As the weather warms, and folks look to Memorial Day weekend, there is
one group of people who hope to busy that weekend – too busy for
barbeques, the beach and relaxing. They want to be playing baseball.
For those whose team qualified for post-season, this week is what they
have been waiting for since last May.
In the Patriot League, Bucknell, who eliminated Army last week,
defeated Navy to capture the Patriot League title, and a spot in the
NCAA Tournament.
Mattingly Baseball Beast of the Week: Chris Carrano (Kean) - The sophomore third baseman went 10-for-19 with seven RBI and eight runs scored in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, leading Kean to a perfect 4-0 tournament and a trip to Appleton, Wisconsin and the Division III College World Series. Carrano had four hits, four runs scored, and four RBI in a 12-8 win over TCNJ, and had a hit in each of the four games in the regional.
Pitcher of the Week: Dan Ramos-Dominko (The College of New Jersey) - An eight-inning four hit effort against DeSales in the opener of the Mid-Atlantic Regional for the Lions, giving TCNJ a 3-0 victory, earns Ramos-Dominko the Gotham Pitcher of the Week. In improving to 4-2 on the season, Ramos-Dominko fanned a career high nine batters.
Team of the Week: Kean University - The defending Division III champions are making a return trip to the College World Series, and have not lost a game in the NJAC Tournament last week, or the Mid-Atlantic Region this week, a region loaded with three NJAC teams.
CONFERENCE COVERAGES Provided By
Atlantic 10
Fordham’s disappointing season came to end, as the Rams finished tied for seventh, after being the consensus second choice at the start of the season. Fordham dropped the opener to Massachusetts, 12-10, on Thursday, eliminating them from post-season play. Senior Tom Davis finished off a fine season with a 4-3 victory on Friday.
Davis, went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, and improved to 9-2 on the year, with a stellar 1.90 ERA.
Senior Rich Goulian saved his best game for last, with four hits in five at bats, with five runs batted in the season finale, a 13-10 victory over the Minutemen. Goulian, led the team in hitting with a .351 average, with five home runs and 41 RBI, while his 36 steals (in 46 attempts) also led the team. For his efforts, Goulian was selected the Atlantic-10’s co-Player of the week. It was the second time he was named Co-Player of the Week.
The Rams finished 29-24-1 overall, with a 13-14 record in Atlantic 10 play.
All Gotham pre-season selection Eric Reese finished with a .318, 3, 46 ledger, with 25 steals in 39 attempts. Senior closer Chris Kaible went 1-2, 4.15,with 10 saves.
America East
Second seed Stony Brook will host the four-team, double-elimination tournament at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, N.Y.
The Seawolves (31-24 overall, 14-10 in America East) wrapped up the two seed for the third time in as many years with a single win over Albany Friday. UMBC (21-27, 13-11), which finished its regular season last weekend, will make its debut in the America East Championship as the three seed, while Vermont (26-22, 12-11) earned the four seed over Hartford by handing the Hawks two losses on Saturday afternoon.
The winner of the 2008 America East Baseball Championship will receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Baseball Championship.
The Seawolves, who opened the week with a non-conference win over Seton Hall, lost three-of-four to Albany over the weekend. Sophomore first baseman was an offensive force for Stony Brook, going 8-for-14 with nine RBI and a runs scored over the series. Gary Novakowski allowed five hits, and two runs both unearned, in picking up the Seawolves lone win in the series.
Novokowski improved to 6-4 on the season with the win.
Big East
For two of Gotham’s three representatives in the Big East, what a difference a year makes. St. John’s which finished tied for the Big East regular season title a year ago, won the conference title, finishing one game ahead of Cincinnati. The Red Storm, who took two of three from Villanova this past weekend, will face the Wildcats (8th seed) in the opening game of the Big East Tournament, played in Clearwater, Florida.
Left-hander George Brown, named as one of 16 finalists for the Dick Howser Award, was stymied in his attempt to go 10-0, picking up a no-decision in a 8-7 extra inning loss. Brown finished the regular season 9-0, with a 2.73 ERA. Entering the season as the Red Storm’s second starter, Brown had a senior season for the ages.
The Red Storm as a team also had that type of season, finishing 41-12 overall, and 20-7 in Big East play, tying a school record for wins in a season. Colin Lynch had 13 saves, and has established himself as someone that will be playing professional baseball after his collegiate career ends. Scott Barnes, the Red Storm’s most recognized player come into the season, finished with a 7-3 record, with a 3.73 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .207 batting average. He fanned 80 hitters in 76.2 innnings.
Rutgers, who shared the Big East regular season title and won the Big East Tournament, and the automatic bid that goes with it in 2007, finished 10th in 2008, missing out on post-season play. The Scarlet Knights finished 23-29, and 11-16 in Big East play. Coming into the season, the Scarlet Knights knew that replacing six regulars would be difficult. After an encouraging start that saw Rutgers pick up wins over Old Dominion, Georgia Tech and Texas A&M in road series, injuries and pitching shortages were too much to overcome.
The Scarlet Knights needed to sweep Louisville to have any chance of prolonging their season, but the Cardinals won the first two games in Louisville to end any hopes of a last-second saving of the season. Freshman Jaren Matthews was the highlight of the season, slugging 10 home runs in his first trip through the Big East.
Seton Hall, a second division team in 2007, turned the tables in 2008, jumping out to a fast start, and withstanding a late seasons slump to finish fifth, 15-12 in Big East play, and 30-23 overall. The Pirates, who will face Louisville in their Big East Tournament opener on Tuesday, struggled down the stretch, losing two of three to last place finisher Georgeown, and were 3-7 in their final 10 gams.
