By John Skomra for D3baseball.com
| St. John Fisher will be looking to steal a regional championship at Marietta. |
The Mideast Regional is sited for Marietta, OH. And to no one’s surprise, the ‘Etta Express claims the number one seed again in 2012. However, the defending national champion Pioneers have no easy road on their trek to Appleton this year. With just the ‘Etta Express, MIAA champion Adrian and PAC regular season champion Washington & Jefferson representing the Top 25 going into the regional, it may seem this regional could be a cakewalk until the final games. However, the Pool C bid for St. John Fisher out of the New York Region along with Pool A automatic qualifiers ensure for a competitive week in Marietta.
The other teams in this regional include Westminster (Pa.), who claimed the PAC tournament title to receive the automatic bid to the regional. As well, the 2009 national runner-up Fighting Scots of Wooster College claimed the 6th seed with their NCAC tournament title. HCAC champions Manchester takes the 7th seed. The La Roche Red Hawks claim the 8th seed with the Pool A bid out the Mid-Atlantic’s AMCC. Look for pitching to dominate in this regional.
Mideast Regional Schedule
Wednesday, May 16
G Time Participants
1 9:30 am Westminster (Pa.)
(28-15) vs. St. John Fisher (29-10)
2 1:00 pm Marietta (37-6)
vs. La Roche (25-16)
3 4:30 pm Adrian (35-8) vs.
Wooster (27-16)
4 8:00 pm Washington
and Jefferson (35-8) vs. Manchester(25-19)
Thursday, May 17
5 9:30 am Loser of game 1
vs. Loser of game 2
6 1:00 pm Loser of game 3
vs. Loser of game 4
7 4:30 pm Winner of game 1
vs. Winner of game 2
8 8:00 pm Winner of
game 3 vs. Winner of game 4
Friday, May 18
9 9:30 am Winner of
game 6 vs. Loser of game 7
10 1:00 pm Winner of game 5
vs. Loser of game 8
11 4:30 pm Winner of game 7
vs. Winner of game 8
12 8:00 pm Winner of game 9
vs. Winner of game 10
Saturday, May 19
13 12:00 pm Winner of game 12 vs. Loser
of game 11
14 4:00 pm Winner of game 11
vs. Winner of game 13
Sunday, May 20
15 1:00 pm Same as game 14,
if necessary
Favorite: Marietta. Brian Brewer and his Pioneers claimed the OAC championship for the second consecutive year on Saturday. With a seemingly matchless pitching staff, do not be surprised if Marietta walks through this regional unscathed.
Most likely to disappoint: Adrian. The Bulldogs cruised through the MIAA tournament and are appearing in the NCAA regional for the fifth straight year. With 35 wins in 2012, anything less than claiming runner up in Marietta would be a disappointment.
Cinderella: Wooster. The Fighting Scots backed into the NCAA regional this season taking the Pool A bid winning the NCAC tournament. However, 1,000-game winner Coach Pettorini will have his squad ready to play this week.
Players to Watch:
Tim Saunders, Marietta (.441 BA, 5 HR 40 RBI, OAC Player of the
Year)
Austin Blaski, Marietta (0.65 ERA, 10-1, 83.2 IP, 90 K, OAC
Pitcher of the Year)
Jason Fryman, Adrian (1.99 ERA, 10-1, 77 IP, 72 K, First team All-
MIAA)
Justin D’Amato, St. John Fisher ( 1.83 ERA, 10-0, 68.2 IP,
89 K)
Pete Krysztof, St. John Fisher (.420 BA, .509 OBP, 27-31 SB)
Josh Staniscia, Washington and Jefferson (.412 BA, 3 HR, 38
RBI)
Tim Wiand, Westminster (.441 BA, 4 HR, 45 RBI, .519 OBP)
Josh Stidham, Wooster (2.14 ERA, 7-2, NCAC Pitcher of the
Year)
Corey Marchant, Manchester (.395 BA, 14 HR 49 RBI, .485 OBP)
Brian Tougher, La Roche (.403 BA, 58 H, 1 HR, 38 RBI)