Baseball Ready for NCAA Regionals
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team spent Thursday getting prepared to open up play in the Regional Round of the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.
The Mariners (32-11) are the third seed in the Babson Park Regional, hosted by #21 (ABCA) Babson College, and will face second-seeded Beavers (30-11) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament, which begins Friday, May 17. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 pm at Govoni Field (Directions). Prior to that game, top-seeded and No. 9/11 Salisbury University will face off against fourth-seeded UMass Dartmouth. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 am.
The winner of Friday's game between Mitchell and Babson will face either Salisbury or the Corsairs on Saturday at noon. The losers from Friday's games will meet in an elimination game on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
Quick Hits
• Mitchell enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 32-11 out of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).
• The Mariners have won seven of their last 10 games, including a 5-1 record in the GNAC Tournament.
• Mitchell enters the Regional Round ranked 54th in the nation at the Division III in batting with a team average of .318, sixth in in triples (22), 38th in slugging percentage (.480), and 42nd nationally in both runs (358) and hits (463).
• The Mariners own a team ERA of 5.66, and have held opposing teams to a .285 batting average.
• Mitchell has faced five teams in this year's NCAA field, going 3-3 with wins against Coe College and Spalding University, and losses to Salve Regina University, Eastern Connecticut State University, and Johns Hopkins University.
How They Got Here
• Mitchell finished first the GNAC standings with a record of 14-2, earning them the top spot in the 2024 GNAC Tournament.
• After advancing out of the opening weekend pod play, the Mariners swept the best-of-three championship series against Johnson & Wales University for their fourth consecutive conference title and 10th overall (first under Shawn Gilblair).
• Senior Camren Varney was named Tournament MVP after going 2-0 with a save, striking out 18 batters in 15 and two third innings, including a complete game in to secure the conference title on the final day of play.
• Joining Varney on the All-Tournament Team for Mitchell was senior Robbie DelaCruz, junior Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.), and freshman Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.). DelaCruz batted .400 in six tournament games, collecting 10 hits, including two doubles, one triple, and a home run, and added eight RBI, eight runs scored, and four walks. Ficocelli also played in all six tournament games and led the Mariners with a .500 average (12-24) with five doubles, a homer, seven RBI, and eight runs scored. Gibbs made two starts and earned the win in both while pitching to a 2.40 ERA. The junior allowed just four runs in 15 innings, striking out 19.
GNAC Honors
• Fresman Michael Ficocelli was named GNAC Rookie of the Year, and enters the Regional Round batting .378 with 62 hits, including 16 doubles, three triples, and a home run. He has scored 41 times and driven in 31 runs. Ficocelli was also named to the All-Conference Third Team and the All-Rookie Team.
• Seniors Cole Lalli (Coventry, Conn.) and Jack Hayes (New Milford, Conn.) were both named to the All-Conference First Team. Lalli leads the Mariners with a .393 batting average, and has 16 doubles, seven homers, 52 RBI, and 33 runs scored. Hayes is batting .368 with 24 RBI and 21 runs scored.
• Senior catcher Michael Gajda (New Britain, Conn.) and freshman outfielder Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.) both earned All-Conference Second Team honors. Gajda is batting .312 with five home runs, 28 RBI, and 27 runs scored, while Terni Jr. leads Mitchell with eight long balls, and is batting .316 with 12 doubles, 39 RBI, and 39 runs scored. Terni Jr. was also named to the All-Rookie Team.
• Pitchers Camren Varney (Manchester, N.H.) and Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.) both also landed on the All-Conference Second Team. Gibbs, a junior, is top-10 nationally with nine wins (9-2), and has thrown to a 3.30 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 71 innings. Varney is 4-1 with four saves, and has a 3.36 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched.
• Sophomore infielder Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.) joined Ficocelli on the All-Conference Third Team, and enters the weekend batting .310 with 39 hits, 30 runs scored, 20 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.
• First-year head coach Shawn Gilblair was named GNAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Mariners to the #1 seed in the conference with a 14-2 record against GNAC opponents. Under Gilblair's guidance, the Mariners finished second in the conference in batting (.319), first in hits (463), second in RBI (314) and doubles (93), and first in triples (22) and slugging-percentage (.480). Mitchell also finished third in the GNAC in both ERA (5.66) and strikeouts (325).