Pitching carried the Pirates during the season, as ace left-hander Corey Young went 8-3 with a 2.93 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 77 innings. Sophomore Sean Black was better than his record suggests, going 3-3 with 2 saves, and a 3.28 ERA in a swing role. The Pirates utilized the bullpen by committee to perfection, as seven pitchers combined for 14 saves. As a team the Pirates team ERA (3.64) was a 1.2 runs per game better than their opponents.
Mark Pappas (.291, 6, 37) and Chris Affinito (.298, 9, 38) were the key sticks in an opportunistic Pirate lineup.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Manhattan continued its run of top of finishes in the MAAC, while Rider hung on to the fourth and final spot in the MAAC playoffs. If the regular season holds form, Rider, who is hosting the MAAC playoffs, will be out quickly, while Manhattan, winners of 10 straight, Siena (winners of 10 straight) and Canisius (regular season champ and winner of 9 of last 10) will be in dogfight to see who advances.
The Jaspers and Canisius tied atop the MAAC regular season standings with identical 19-5 records, but Canisius won the title based on winning two of the three games played between the schools during the regular season. Fairfield, who also ended the season in a free-fall fell from a first place tie to fifth in a span of a month, and had their season ended with a sweep at the hands of Manhattan over the weekend.
Manhattan earned its first MAAC regular season title (shared with Canisius) with the sweep, and Kevin Leighton earned his 100th win as a college coach, in just his third season at Manhattan.
Freshman Chad Salem, with nine home runs and 50 RBI provides the power, while Kevin Nieto ( .372, 1, 45, 21-21 steals) provides the spark to the Jaspers offense.
Rider is competing in the MAAC playoffs for the second time in the last three years. Rider was the third seed in the 2006 MAAC Tournament. In 2002 the Broncs were the fourth seed and advanced to the MAAC Title Game. In 2001 Rider finished in second place in the MAAC regular season and advanced to the MAAC Title game.
Rider finished in second place in the MAAC South in 1999 and lost in its first MAAC Title Game. The Broncs won the MAAC South in 1998 and lost in the first round of the rain-shortened, single elimination MAAC tournament in their first year in the MAAC.
James Hayes is the Broncs top player, hitting 335 with a home run and 18 RBI from the leadoff spot, while stealing 33 bases in 41 attempts while moving around the field. As the closer, he was 3-1 with nine saves, while posting a 2.84 ERA.
Northeast Conference
After winning the NEC Tournament a season ago, and with a solid core returning for 2008, Monmouth was labeled the team to beat in NEC prior to the 2008 season. The Hawks did not disappoint, going wire-to-wire in front, en route to 20-5 conference record and a 35-14 overall record. Only the weather hindered the Hawks from a shot at a 40-win season.
Weather cancelled three of the final four games of the Hawks season against Long Island, so it will be interesting to see if the Hawks lost any of their momentum when they open against Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday in Atlantic City at the NEC Tournament. In the one game they were able to play, ace Brad Brach improved to 7-2, with a 9-4 victory.
Wagner, led by the pitching of ace lefthander Joe Testa and reliever Andrew Huebner, faces Central Connecticut in the other match-up. Wagner finished at 26-25, 16-10 in the NEC, a marked improvement, thanks to solid pitching throughout the season. Over the weekend, the Seahawks took three of four from Sacred Heart, ensuring a plus .500 season and setting the mark for most wins in conference play.
Division III
It is shaping up to be a great Division III CWS , as Kean, the defending National Champions, swept their region, and Trinity College became the first team in NCAA history to get to the CWS undefeated. Neither school is ranked first in the rankings – as that honor goes to Chapman.
Are you ready?
Kean certainly is, disposing of Rowan, 8-2 in the finale, after the Profs eliminated The College of New Jersey, 5-2, in an elimination game earlier in the day. Andy Cupido struck out nine, in pitching a complete game for the victory, allowing six hits. It was his first complete game of the season.
Kean has now won 12 straight NCAA Tournament games over two seasons, having gone 8-0 in last year’s tournament, and a perfect 4-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Seniors Derek Gianakas and Kevin O'Neill each homered in a game-turning sixth inning, while Cupido scattered six hits to earn his first complete game victory of the season.
Chris Carrano had 10 hits in the tournament, including four in a 12-8 win over TCNJ, a game in which the Lions made seven errors. Bryan Burke had seven hits in 16 at bats, while Gianakas had six RBI.
The Cougars came into the tournament ranked sixth in the Division III, and have won 13 straight games. Kean last year became the fifth NJAC team to win a Division III National Championship in baseball, and the NJAC has won 30% of the Division III baseball titles decided.
Fellow NJAC members Rowan and TCNJ finished second and third respectively in the regional. Montclair State finished fourth in the Ithaca Regional, won by Cortland State.
The first round match-ups set for Friday May 23 are: No. 1 Chapman vs. No. 6 Kean Adrian vs. No. 5 John Hopkins No 11. UW-Whitwater vs. Linfield No. 2 Cortland State vs. No 3. Trinity (Conn.)
Division II Results
Thursday, May 15
Game 1: #1 Franklin Pierce 16, #6 LIU-C.W. Post 2
Game 2: #5 Dowling 7, #2 Bryant 6
Game 3: #4 Caldwell 3, #3 Southern Connecticut State 2
Friday, May 16
Game 4: #2 Bryant 10, #6 LIU-C.W. Post 3
Game 5: #1 Franklin Pierce 7, #3 Southern Connecticut State 3
Pitcher of the Week: Dan Ramos-Dominko (The College of New Jersey) - 
