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| Ryan Orgielewicz was one of seven players to earn all-conference honors and five who found a home as a first team selection. Johns Hopkins athletics photo |
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| Will Gorman led RIT hitters in nearly all major offensive categories as the Tigers set a program record in wins. RIT athletics photo |
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By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
No region has produced more D-III World Series than the Mid-Atlantic region and the top seed in the York Regional will be looking for its first titles. Johns Hopkins head coach Bob Babb has been here before and knows how to get his team ready for regional competition. Joining the Blue Jays as a top seed is Shenandoah. The Hornets were ranked in the top spot in the D3baseball.com Top 25 for most of the season before a stumble just before their conference tournament knocked them off their perch.
Misericordia and Alvernia have been familiar faces in the regional and are back again. Misericordia probably had the easiest time getting here, winning just two games in a rain shortened conference tournament. Alvernia cruised through the regular season but was unable to get past Arcadia in the end of the season conference playoff and had to wait for a late night reprieve in the form of an at-large bid.
Lesley, RIT, and SUNY Maritime are new to the regional scene and will have the distractions of the off-field activities. The ranked teams should not look past their games with back end of the seeding as each team has earned their trip to the York Regional and are looking to add to their success on the field this year.
York Regional schedule
Thursday, May 18
Game 1: No. 4 Rochester Tech (33-7) vs. No. 5 Alvernia (28-13-2), 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Johns Hopkins (36-6) vs. No. 8 Lesley (21-17-1), 1:15
Game 3: No. 3 Wheaton, Mass. (23-14) vs. No. 6 Elizabethtown (27-15), 4:30
Game 4: No. 2 Shenandoah (36-8) vs. No. 7 SUNY-Maritime (26-11), 7:45
Friday, May 19
Game 5: Rochester Tech vs. Lesley, 10 a.m.
Game 6: Elizabethtown vs. SUNY-Maritime, 1:15
Game 7: Alvernia vs. Johns Hopkins, 4:30
Game 8: Wheaton (Mass.) vs. Shenandoah, 7:45
Saturday, May 20
Game 9: Elizabethtown vs. Alvernia, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Shenandoah vs. Lesley, 1:15
Game 11: Johns Hopkins vs. Wheaton (Mass.), 4:30
Game 12: Alvernia vs. Shenandoah, 7:45
Sunday, May 21
Game 13: Shenandoah vs. Johns Hopkins, 12
Game 14: Wheaton (Mass.) vs. Game 13 winner, 3:30
Monday, May 22
Game 15: Game 14 rematch, if necessary
Favorite
Johns Hopkins scheduled an impossibly tough slate for its opening week of the season and emerged with a 4-1 record. The York Regional will not be as tough and a 4-1 record will get you a berth in the D-III World Series. Riding a 19-game win streak, look for this to get longer and if it hits 28 the Blue Jays will be hoisting Walnut and Bronze.
Most likely to disappoint
Alvernia opened the season with a long win streak and when the string ended, the team shook it off and went back to business. This is a team that has the long view and it is not conference championships that will satisfy the Crusaders but to be the last team standing at the end of the D-III baseball season. If Alvernia misses out on a trip to Appleton, it will be a good season but not the ending envisioned.
Cinderella
RIT. Who saw this coming: A team playing .500 baseball for years, finds a magic combination, and then becomes the star. It is the stuff Cinderellas are made of. No longer playing second fiddle to the likes of RPI and Union, RIT is a dangerous team and should not be overlooked as they appear to have a Fairy Grandmother on their bench.
Players to Watch
C Dan Cameron, Shenandoah (.364, 36 R, 10 2B, 2 HR, 35 RBI, .470 SLG)
1B Matt Briner, Alvernia (.395, 21 R, 1 2B, 26 RBI, .463 SLG)
2B Kyle Frackler, Elizabethtown (.475, 45 R, 14 2B, 1 HR, 26 RBI, .619 SLG)
3B MIke Slaby, Lesley (.295, 20 R, 7 2B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, .426 SLG)
SS Connor Reynolds, Johns Hopkins (.375, 52 R, 14 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBI, .84 SLG)
OF Will Gorman, RIT (.349, 46 R, 12 2b< 8 HR, 39 RBI, .631 SLG)
OF Jared Sharkey, Wheaton (Mass.) (.329, 32 R, 10 2B, 4 HR, 34 RBI, .484 SLG)
OF Abel Arocho, Shenandoah (.341, 44 R, 10 2B, 3 3B, 30 RBI, .429 SLG)
SP Brian Reed, RIT (8-1, 1.64 ERA, 4 CG, 66.1 IP, 48 H, 63 K, 18 BB, .216 AVE)
SP John Catchmark, Alvernia (8-2, 2.28 ERA, 3 CG, 71.0 IP, 51 H, 91 K, 22 BB, .198 AVE)
SP Travis Bruinsma, SUNY-Maritime (8-2, 3.70 ERA, 58.1, IP, 62 H, 41 K, 21 BB, .272 AVE
RP Josh Kwak, Elizabethtown (3-0, 1.85 ERA, 5 SV, 24.1 IP, 21 H, 10 K, 3 BB, .239 AVE)
RP John Heika, Johns Hopkins (4-1, 1.65 ERA, 6 SV, 32.2 IP, 27, 27 K, 5 BB, .221 AVE)
RP Tyler Holt, Shenadoah (4-0, 1.29 ERA, 9 SV, 28 IP, 17 H, 21 K, 6 BB, .179 AVE)