2014 Harwich Regional preview

Brent Pellela has had only 10 baserunners attempt to steal off him this year, half of them unsuccessful.
Eastern Connecticut athletics photo

Follow this regional

May 14: All times Eastern

Final
at Endicott 6, MIT 4
Box Score
Final - 11 innings
Mitchell 4, at Eastern Connecticut 3
Box Score | Recap | Live stats | Audio | Photos | Photos
Final
at Tufts 3, St. Joseph's (Maine) 1
Video | Box Score | Recap
Final
at Southern Maine 8, Worcester State 4
Video | Box Score | Recap
May 15: All times Eastern

Final
at MIT 6, Eastern Connecticut 2
Video | Box Score | Recap | Photos
Final
at St. Joseph's (Maine) 4, Worcester State 2
Video | Box Score | Recap
Final
Endicott 4, at Mitchell 2
Video | Box Score | Recap | Recap
Final
Southern Maine 3, at Tufts 2
Video | Box Score | Recap
May 16: All times Eastern

Final
St. Joseph's (Maine) 9, at Mitchell 2
Video | Box Score | Recap
Final
at MIT 6, Tufts 4
Video | Box Score | Recap
Final
Southern Maine 8, at Endicott 4
Video | Box Score | Recap
Final
MIT 4, at St. Joseph's (Maine) 3
Video | Box Score | Recap
May 17: All times Eastern

Final
Endicott 7, at MIT 3
Video | Box Score | Recap | Recap
Final
Endicott 7, at Southern Maine 6
Video | Box Score | Recap
May 18: All times Eastern

Final
at Southern Maine 11, Endicott 1
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By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
 

As expected, it was another unbelievable year in New England. So unbelievable that on Sunday 11 of New England’s finest teams were selected for the NCAA tournament. The eight that will descend on Harwich’s Whitehouse Field make up one of the toughest regions in the country.

This year’s New England regional features a lot of familiar faces and two of the most stories programs. Top-seeded Eastern Connecticut is back in the tournament for the first time since 2011 and is playing its best baseball of the season. Conference rival Southern Maine is the second seed and are looking for a bit of revenge after falling three times to the Warriors in the last week. Tufts, Endicott, MIT, St. Joseph’s, Worcester State and Mitchell round out the eight-team region and are no pushovers.

In all seven tournament champions will battle for the right to head to Appleton, Wis., and one common theme will be pitching. All eight teams have posted ERAs below 4.00, while Tufts (2.51), MIT (2.76) and ECSU (2.76) are all under 3.00.

Last year, it was Southern Maine that survived the weekend before advancing all the way to the national championship game. Whichever team emerges this weekend will certainly be battletested and have a shot at bringing the Walnut and Bronze back to New England.

Harwich Regional schedule

Wednesday, May 14
Game 1 - No. 1 Eastern Connecticut State (32-7) vs. No. 8. Mitchell (23-12-1), 9:30 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 2 Southern Maine (31-12) vs. No. 7 Worcester State (25-15),1 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 3 Tufts (33-7) vs. No. 6. St. Joseph's (Maine) (28-13), 4:30 pm
Game 4 - No. 4. Endicott (30-14) vs. No. 5 MIT (24-13), 8 pm

Thursday, May 15
Game 5 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 9:30 am
Game 6 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 1 pm
Game 7 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 4:30 pm
Game 8 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 8 pm

Friday, May 16
Game 9 - Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7, 9:30 am
Game 10 - Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 8, 1 pm
Game 11 - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 4:30 pm
Game 12 - Winner of game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 8 pm

Saturday, May 17
Game 13 - Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 12 pm
Game 14 - Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 13, 4 pm

Sunday, May 18

Game 15 - Winner of Game 14 vs Loser of Game 14, 1 pm  (if necessary)


Favorite

Eastern Connecticut. The Warriors are the top seed and they are firing on all cylinders at the right time. Featuring a stellar ERA (2.76), fielding percentage (.971) and a .303 batting average, the Warriors are strong in all areas of the game. ECSU is coming off a 4-0 swing through the Little East tournament and has won its last 10 games and 26 of its last 30 since returning from Florida.

Most likely to disappoint

Southern Maine. The Huskies were ranked in the top 10 in the country for a majority of the season but have stumbled at the end of the year. They were swept by ECSU at the end of the season and never recovered, getting upset by UMass-Dartmouth on Day 2 of the LEC tournament. With a quick turnaround, it’s tough to get things going in the right direction.

Cinderella

Endicott. It was heartbreak for the Gulls last season in Harwich. Endicott was 3-0 heading into Saturday but Southern Maine had other plans, earning a pair of wins to head to Appleton. This season, the Gulls are back and even more experienced and feature one of the quickest and deepest offenses in the region.

Players to Watch

 P David Hesslink, MIT (6-0, 1.93 ERA, 56.0 IP, 46 H, 16 BB, 36 K)
 C Nic Lops, Saint Joseph’s (.331, 21 R, 46 H, 14 2B, 42 RBI, .446 Slg%)
 P Kyle Slinger, Tufts (8-0, 1.21 ERA, 67.0 IP, 44 H, 27BB, 64 SO, .184 opp. avg.)
3B Mike Vaccarelli, Eastern Connecticut (.364, 34 R, 10 2B, 27 RBI, 19 BB, 12 SB)
OF Forrest Chadwick, Southern Maine (.321, 52 R, 10 2B, 9 3B, 5 HR, 44 RBI, 12 SB)
OF Tad Gold, Endicott (.434, 56 R, 69 H, 16 2B, 9 3B, 41 RBI, 24 SB, .500 OBP)
IF Dave Ruggiero, Worcester State (.392, 26 R, 51 H, 9 2B, 5 3B, 25 RBI, 6 SB)
SS Marc Dorsi, Mitchell (.344, 31 R, 45 H, 6 2B, 33 RBI, 18 SB)