ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Top-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University leads a powerful group of four teams to the Brian F. Prince Athletic Complex and Towers Field at the University of Rochester this weekend for the opening rounds of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships. Action starts on Friday with games slated for 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
The regional is scheduled to run from Friday to Sunday, May 20-22, 2022 and features three automatic qualifiers and one at-large team. The automatic qualifiers are Eastern Connecticut State (Little East Conference Champions), Middlebury College (New England Small College Athletic Conference; NESCAC Champions), and Swarthmore College (Centennial Conference Champions). The host, University of Rochester is the one at-large team in the four-team pod. The Yellowjackets secured one of 19 at-large bids after finishing second in the Liberty League playoffs last weekend. Full bracket and details for the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Chamionship can be found:
here.
REGIONAL SCHEDULE (Double-Elimination Format)
Friday, May 20:
Game 1 – #1 Eastern Connecticut State (39-3) vs. #4 Swarthmore College (22-17), 11 AM
Game 2 – #2 University of Rochester (31-11) vs. #3 Middlebury College (29-12), 2:30 PM
Saturday, May 21:
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11 AM
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2:30 PM
Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 6 PM
Sunday, May 22:
Game 6 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner Gm. 5, 11 AM
Game 7 - (if necessary) Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner Gm. 5, 2:30 PM**
**if each team has one loss after this game, the teams will play again.
This will be Rochester's sixth appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs and its third straight in full seasons. The Yellowjackets competed in 2019 at the College of Wooster and in the 2021 playoffs at Marietta College. The pandemic curtailed the 2020 season to five games.
REGIONAL PREVIEW
Eastern Connecticut State (#1 seed):
Brian Albee
The Warriors (39-3) head into the playoffs riding a 13-game winning streak. ECSU finished 15-1 in the Little East Conference and secured the Pool A bid by defeating Massachuetts-Dartmouth, 16-1, in the championship game of the Little East Conference Tournament. It was ECSU's 10th Little East title. This is the 36th NCAA playoff bid for ECSU. Four players are hitting .340 or better, led by Luke Broadhurst. He is hitting .432 (54-125) with 47 runs scored. He leads the Warriors in home runs (10) and is second in RBIs with 42. Ryan Bagdasarian is hitting .381 (61-160) with 46 runs scored, 12 doubles, four triples, and three HRs. Matt Malcolm and John Mesagno have nine HRs apiece. Malcom's driven in a team-high 51 runs. Mesagno has scored 50 runs.
On the mound, Bryan Albee is 10-0 with four saves and a 1.23 ERA in 65.2 innings pitched. Albee has started eight games. Billy Oldham is 9-2 in 11 starts with a 2.27 ERA. He has 95 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched. Three other pitchers are 5-0: Aidan Dunn (1.63 ERA), Tommy Benincaso (2.25 ERA), and Nolan Lincoln (2.93 ERA).
Rochester (#2 seed):
Luke Piontek
The Yellowjackets played 15 games against NCAA tournament teams this season. Rochester has relied on a wide-ranging attack from the plate. The current batting leader is Luke Piontek at .398 (37-93) with eight doubles and 17 RBIs. Harper Sy is hitting .377 (49-130) with a team-high six home runs and 37 RBIs. Josh Leadem is hitting .342 (39-114), Jackson Reed hits .333 (37-111). Aaron Whitley is hitting .331. He has 43 runs scored and is 23-28 on stolen base attempts. Trevor Van Allen is 7-0 this season with two complete games and a 3.57 ERA. Nolan Sparks boasts a 6-1 ledger (3.20 ERA) and a team-high 59 strikeouts. Thomas Karpishin has five saves, a 4-1 record (1.69 ERA) in 19 apearances.
Middlebury (#3 seed):
John Collins
The Panthers scored seven runs in the top of the ninth to rally past Hamilton College and win the 2022 NESCAC Championship. Middlebury has scored 400 runs in 41 games this season to go along with a .564 slugging pct., 104 doubles, 22 triples, and 59 home runs. John Collins has 13 HRs and 43 RBIs. Alec Ritch has 50 RBIs. The lineup has three men hitting over .400: Mitchell Schroeder (.483, 42-87), Sawyer Duarte (.414, 29-70), and Beau Root (.412, 49-119). Alex Price and Alex Rosario have started 10 games on the mound apiece for the Panthers. Price is 4-2 with a 3.67 ERA. Rosario is 6-4 (7.30 ERA). George Goldstein is tough out of the pen: 23 appearances, 31.0 innings pitched 45 strikeouts, five saves, a 4-1 record, and a 2.61 ERA. Price has 75 strikeouts.
Swarthmore (#4 seed):
Luke Mutz
Swarthmore was awarded the Centennial Conference's automatic qualifier after the tournament was halted when heavy rains deluged the area. Swarthmore takes a 22-17 record into its NCAA opener on Friday. Luke Mutz, the Centennial Conference Player of the Year is batting .434 (69-159) with 52 runs scored, 12 doubles, six triples, one HR, and 27 RBIs. Paul Cooke also makes contributions from the plate (.383, 51-133) for the Garnet with 13 doubles, one triple, and six HRs. Austin Burgess shares the team's home run lead with Cooke; Burgess has six plus a team-high 44 RBIs and 17 doubles. The top three also lead the team in stolen bases with a combined 68 steals of 72 attempts (Mutz 26-27, Cooke 22-24, Burgess (20-21). This season Swarthmore has 120 stolen bases in 134 attempts. Zach Camp has 65 Ks on the mound in 53.2 innings pitched. He is 1-2 in 18 appearances, four of which are starts. He has five saves. Matteo Collecito is 4-1 in seven starts (nine appearances) with a 3.74 ERA in 21.2 innings. Edward Berry has fanned 49 in 53.1 innings (3-3 record, 3.04 ERA).