ITHACA, N.Y. – On Thursday morning, May 18, the Ithaca College baseball team will make its 46th all-time appearance in NCAA postseason play as the Bombers take on top seeded and nationally ranked No. 7 Oswego State in the Division III New York Regional. The regional foes will square off at 11 a.m. at Onondaga Community College's Baseball Complex in Syracuse. N.Y.

REGIONAL SCHEDULE (THURSDAY):
11 a.m. – No. 7 Oswego vs. Ithaca  | Live Stats | Webcast
2:30 p.m. – No. 21 Southern Maine vs. Castleton | Live Stats | Webcast
6 p.m. – No. 17 TCNJ vs. No. 13 Tufts | Live Stats | Webcast

** As a note, the webcast link is the same for all regional games, but the live stats are different.

Click here for a complete regional schedule.

D3baseball.com New York Regional Preview

TICKETS:
$5 general admission
Children 5 and under are free

ITHACA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
As previously noted, this will be the 46th time in which the Bombers have competed in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2013 when Ithaca reached the College World Series. Ithaca made 10 appearances (1955, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974) prior to 1976, which is when the NCAA established Division III. IC is 122-91 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has won two national titles – 1980 and 1988. Outside of the two championships, Ithaca has been the national runners-up on three other occasions – 1976, 1981 and 1986.

ITHACA VS. THE REGIONAL FIELD:
Ithaca has only played one team in this year's New York Regional. The Bombers played then No. 9 Oswego on April 25 and lost, 6-3. The Bombers have played Oswego 32 times dating back to 1936, and own a 26-6 overall record, but 1-3 since 2014.

IC is 1-3 all-time against Southern Maine with the last meeting coming at the World Series in 2013. The Huskies defeated Ithaca, 5-4, in 13 innings. Southern Maine is the only other team in the regional that has won a national championship – 1991 and 1997.

The Bombers own a 3-1 mark over TCNJ, but have not played the Lions since 1993 when they were called Trenton State.

Ithaca and Castleton have only played each other once, which took place during the 2012 regional, and IC came away with a 5-2 victory.

The Bombers and Tufts have never played.

ITHACA VS. THE NATIONAL FIELD:
The Bombers are 1-3 versus opponents that made the field of 56 – 0-1 vs. Oswego, 0-1 vs. Cortland and 1-1 vs. St. John Fisher.

THE 2017 CHAMPIONSHIP:
The NCAA selected 56 teams to compete in the 2017 Division III Baseball Championships on May 15. The field is comprised of 41 automatic bids and 15 at-large berths. Those 56 institutions are divided into eight different regions across the country, with each regional winner advancing to the College World Series in Appleton, Wis. from May 26-30.

Four regionals feature six teams, while the other four have eight schools. All eight regional sites are double-elimination format.

BREAKING DOWN THE REGIONAL (by seed):

No. 7 Oswego State University Lakers (28-8)
Automatic Bid – State University of New York Athletic Conference
The top seeded Lakers enter this year's regional winners of five straight games and 11 of their last 12, but have not played since May 2 due to the cancellation of their conference tournament.

Oswego rides a pitching staff that has allowed just 135 runs in 36 games this season (3.75 per game). Tim Cronin, the SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year, anchors the staff with a perfect 9-0 record in nine starts with a 1.82 ERA. Cronin has also tossed six complete games and two shutouts. Mitchell Cavanagh is also perfect on the bump for the Lakers with an 8-0 mark and a 2.31 ERA in 58.1 innings pitched, and a team-leading 50 strikeouts. In the latter innings, Oswego will look to turn to Charles Arcuri and John-Michael Guarino, who both have notched three saves this season.

Offensively, Eric Hamilton leads Oswego in almost every category. The SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year is batting .442 with 36 runs scored, 34 RBI, 17 doubles and four home runs. Mike Dellicarri leads the Lakers with seven round trippers this season, to go along with 30 RBI and 13 doubles.

No. 21 University of Southern Maine Huskies (30-11)
At-Large Bid – Little East Conference
Southern Maine will be making its 23rd trip to the NCAA Tournament and is one of the hottest teams in the nation, as the Huskies have won 23 of 27 games dating back to April 5.

The Huskies boast the highest batting average in the regional, swinging at a .324 clip. They also pace the field with 481 hits, 92 doubles and 26 homers. Five different players are batting over .340 this season for Southern Maine, led by Dylan Hapworth with a .404 average and nine home runs. Zach Quintal (.361 BA) has registered 61 hits and 41 runs scored, while Jake Dexter has collected 57 hits on the year.

Southern Maine garners a deep pitching staff as well. Ten different hurlers have logged more than 13.2 innings pitched this season, led by 59.1 innings from Dalton Rice. Rice is 6-1 on the year with a 3.49 ERA and 71 strikeouts. Matt Correale has fanned 50 batters in 48.1 innings pitched over 30 appearances, while Dexter has saved 11 contests in 22 appearances with a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings of work.

No. 17 The College of New Jersey Lions (31-11)
Automatic Bid – New Jersey Athletic Conference
The Lions have battled their way all season to get to this point in the year. TCNJ has notched 15 come-from-behind victories this season, including the NJAC title game, as the Lions trailed Ramapo by five runs early on, but walked-off with a 7-6 win.

