IMMACULATA, Pa. – The 2022 Atlantic East Champion Immaculata baseball team is set to host the program's first ever NCAA Regional this weekend. The No. 1 seed Mighty Macs will kick off the tournament on Friday, May 20
th, facing off against the No. 4 Keystone College Giants of the CSAC.
The regional will consist of a four-team, double-elimination tournament. The other half of the pod consists of the No. 2 Montclair State University Red Hawks of the NJAC and the No. 3 Ithaca College Bombers of the Liberty League. The victor of this weekend's regional will advance to the Super Regional where they will face the victory of the Shenandoah pod in a best-of-three series from May 27
th-28
th.
The Mighty Macs (28-12, 14-4 AEC) earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament following a 3-0 sweep in the Atlantic East Tournament, defeating Marymount twice and Cabrini once to claim the Atlantic East title. The Macs' defense did not commit a single error on the weekend while the Macs' pitching staff held the competition to two runs over 27 innings of work.
In the championship game, the Mighty Macs defeated the Marymount Saints 5-1 last Friday.
Frank Margiotta went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI while
Ryan Crowell pitched seven innings of one-run ball on the mound.
Overall, the Mighty Macs' pitching staff enters the weekend with the best ERA among the pod at 3.94, which currently ranks 24
th in the nation. The Macs' pitching staff is led by four Atlantic East All-Conference selections in
Jason Hughes,
Mason Keller,
Trevor Wagner, and
Ryan Crowell. Hughes, Keller, and Crowell combine to form one of the strongest three-man rotations in the country while Wagner led the Atlantic East with seven saves on the year.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Macs are led by a contingent of five All-Conference selectees.
Frank Margiotta leads the Macs from the leadoff spot while
Joey Wright and
Josh Crowding serve as the Macs' three and four hitters. Also featured in a strong Immaculata lineup are shortstop
Steven Theisen and utility player
Louis Sharp.
The Mighty Macs face a strong pool of competition in the NCAA Regional and will begin their campaign against a frequent flyer in the NCAA Tournament: Keystone. The Giants(24-18, 10-2 CSAC) have earned their way every rendition of the NCAA Tournament since 2008. This year, they earned their automatic bid by taking down Wilson in a best-for-three series for the CSAC Championship.
The Giants tout a heavy-hitting offense that leads the pod with 44 home runs on the year. RJ Gouldsbury lead the Giants in the category, hitting 13 home runs on the season, ranking him 24
th in the country. The Giants' offense, meanwhile, has pitched the most innings in the regional pod at 361 on the year. Nathan Hinkley is the main workhorse for the Giants, having pitched a pod-leading 81 innings on the year, yielding a 4.56 ERA while throwing three complete games.
Moving to the other side of the pod, the No. 3 Ithaca Bombers (30-12, 15-5 Liberty League) enter the weekend having taken down Rochester 18-5, sweeping championship play, to claim the Liberty League title, along with the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This will mark the Bombers' 49
th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bomber's offense owns the second-highest batting average in the pod at .325. Buzz Shirley lead the offense for the Bombers with a .414 average and a 1.201 OPS whole scoring 41 runs on the season. Louis Fabbo leads the Bombers in runs scored (47) and home runs (five). Kyle Lambert, meanwhile, lead the Bombers' pitching staff, owning a 3.19 ERA over 79 innings pitched.
Having earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, the No. 2 Montclair State Red Hawks (31-1, 15-3) are set to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009. The Red Hawks enter the weekend leading the pod with 402 runs scored on the year along with a .350 batting average. Their offense also ranks fifth in the nation with 543 hits on the season including 159 for extra bases.
The Red Hawks' offense is highlighted by Jorden Jurkiewicz, who is batting .416 on the season with a 1.206 OPS, scoring 36 runs and 52 RBI on 64 hits. His 11 home runs lead the team while he is closely followed by Peter Cosentino, who has hit nine home runs while owning a .369 average. Patrick Cuccurullo serves as the leader of their pitching core, having thrown 71.1 innings on the year for a 2.40 ERA.
The schedule for the weekend of competition is listed below. For more information, including cost of admission, parking, etc., can be found
here.
Friday, May 20th
Saturday, May 21st
Sunday, May 22nd
| Game |
Matchup |
Start Time |
Links |
| 6 |
W4 vs. W5 - Championship Game |
11:00 AM |
Live Stats
Video |
| 7 |
W6 vs. L6 - Championship Game (if necessary) |
45 minutes following |
Live Stats
Video |
