well as 66 First Team All-MIAA players. He has also produced eight conference MVPs and four league most valuable pitchers. He has won 71.6 percent of his conference games (404-160). Prior to serving as the Bulldogs head coach, Rainey was an assistant coach under former coach and athletic director Henry Mensing. In 1993, Rainey helped AC to its first MIAA baseball championship. Rainey started for three years at catcher for the Bulldogs and won the MIAA batting crown as a senior, hitting .467 in league games. Rainey later earned a masters degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy. A product of Owosso, Mich., Rainey resides in Adrian with his two children, Gunner and Kia.

Klotz enters his 16th season overall as a member of the Adrian College coaching staff, working with the infielders and hitters. A full-time coach at Adrian from 1999-2007, Klotz has moved into a part-time coaching spot with the Bulldogs. Klotz, has tutored the likes of Bobby Rickstad, Todd Meyers, Alex Cowart, Brian Bilius and Kyle Strawn who have all been named MIAA Position Players of the Year for Adrian College.  While coaching at Adrian, Klotz has helped the Bulldogs to seven MIAA crowns, eight NCAA Regionals and one College World Series. Klotz started for four years at second base for Coach Rainey from 1995-98 and was first team All-MIAA his junior year. He was also voted the MIAA's MVP in 1997. His greatest honor was in 1997 when he was named First Team All-Mideast as selected by Rawlings, the first player ever in school history to obtain this honor in baseball.  Klotz, also was a four year starter on the football team during his time as well.  He was named First Team All-MIAA in 1996 and 1997, while also being named 3rd Team All American by USA Football in 1997. Klotz graduated from Adrian in 1998 with a degree in health, physical education and recreation with an emphasis on teaching. He was inducted into the Adrian College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Klotz is also the owner of the Adrian Dirtbags Baseball Organization. He is currently employed by ProGrass Synthetic Turf Systems as their Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He resides in Adrian with his wife, Alison, and their kids - Logan and Alexis.