Mitchell in the NCAA Championship
• Mitchell is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Championship (2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011).
• The Mariners are 7-16 overall in the NCAA Championship, with their last victory coming against Wheaton College (Mass.) in 2023.
• The Mariners hosted the Regional Round for the first time ever in 2023.
• Mitchell defeated Tufts University on the opening day of Regional play in 2023, then defeated Wheaton on Saturday to advance to the final day.
• Needing just one win over the Lyons on Sunday, Wheaton defeated Mitchell by scored of 6-5 and 5-3 to eliminate the host Mariners.
• The Mariners have never faced Babson.
• The Mariners are 3-0 against UMass-Dartmouth, most recently winning 19-3 during the 2023 season.
• The Mariners faced Salisbury once during the Regional Round in the 2015 season, losing 11-1.
Scouting the Beavers
• No. 21 ABCA Babson (30-11) defeated Wheaton 8-2 and 5-3 to claim its first NEWMAC Tournament championship since 2018 on Sunday afternoon.
• The Beavers rank 30th in Division III in WHIP (1.39), 34th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.63) and 46th in fielding percentage (.968).
• Senior Tanner Santos is batting .366 with eight extra-base hits, 21 stolen bases, 27 RBI and 39 runs scored, classmate Brant Savage is hitting .333 with 21 doubles, eight home runs, 37 RBI and 33 runs scored, and graduate student Luke Tanner enters the regional with a .314 average to go along with 13 doubles, two triples, four homers, 37 RBI and 34 runs scored.
• Graduate student Greg Nieskens (3-2, 3.73 ERA) and first-year Jason Finkelstein (8-2, 5.11 ERA) both picked up a win in the conference tournament, sophomore James Clark is 5-2 with a 5.49 ERA in 10 starts and classmate Zander Teator (4-1, 6 saves) boasts a 2.57 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP to go along with 26 strikeouts in 21.0 innings out of the bullpen.
Scouting the Sea Gulls
• No. 9 D3baseball/No. 11 ABCA Salisbury (28-9), which has seeking its fourth straight College World Series appearance, received an at-large bid after losing to Mary Washington in a Coast-2-Coast Tournament semifinal.
• The Sea Gulls rank third in Division III in OBP (.444), 16th in slugging percentage (.500) and 18th in runs per game (9.1).
• Andrew Kell leads Division III in batting average (.509) to go along with 15 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 43 RBI and 41 runs scored, Tim Petrucelli is batting .377 with 15 doubles, 11 homers, 47 RBI and 41 runs scored, and Dylan Winebrenner is hitting .352 with nine doubles, six dingers, 26 RBI and 35 runs scored.
• Aidan Brinsfield (4-0, 4.47 ERA) has recorded 44 strikeouts in 50.1 innings, Ethan Hirschfeld is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 46.0 innings, Cole Williams (8-1, 4.02 ERA) has 40 strikeouts in 47.0 innings of work over 21 relief appearances and Garrett Beaver (3-2, 3 saves) owns a 2.89 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .174 average to go along with 36 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched.
Scouting the Corsairs
• UMass Dartmouth (24-18-1) went unbeaten in the Little East Conference Tournament to earn its first league title and NCAA bid since 2000.
• The Corsairs rank 22nd in Division III in stolen bases per game (2.84), 30th in shutouts (4) and 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings (8.6).
• Devyn Vezina is batting .386 with eight extra-base hits, 13 stolen bases, 40 RBI and 40 runs scored, Andrew Possi is hitting .374 with 10 doubles, two triples, 27 RBI and 34 runs scored, and Joe Muzio owns a .316 average to go along with 13 doubles, four home runs, 17 stolen bases, 23 RBI and 39 runs scored.
• Adam Maher (6-2, 2.89 ERA) boasts a 0.94 WHIP and has held opposing hitters to a .178 average while recording 83 strikeouts in 53.0 innings, Anthony Keefe is 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 innings and Ryan Qualey has gone 3-3 with a 5.20 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 64.0 innings over 11 starts this spring.
