ITHACA, N.Y. - NCAA postseason play will officially begin for the Ithaca College baseball team at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 19 as the Bombers take on No. 14 Eastern Connecticut State University in the Cortland, N.Y. Regional at SUNY Cortland. The host and No. 1 seed Cortland plays No. 4 seed St. Joseph's – Long Island at 10 a.m. at Wallace Field.
This weekend's regional is a four-team, double-elimination tournament and the winner will move on to play the winner of the Bridgewater, Mass. Regional in the super regional next weekend, May 26-27, which will be a best-of-three series. This is the third year that the NCAA has moved to a regional/super regional format – the first season took place in 2019. Super regional winners advance to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which runs from June 2-8.
TICKET PRICES (subject to change)
(General admission covering all games in a single day; available at gate):
$5 per day for adults, $3 per day for children, students, senior citizens (children 2 and under are free)
(no complimentary passes will be accepted)
NO DOGS ALLOWED in the facility (other than service dogs)
COVERAGE LINKS
Live Stats
Video
Audio simulcast (will be part of video as well)
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Friday, May 21
Game 1: #1 Cortland (32-11) vs. #4 St. Joseph's (L.I.) (30-9), 10 a.m.
Game 2: #2 Ithaca (28-14) vs. #3 Eastern Conn. St. (34-10), 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 8:30 a.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 11 a.m.
Game 7: Same teams as Game 6, if necessary
Regional All-Tournament Team:
will be announced at completion of regional
ITHACA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
Ithaca will be making its 50th all-time trip to the NCAA Division III Championship. IC made 10 appearances (1955, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974) prior to 1976, which is when the NCAA established Division III. The Bombers earned the Liberty League's automatic bid by sweeping the postseason championship with a 7-4 victory over Rochester and then defeated RIT, 12-4 and 6-4.
IC is 130-96 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:
The Bombers only played St. Joseph's – Long Island in this pod during the 2023 season. IC is 3-2 against the Golden Eagles all-time.
IC is very familiar with Cortland, although the two teams did not play this season and have not played against each other in the NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Bombers and Red Dragons have played 125 times, with the Bombers winning 79 of those games.
Ithaca and Eastern Connecticut State have played 24 times (13-11 ECSU). Most of those meetings came back in the 1980s and 1990s as both teams were Division III powers during those decades. ECSU, the defending national champions, have won five Division III titles.
ITHACA VS. THE NCAA FIELD:
IC went 5-4 against schools that qualified for the NCAA Tournament – 1-1 vs. Arcadia, 1-0 vs. Brockport, 1-0 vs. Immaculata, 0-1 vs. Rowan, 1-0 vs. St. John Fisher, 0-1 vs. St. Joseph's – Long Island, 0-1 vs. Wheaton (Mass.), 1-0 vs. Wisconsin – Stevens Point.
BREAKING DOWN THE REGIONAL FIELD (BY SEED):
No. 22 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons (32-11)
At-Large Bid – State University of New York Athletic Conference
Cortland earned one of 17 NCAA "Pool C" at-large berths after finishing second with a 3-2 record in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament this past weekend. The top-seeded Red Dragons lost in the championship game to second-seeded Brockport, 12-9, in 10 innings. Cortland's run of 30 straight national tournament appearances (1993-2019, 2021-23, no tourney in 2020) extends its NCAA Division III record.
The Red Dragons possess a high-powered offense with a stingy pitching staff, which will make it difficult for the regional field. Cortland is hitting .333 as a team with 376 runs scored, while the pitching staff holds opponents to a .256 average and 210 runs scored.
Seven batters are hitting over .300 this season for Cortland, led by a .415 average from Chris Bonacci. Mat Bruno is next with a .376 average, to go along with 46 RBI and seven home runs. Adam Mieczkowski has belted 12 homers this season with 43 RBI, while Dylan Mackenzie leads the team with 51 RBI.
Dylan Beers leads the pitching staff as one of the top pitchers in Division III. Beers is 8-1 on the season with an opponent average of .155. He has allowed just 30 hits over 57.2 innings pitched with 56 strikeouts and a 2.34 ERA. Will McCarthy is the No. 2 starter with 48.1 innings pitched this season and a 6-1 record.
The Red Dragons have a deep bullpen as six hurlers have combined for 12 saves this season.
Ithaca College Bombers (28-14)
Automatic Bid – Liberty League
The Bombers earned their second straight trip to the NCAA Division III Championship after another sweep of the Liberty League Tournament. Despite the fewest wins and most losses in the region, the Bombers earned the No. 2 seed due to their strength of schedule, which is 36th in DIII.
IC is the top hitting team in this regional with a .338 average, 519 hits, 93 doubles, 44 home runs and 334 RBI. The Bombers' pitching staff has also allowed the fewest walks in the pod with 126 and is second in strikeouts with 349.
