| Kevin Herget has more wins in
a Kean uniform that any one else and is looking to add a few more
before he is finished. Kean athletics file photo |
Follow this regional
May 18: All times Eastern Final - 11 innings
at Keystone 6, Misericordia 5
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By Alex Schiffer
for D3sports.com
The Mid-Atlantic regional has always been one of the more competitive regionals as each year a Cinderella has emerged and gone on to give top teams a scare. This year should be no different as a new location could make things interesting for teams such as Kean, Ramapo, Alvernia, and Johns Hopkins who had been accustomed to the regional’s recent venue of First Energy Park in Lakewood, N.J.
The regional will be held at PNC Field in Moosic, Pa., this year, the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate) a newly reconstructed stadium, which should add only to fans' excitement.
Mid-Atlantic Regional schedule
Wednesday, May 15
Game 1 - No. 4 Alvernia (33-9) vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins (36-8), 10
a.m.
Game 2 - No. 1 Kean (34-10) vs. No. 8 PSU-Harrisburg (26-14), 1:15
p.m.
Game 3 - No. 3 Misericordia (36-9) vs. No. 6 Ramapo (28-14-1),
4:30 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 2 Keystone (33-8) vs. No. 7 Franklin & Marshall
(23-19), 7:45 p.m.
Thursday, May 16
Game 5 - Johns Hopkins vs PSU-Harrisburg, 10 a.m.
Game 6 - Misericordia vs Franklin & Marshall, 1:15
p.m.
Game 7 - Alvernia vs Kean, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Ramapo vs Keystone, 7:45 p.m.
Friday, May 17
Game 9 - Misericordia vs Alvernia, 10 a.m.
Game 10 - Johns Hopkins vs Ramapo, 1:15 p.m.
Game 11 - Kean vs Keystone, 4:30 p.m.
Game 12 - Winner Game 9 vs Winner Game 10, 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
Game 13 - Winner Game 12 vs Loser Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 14 - Winner Game 11 vs Winner Game 13, 3:30 p.m.
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Sunday, May 19
Game 15 - Repeat of Game 14 (if needed), 12 p.m.
Favorite
Top seeded Kean enters the regional as the favorite to punch its ticket to Appleton again this year. The Cougars have won the past two regional titles and come in with a loaded team headlined by ace and potential draft pick Kevin Herget. After spending a solid portion of the season ranked in the nation’s top five, the Cougars head to Moosic with regular-season wins against second-seeded Keystone and fourth-seeded Alvernia. With a supporting cast of Joe O’Connor, Nick Ramagli, Sal Taormin, and Tyler Smarslok, the Cougars have all the pieces to capture their third consecutive regional title.
Most likely to disappoint
Johns Hopkins. Usually one of the top three seeds at the regional, the Blue Jays head into Moosic with the fifth seed and will have to go through a tough road in order to be playing on Sunday. After suffering a 16-1 loss to Franklin and Marshall in the Centennial Conference finals, Hopkins will need to hit the ground running and have some upsets help them out in order for them to be playing over the weekend.
Cinderella
Misericordia. The Cougars have quietly won three straight Freedom Conference titles in the MAC and have usually settled for lower seeds over the past few years. Not this year. At 36-9 the Cougars have two great pitchers in Ryan Dorosh and Evan Robaczewski to complement a high powered offense led by Kyle Lindsay to make a run at the crown. Don’t be surprised if you see these Cougars in Appleton next week.
Players to Watch
SP - Kevin Herget, Kean (8-2, 1.53 ERA, 89 SO)
OF - Kenny Durling, Misericordia (.341, 7 HR, 50 RBI)
1B - Jeff Lynch, Johns Hopkins (.391, 24 2B, 7 HR, 49 RBI)
SP - Rob Rogers, Keystone (8-2, 1.59 ERA, 100 SO)
RP - Kevin Becker-Menditto, Alvernia (5-1, 0.29 ERA, 12 SV)
IF - Christian Spurr, Ramapo (.380, 17 2B, 30 RBI)
SP - Brendan Demond, Franklin and Marshall (9-2, 2.08 ERA, 4
CG)
OF - Bryan Balshy, Penn State-Harrisburg (.369, 5 HR, 43 RBI)