WASHINGTON, D.C.- On the heels of a tough loss at the hands of Cabrini on Wednesday afternoon to open the Atlantic East Tournament, the Immaculata baseball team returns to action on Friday in need of a pair of victories to keep its Atlantic East Championship aspirations alive. Immaculata will begin its Friday at the Atlantic East Championships with an elimination game against Wesley beginning at 12 p.m. with another elimination game to follow at 7 p.m. against the loser of the Marymount/Cabrini game should the Macs top the Wolverines in the first game of the afternoon.
The Atlantic East Championship weekend, hosted by Marymount University, is set to be played inside Nationals Youth Academy Park in the southeastern portion of Washington, D.C., with three games occurring on Friday and the Championship series set for Saturday afternoon.
On Wednesday afternoon, Immaculata opened its Atlantic East Tournament campaign with a home matchup opposite third-seeded Cabrini, in what was the third meeting between the two rivals in the last week. In this contest, Cabrini jumped out to an early 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third before Immaculata countered with a pair of two-run innings in the home half of the third and fourth to even the score at 4-4 entering the fifth. Cabrini answered with a run of its own in the top of the fifth and three runs in the sixth to claim an 8-4 lead, which the Cavaliers would never relinquish.
Tyler Kmiec was 1-for-5 in the setback with a two-RBI double, while
Josh Crowding and
Richard Fontanillas each went 2-for-5, with Crowding scoring a run in the setback.
Crowding remains the top hitter for the Macs this season, batting an impressive .442 on the year with 38 hits, including 20 extra-base hits (six home runs) along with 33 RBI in what has been an outstanding 2021 season for the sophomore catcher. Fellow sophomore
Joey Wright has also enjoyed a strong sophomore season as he enters play on Friday afternoon with a .400 batting average with 32 hits, 25 RBI, and 24 runs scored on the season.
Immaculata's first opponent of the day on Friday will be the fifth-seeded Wesley College Wolverines, who enter the matchup with a 1-1 record after successfully dispatching fourth-seeded Neumann on Tuesday afternoon before falling to top-seeded Marymount on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon against the host Saints, Marymount used a huge 14-run third inning to cruise to an 18-4 victory over the visiting Wolverines. Wesley scored all four of its runs in the top of the fifth, thanks to an RBI single and multiple defensive miscues by Marymount. On Wednesday afternoon, Cole Edwards got the start for Wesley, lasting just 2.0 innings, surrendering 10 runs on four hits and seven walks before exiting in favor of Joe Golden, who entered and tossed four innings surrendering 10 hits and eight earned while walking three and striking out a pair in the setback.
Wesley enters play with a mark of 8-16 on the year after dropping its contest at Marymount on Wednesday afternoon. Offensively, Wesley enters batting .273 on the year, with 124 runs scored on the year. Freshman Sam Courtney has been among the most dangerous hitters in the Wesley lineup this season as he enters play with a team-best .384 batting average with 28 hits on the year with 19 runs scored and 12 RBI in 20 games for the Wolverines this season. Sophomore Dustin Sutton and freshman Justin Blunt have also been critical components of the Wesley offense this season as they enter play with .326 and .307 batting averages on the year, while Blunt is one of just four Wolverines to connect for a home run in the 2021 season. On the mound, Cole Davis has been the top pitcher for the Wolverines this season, entering play with a record of 4-1 and four complete games on the year, following a complete-game, 163-pitch outing in Wesley's victory over Neumann on Tuesday afternoon. Edwards, who got the start for Wesley on Wednesday afternoon, fell to 1-4 on the year with an ERA north of 14 following his loss to Marymount on Wednesday. Hunter Barr and Joe Golden have also started for Wesley earlier this season, entering play on Wednesday with records of 0-4 and 0-3, respectively. Anthony Santucci, who has not made a start for the Wolverines yet this season, will also be an option for Wesley on Friday afternoon as he has pitched to a record of 1-2 with a 6.17 ERA over the course of 23.1 innings pitched in nine appearances thus far in 2021.
Immaculata faced off against Wesley earlier this season to open Atlantic East play, as the Macs opened with a three-game sweep of the Wolverines, outscoring their foes 28-12 over the course of the three-game set. Crowding had a banner series against the Wolverines last time the two teams met as the sophomore catcher batted .500 over the course of the three games with four runs scored and seven RBI to help the Macs register the Atlantic East opening sweep.
Fans are advised to review the most up-to-date Atlantic East Tournament Fan Attendance policy, available via the following
link. In this policy, a limited number of visiting spectators will be permitted to attend the games via inclusion on a pass list submitted by the team in advance of Tournament play. For games on Friday afternoon, each Immaculata player may designate two guests on the pass list, while a maximum of four guests per player will be permitted for the games on Saturday afternoon should Immaculata continue to advance. All fans (with the exception of Children 12 and under who will be admitted free of charge) will need to pay a fee $5 for entry to the facility for each day of the Tournament. Fans on the pass list will also be asked to complete a brief COVID-19 screening at the front gate before entering the facility parking lot.
Should Immaculata vanquish Wesley on Friday afternoon, Immaculata will remain alive in its bid for an Atlantic East Championship; however, the Macs will need to win again in the second game of the day at 7 p.m. against the loser of the Cabrini/Marymount game at 3:30 p.m. with the winner of that contest advancing to the Championship series on Saturday afternoon, with play beginning at 2 p.m.