The Bomber offense is deep as all nine of their probable starters are batting over .300.
Louis Fabbo has led the club all season with a .394 average with 65 hits, while
Garrett Callaghan provides the power with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and 62 RBI, to go along with a .384 average.
Ethan Rothstein is third on the team with a .353 average, accompanied by 41 RBI and seven homers.
Colin Shashaty has emerged in the lineup late in the season and is hitting .500 in 76 at bats, while
Collin Feeney is hitting .394 in 94 trips to the plate.
On the mound, Ithaca has four legitimate starters.
Kyle Lambert is the bona fide ace with 93 strikeouts over 80.1 innings pitched and a 2.91 ERA. Lambert enters the regional just three strikeouts shy of matching his own single season school record.
Colin Leyner (7-4, 72.2 IP, 57 K) and
Garrett Bell (2-3, 51.0 IP, 47 K) will be called on as the No. 2 and No. 3 starters, while
Jack Colyer (31.1 IP, 36 K) could see time should IC play a fourth game in the regional.
Matt Chase is the top arm out of the bullpen with 14 appearances and a 3.82 ERA.
No. 14 Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors (34-10)
Automatic Bid – Little East Conference
Eastern Connecticut State won the Little East tournament this past weekend at Rhode Island College, winning four games by a combined 36-16. The defending national champions feature a .325 team batting average with 33 home runs, a 3.46 team ERA and .972 fielding average. The ECSU pitching staff leads the regional in ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched and opponent batting average.
At the plate, Jason Claiborn is hitting .368 with 42 runs, 21 stolen bases and 24 RBI. Matt Malcom paces the Warriors with 14 homers and 29 walks, to go along with 44 runs scored, 38 RBI and 20 stolen bases. Ryan Parent is the top run producer with 40 RBI on the season, while Ray Leonzi has 57 hits and 40 runs scored.
The Warriors pitching staff works through Dan Driscoll, who is 8-3 on the season with a 1.74 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 72.1 innings pitched. ECSU also has three other starters who could see extended time – Matthew Wootton (2.65 ERA, 6-1, 57.2 IP, 65 K), Dylan Scudder (6-1, 3.42 ERA, 47.1 IP) and Nolan Lincoln (3.72 ERA, 6-2, 48.1 IP, 3 SV).
Nathan Furino is another viable option with 42.1 innings pitched and 46 strikeouts, to go along with a 3.61 ERA and 6-2 record.
St. Joseph's University – Long Island Golden Eagles (30-9)
Automatic Bid – Skyline Conference
St. Joseph's has played the fewest games in the region with a 30-9 record (6-6 in last 12) but leads the pod in walks with 196 and stolen bases with 123. The Golden Eagles swept the Skyline Tournament to earn their auto bid to the NCAA Championship.
Seven of the Golden Eagles' nine starters are batting over .300 this season, while the pitching staff has a well-rounded group of hurlers.
Phil Krpata is the top offensive player for SJU with a .345 average, 47 stolen bases, 53 runs scored and 34 RBI. Joe Sanguedolce has 50 hits on the season with 37 runs scored and 20 stolen bases, while Paul Gugliuzzo has 23 steals with 38 runs and a .339 average.
James Maggio (.383, 37 RBI), Jake Giannico (.369) and Ryan Decoursey (.366, 32 RBI, 31 R) will be factors in the offense this weekend.
Jack Kelly leads the staff with 55.1 innings pitched despite only making seven starts in 13 appearances. Kelly is 6-1 with 37 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA. Peter Manger is second on the staff with 43.2 innings of work and a perfect 6-0 record, while Dante Morabito owns a 2.89 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched and 33 strikeouts.
TEAM BATTING STATISTICS
|
AVG. |
RUNS |
HITS |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
| Cortland |
.333 |
376 |
510 |
78 |
13 |
38 |
331 |
173 |
50 |
| Ithaca |
.338 |
367 |
519 |
93 |
14 |
44 |
334 |
160 |
44 |
| ECSU |
.325 |
348 |
499 |
87 |
19 |
33 |
313 |
187 |
86 |
| St. Joe's |
.337 |
356 |
450 |
80 |
10 |
29 |
311 |
196 |
123 |
TEAM PITCHING STATISTICS
|
IP |
ERA |
CG |
SHO |
SV |
HITS |
SO |
BB |
AVG. |
| Cortland |
368.2 |
4.44 |
3 |
7 |
12 |
357 |
330 |
144 |
.256 |
| Ithaca |
359.0 |
4.66 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
380 |
349 |
126 |
.272 |
| ECSU |
376.2 |
3.46 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
355 |
378 |
130 |
.250 |
| St. Joe's |
325.2 |
4.42 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
321 |
253 |
129 |
.263 |
