The Northeast Regional for Division 2 starts up on Thursday in a six team double elimination tournament at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge NH. The winner heads to the Division 2 College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama.
Number 1 seed: Franklin Pierce College
FPC enters this weekend with a 45-9 overall record after winning the Northeast-10 conference tournament after coming through the losers bracket. They are led by Keith Renaud who is hitting .374 on the season and has a 5-2 mark on the mound with a 3.38 ERA. Arric Mather is the team’s ace on the mound with a solid 6-1 record and an ERA of 1.56.
Number 2 seed: Adelphi University
Adelphi enters this weekend as the East Coast Conference Champion. They have an overall record of 33-15. They are led by Mike Myers who was named the Northeast Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday. He has a 9-0 record with a 3.28 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 68.2 innings. The leading hitter for the Panthers is Ryan Boelsen who is hitting at a .412 clip.
Number 3 seed: UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell enters the weekend coming off a disappointing appearance in the Northeast 10 tournament last weekend at their home ballpark. They lost to Bryant in 14 innings and then got shutout by Pace University for an 0-2 record in the tournament. They are led by Peter Nickerson who is 6-2 with a 2.35 ERA. Steve Paddock is the leading hitter with a .367 average.
Number 4 seed: Caldwell College
Caldwell College lost the championship game in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference to Wilmington College 10-7 but were able to get an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. They are led by Robert Casal who is 9-1 and has a 3.66 ERA with two complete games on the season. The leading hitter is Raymond Keelan who is batting .389.
Number 5 seed: Bryant University
The Bryant University Bulldogs got an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament after making an impressive run in the Northeast-10 tournament. They ended up losing a doubleheader this past Sunday to Franklin Pierce. The Bulldogs are led by a strong pitching staff which is headlined by Eric Loh (7-3, 2.09 ERA). The hitting for the Bulldogs has been their weak spot this year as the leading hitter on the team is Pat McKenna who has a .329 average.
Bryant Game Notes
Number 6 seed: Wilmington College
Wilmington College comes in as the champions of the CACC after knocking off Caldwell 10-7 in the championship game. They have a record of 29-18 and went 10-6 in the CACC. Information is very scarce on the team but Joe Matterer was named the MVP of the CACC Tournament and has a 12-1 record with a 3.12 ERA. Jason Rust is the team’s top hitter as he is hitting .369 and has 21 homers on the year.
The whole tournament can be heard through the Internet by clicking here.
The College Baseball Blog will be in attendance at the Regional on Sunday but if things change with the BC-UVA series, then we might attend also on Saturday.
Special Thanks goes out to Doug Monson of Franklin Pierce and Brad Davis of Bryant University for helping the Blog out with information and press passes for the weekend.