TCNJ is able to stay in games due to its stingy pitching staff, which holds opponents to a .234 average and 4.2 runs per game. Michael Fischer is 6-2 on the season with a 3.53 ERA in 71.1 innings of work. Joe Cirillo has been nearly unhittable in nine starts this season and sports a 5-1 mark and a 1.40 ERA. Cirillo has struck out 64 batters over five complete games. If the Lions turn to Matt Curry, the game is over. Curry is 8-0 on the season with seven saves and has allowed just three earned runs in 31 innings pitched (0.87 ERA).

Zachary Shindler is the top bat in the lineup with a .356 average, 41 runs scored, 37 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 10 doubles and six triples. CJ Gearhart ranks second on the squad with 32 runs scored and 24 RBI, to go along with a .326 average.

No. 13 Tufts University Jumbos (30-8-1)
Automatic Bid – New England Small College Athletic Conference
Tufts is the highest scoring team in the regional with 323 runs in 39 games (8.3 per game), while it has allowed just 149 runs (3.8 per game). Despite a 5-3 record over their last eight games, the Jumbos earned the NESCAC automatic bid by defeating Middlebury twice, 11-2 and 10-6, on May 14.

Nick Falkson is tops on the Jumbos in hits (55) and second in RBI (37), and batting average (.377). Will Shackelford paces the offense with a .380 average, while Tommy O'Hara has driven in a team-best 44 runs and scored 42 more. Oscar Kutch also provides an offensive spark with 41 runs scored, 24 RBI and 12 doubles.

Speros Varinos is the ace on the staff with a 1.92 ERA and an 8-1 record in 70.1 innings pitched. Varinos has struck out 78 batters this season and owns both complete games for the Jumbos. Tim Superko is the No. 2 arm, as he has tossed 54.1 innings and fanned 55 hitters with a 6-1 record. Ian Kinney locked down the bullpen with six saves and a 4-0 record in 18 appearances.

Castleton University Spartans (34-8)
Automatic Bid – North Atlantic Conference
Pitching is the name of the game for Castleton. The Spartans own a stingy 2.07 ERA, which is by far the best in the regional. They also hold their opponents to a .226 average and have only walked 87 batters in 321 innings. To go along with that, there's a good chance that whoever starts for the Spartans is going to finish the game, as the team has logged 20 complete games with 11 shutouts.

Castleton has five legitimate starters on its staff as all five have thrown more than 45 innings and are a combined 34-6. Luke Salerno is a perfect 7-0 with a 2.22 ERA in 48.2 innings pitched, while Devin Hayes leads the staff with 58 innings thrown, go to along with a 7-1 record and 56 strikeouts to just nine walks and a 1.40 ERA. Davis Mikell has fanned 63 batters over 47 innings and owns a remarkable 0.96 ERA. Michael LaBeau has fired six complete games over 57 innings and is 5-3 on the year with a 1.74 ERA, while Steven Jurkiewicz is 6-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 45 innings pitched.

Ithaca College Bombers (28-11)
Automatic Bid – Empire 8 Conference
The Bombers earned the first-ever automatic bid out of the Empire 8 by defeating No. 14 St. John Fisher College, 10-6, on May 13. Ithaca boasts 10 all-conference players on its roster, highlighted by three first-teamers – senior Trevor Thompson and sophomores Adam Gallagher and Sam Little. Seniors Josh Savacool and Ryan Henchey, and sophomore Jake Binder were second-team honorees, while juniors Domenic Boresta and Chris Marinaccio, and sophomores Webb Little and Andrew Bailey were honorable mention.

Ithaca leads the regional with 200 walks and 24 triples. Those 24 three-baggers rank fourth nationally. The Bombers are also second in batting average (.312), runs scored (307), hits (436), RBI (271) and doubles (88). Seven of the nine everyday starters for the Bombers have notched over 40 hits this season, while the other two are on the cusp of eclipsing that mark with 37 hits apiece.

Despite the team's 4.69 ERA, Ithaca's staff has found its groove as of late. The Bombers only allowed 10 runs over three games in the Empire 8 Tournament. Ithaca's staff isn't a dominate crew, as they have only struck out 195 batters in 336 innings, but they pitch to contact, which has resulted in 57 double plays turned to lead all of Division III.


TEAM BATTING STATISTICS

	AVG.	RUNS	HITS	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SB
Oswego	.304	248	349	76	7	25	213	142	70
So. Maine	.324	297	481	92	10	26	259	138	47
TCNJ	.295	277	428	73	19	7	233	171	63
Tufts	.301	323	396	79	8	18	282	194	39
Castleton	.292	249	359	63	9	24	217	153	96
Ithaca	.312	307	436	88	24	22	271	200	52

 
TEAM PITCHING STATISTICS

	IP	ERA	CG	SHO	SV	HITS	SO	BB	AVG.
Oswego	295.1	3.38	8	5	9	282	236	107	.253
So. Maine	367.0	3.97	0	1	13	385	328	151	.256
TCNJ	373.0	3.23	7	4	8	315	282	183	.234
Tufts	328.2	3.23	2	2	11	310	287	98	.247
Castleton	321.0	2.07	20	11	10	264	301	87	.226
Ithaca	336.0	4.69	6	2	9	355	195	132	.271