WASHINGTON, D.C.- After entering the day on Friday in need of a pair of victories to keep its Atlantic East Championship and NCAA Tournament aspirations alive, the Immaculata baseball team now stands just two victories away from an Atlantic East Championship, following a pair of exciting victories over Wesley and Cabrini on Friday. Immaculata will face top-seeded Marymount in the Atlantic East Championship series on Saturday afternoon, when play begins at 2 p.m.

Immaculata, who was ranked eighth in the final edition of Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings released earlier in the week, will need to defeat the top-seeded and unbeaten (2-0) Saints twice on Saturday afternoon in order to capture the Atlantic East Championship. The first game begins at 2 p.m. with the If-necessary game to follow.

Immaculata and Marymount have limited history with one another as the two teams have met just five times in their respective histories, as they had not played each other at all prior to the formation of the Atlantic East Conference. Marymount has had the upper hand in the series between the two teams, entering play on Saturday with a record of 4-1 against the Macs. Despite this 4-1 series edge, Immaculata did earn its first victory over the Saints on the road earlier in the 2021 season, which may serve as a source of confidence for the Macs entering play on Saturday afternoon.

Immaculata began its weekend with a convincing 10-3 victory over Wesley in the first elimination game of the day. The Macs never trailed in this contest as the team used a three-run second inning to claim a lead they would never relinquish. Joey Sacco and Steven Theisen each turned in impressive performances as they each went 4-for-4 with Sacco adding two RBI and scoring three runs while Theisen drove home three runs of his own while also scoring a run for the Macs. Ray Lutick got the start on the mound, pitching a gem for the Macs when they needed him the most, as the junior went the distance scattering just three runs and three walks while fanning six in the victory.

In the nightcap opposite rival Cabrini, Immaculata trailed early as the Cavaliers jumped out to a 5-0 lead but Immaculata quickly erased this deficit, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning before scoring three runs in the fourth to even the score, and five runs in the fifth with another three in the sixth to jump out to a commanding 13-5 lead over the Cavaliers. Greg Dahl started a power surge for the Macs in the fourth inning as the senior connected for a three-run home run, which tied the score at 5-5. Crowding followed this up with a two-run shot of his own in the fifth, which gave the Macs their first lead of the game at 7-5 before Theisen registered an RBI groundout, which Dahl followed up with a two-RBI single to give the Macs a commanding 10-5 advantage. In the sixth, Immaculata tacked on three more runs via a bases loaded walk by Frank Margiotta and a two-RBI single from Theisen to give Immaculata a 13-5 lead heading into the seventh inning. On the mound, Ryan Crowell overcame a rocky first inning to earn his sixth victory of the season for the Macs, tossing eight innings surrendering six runs on eight hits and three walks in the victory. Stephen DiBatista entered for the ninth inning for the Macs as the only bullpen arm used on the day for Immaculata, tossing a scoreless frame to secure the victory for the Mighty Macs.

Head Coach Kevin Schneider spoke highly of the pitching effort provided by both Lutick and Crowell in the victories, saying "It was huge. This two-game elimination tournament is all about pitching depth so to have those guys throw 17 innings was absolutely fantastic. It allows us to go into tomorrow with a rested bullpen and some starters that we think will do a good job. To say they were huge is an understatement, it was tremendous stuff from both of them and it took a lot of guts and heart," said Schneider.

Marymount, has enjoyed a stellar start to its Atlantic East Tournament as the Saints have gone 2-0 to open play in the Tournament with an 18-4 victory over Wesley on Wednesday before defeating Cabrini on Friday afternoon by a final of 6-2 to punch its ticket to the Championship series. The Saints have won six of their first seven contests in the month of May including a pair of victories over Immaculata in the Macs final home doubleheader of the 2021 regular season.

Offensively, Marymount is led by junior Alex Lemery who enters play batting a blistering .435 on the year with a team-best 37 hits including 11 doubles and seven home runs with 35 runs scored and 34 RBI on the season. Lemery, who has also stolen a team-best 20 bases on the season, is one of seven Saints batting north of .300 on the year with teammate James DigGiulian ranking second on the team in batting average at an impressive .389 clip on the season.

On the mound, Marymount has been led by Drew Mead and Ryan Bergenhagen who each have five wins on the year, with Mead improving to 5-1 after his victory over Cabrini on Friday afternoon. Bergenhagen is 5-2 on the year with an ERA of 3.65 with his last outing coming against Wesley on Wednesday afternoon when he went four innings surrendering just one hit while striking out six in the Saint victory. Stephen Gerade, whom the Macs faced in their regular season series with the Saints, has also had a banner 2021 season as he enters play on Saturday with a record of 2-0 and a miniscule 0.89 ERA on the year with 16 strikeouts over the course of his 20.1 innings of work for the Saints.

"Marymount is a good team," opened Schneider when asked about facing the Saints in the Championship on Saturday afternoon. "But we've been in this position before. We can't think about winning two games, we have to focus on winning one. The last day of a Championship Tournament, anything can happen. It comes down to mentality and toughnesss and we've shown a lot of that all year, and if we just be ourselves and play our game, I think we will have a great chance to take day," concluded Schneider.

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 Saturday afternoon, each Immaculata player may designate a maximum of four guests per player will be permitted for the Championship series vs the Saints. 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.