Daniel Webster joins Drew as regional round rookies.

By Alex Schiffer for D3baseball.com

The Mid-Atlantic regional is always a good test for national titles contenders for the event is packed with teams from the nation’s top conferences such as the NJAC and the Freedom. The Mid-Atlantic is also where there’s no such thing as a favorite. Last year top seeded Kean went down in its first game before rallying to win the whole region in a two game set with Alvernia.

This year the Cougars return to defend their title but will be met with opposition from all directions of the region.

This year’s regional will once again be held at First Energy Park home of the Lakewood Blueclaws, an affiliate of the Phillies. No. 3 Keystone and no. 8 Kean headline the top seeds while Drew looks to continue their great year along with Neumann, Haverford, Ramapo, Alvernia and Daniel Webster.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Schedule
Wednesday, May 16
G    Time            Participants     
1     10:00 am    Ramapo (31-13) vs. Neumann (30-13)         
2     1:15 pm      Keystone (35-5) vs. Daniel Webster (23-17)     
3     4:30 pm      Alvernia (30-12-1) vs. Haverford (24-17)     
4     7:45 pm      Kean (33-10) vs. Drew (22-19)     
Thursday, May 17         
5     10:00 am    Loser of game 1 vs. Loser of game 2     
6     1:15pm       Loser of game 3 vs. Loser of game 4     
7     4:30 pm      Winner of game 1 vs. Winner of game 2     
8     7:45 pm      Winner of game 3 vs. Winner of game 4
Friday, May 18     
9     10:00 am    Winner of game 6 vs. Loser of game 7     
10     1:15 pm    Winner of game 5 vs. Loser of game 8     
11     4:30 pm    Winner of game 7 vs. Winner of game 8     
12     7:45 pm    Winner of game 9 vs. Winner of game 10     
Saturday, May 19         
13     1:00 pm    Winner of game 12 vs. Loser of game 11         
14     5:00 pm    Winner of game 11 vs. Winner of game 13         
Sunday, May 20    
15     1:00 pm    Same as game 14, if necessary

Favorite: The Keystone Giants breezed through CSAC play as well as the conference tournament and feature one of the nation’s most complete lineups. The Giants feature a great pitching duo in Blaine O’Brien and Rob Rogers as well as a great sandman in Derek Alex. Offensively, second baseman Esteban Meletiche will create runs for the team while giving pitchers chaos. And if need be, the Giants will refer to their big bat, Lymbel Guerrero.

Most likely to disappoint: The Alvernia Crusaders wowed almost everybody in last year’s regional before chocking in the championship round to Kean. The Crusaders have a solid arm in Andrew Kirk and a solid at in Chris Ray but don’t have neither the offense nor the rotation they had last year. Don’t be surprised if they get out early.

Cinderella: Who would have thought that the Drew Rangers would be in this year’s regional? After finishing in the bottom of the Landmark cellar last year, the Rangers managed to go 9-9 in conference and play and rally to bear Moravian in the conference playoffs. Although the Rangers are 22-19, that doesn’t take away from their amazing turnaround of a season. The Rangers have a solid pitcher in Pat Rock and a great hitter in Tom Murray.

Players to watch:
C- Tom Murray, Drew (.331, 9 2b, 3 HR, 21 RBI)
SP- Ryan Zamorsky, Kean (9-1, 1.02 ERA, 79.1 IP, 59 SO)
SP- Blaine O’Brien, Keystone (9-1, 1.24 ERA, 3 SHO, 3 CG)
2B- Chris Ray, Alvernia (.405, 5 2B, 21 RBI)
1B-Alex Hudak, Haverford (.411, 20 2B, 3 HR, 42 RBI)
C-Matt Hancock, Ramapo (.417, 12 2B, 2 HR, 45 RBI)
SP-Russ Gilliam, Neumann (10-1, 1.01 ERA, 4 CG, 99 SO)
SS-Kyle Brigham, Daniel Webster (.375, 12 2B, 4 3B, 36 RBI)