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| Rowan is coming into the York Regional with a NJAC trophy on its shelf back home and is looking for more. Rowan athletics photo |
Follow this regionalMay 19: All times Eastern Final - 12 innings
Rowan 4, at Arcadia 1
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Meet the teams |
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| Union's Jake Vesling is a dual-threat player with seven complete games and a .430 batting average. Union athletics photo |
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By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
Collectively you can hear the refrain, it is my turn. The Mid-Atlantic Regional has been the stepping stone for teams outside the region to the D-III World Series. Last year it was Wheaton (Mass.), the year before: St. John Fisher. Even Salisbury (2015) and Baldwin Wallace (2014) found this the road to Appleton. There are plenty of Mid-Atlantic teams but they are being shipped outside and only four teams found a spot in this year's regional in York, Pa.
The NCAA did place Rowan, the top team in the regional rankings, here. They are joined by Arcadia, Catholic, and Misericordia as the only options to defend home turf.
Seeded second is a Babson team that has already set program records for wins and would not mind at all in knocking out those local teams for a shot at glory in Wisconsin. The Beavers are joined by Castleton, making the trip from the New England region.
Virginia Wesleyan is being rewarded for a resurgence in its program. For many years a .500 record was guaranteed before the Marlins fell on hard times, but their fans are looking at a return to respectability.
Union comes from the New York region. An early win would bolster their prospects, but they will have to do it against teams that have proven to be hard to beat. No matter the opponents, we are going to see a set of pretty good games as the Mid-Atlantic eight reduce to a single winner.
York Regional schedule
All times Eastern
Thursday, May 17
Game 1: No. 4 Virginia Wesleyan (28-14) vs. No. 5 Misericodia (31-12), 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Rowan (33-9) vs. No. 8 Castleton (30-10), 1:15 p.m.
Game 3: No. 3 Arcadia (30-14) vs. No. 6 Union (30-11), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Babson (32-10) vs. No. 7 Catholic (31-13), 7:45 p.m.
Friday, May 18
Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 1:15
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4:30
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7:45
Saturday, May 19
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 1:15
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4:30
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7:45
Sunday, May 20
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 12 p.m.
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 3:30
Monday, May 21
Game 15: Game 14 winner vs. Game 14 loser, 11 a.m., if necessary
Favorite
Our favorite is no surprise: Rowan. It is easy to select the top seed but the Profs have been showing people how to win all season. They win big, they win close and if weather did not take a couple games away, they would be approaching the 40-win mark. Only once did Rowan have a losing streak, which lasted just two games -- two games they lost by a single tally. On Thursday class will be in session and look to the Profs to be at the head of the class.
Most likely to disappoint
Virginia Wesleyan could very well go two and barbecue. The Marlins do not have a good record against other teams in the playoffs (2-9) and despite winning two out of every three games, they will have to be a different kind of fish than they have been all season long. It has been good to see the rise of an ODAC that use to put just their conference champion in the playoffs becoming a powerhouse conference but we don't see Virginia Wesleyan getting out of the York Regional victorious.
Cinderella
Union played under the radar this season but they have gotten hot at the right time entering the York Regional having won six of their last seven. The Dutchmen should win over some of the fans in an area they call Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
Players to Watch
C Sean Harrington, Babson (.337, 33 R, 2 HR, 28 RBI, 9 SB)
1B Anthony Harrold, Rowan (.388, 41 R, 5 HR, 35 RBI)
1B Brennan Cotter, Catholic (.368, 32 R, 10 HR, 64 RBI)
3B Jack Koch, Union (.433, 47 R, 4 HR, 29 RBI, 23 SB)
SS Dillon Mandel, Rowan (.376, 35 R, 2 HR, 36 RBI, 8 SB)
SS Brandon Kussmaul, Virginia Wesleyan (.358, 47 R, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 11 SB)
OF Ryan Arena, Babson (.369, 48 R, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 9 SB)
OF Steve Weisensee, Misericordia (.368, 34 R, 1 HR, 43 RBI, 10 SB)
OF Bryan Gillen, Arcadia (.436, 63 R, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 24 SB)
OF Phil Pierfy, Arcadia (.399, 41 R, 5 HR, 42 RBI, 6 SB)
OF Dillon Benham, Castleton (.341, 29 R, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 6 SB)
UTL Jake Vesling, Union (.430, 29 R, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 2 SB)
UTL Davis Mikell, Castleton (.376, 43 R, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 5 SB)
DH Nick Cardace, Arcadia (.391, 46 R, 6 HR, 43 RBI, 3 SB)
SP Danny Serreino, Rowan (1.02, 7-2, 3 CG, 28 BB, 81 K)
SP Michael Genaro, Babson (2.76, 8-1, 1 CG, 3 BB, 57 K)
SP Jacob Pilarski, Virginia Wesleyan (1.97, 11-0, 3 CG, 32 BB, 75 K)
SP Joe Mierzwa, Catholic (2.80, 4-1, 1 CG, 1 SV, 34 BB, 75 K)
UTL Jake Vesling, Union (2.18, 7-1, 7 CG, 1SV, 8 BB, 65 K)
UTL Davis Mikell, Castleton (2.45, 0-1, 1 SV, 6 BB, 17 K)
RP Kyle Melahn, Misericordia (2.70, 3-2, 7 SV, 9 BB, 26 K)