| Matchup |
2018 NCAA East Regional
#6 Merrimack (31-19) |
| Dates//Times |
Thursday-Monday, May 17-22 // Full schedule below |
| Venue |
Finnerty Field // Pleasantville, N.Y. (Pace University) |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats // Video |
| Social Media |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After a whirlwind of a week that saw the Merrimack College baseball program upset four higher-seeded programs, take down the No. 8 team in the country twice in the same day and win the 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Championship, the Warriors are back to business as Merrimack is primed to play in its first NCAA East Regional in 19 years beginning on Thursday. The tournament will be played at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y., and Merrimack will be the sixth seed. The Warriors will meet third-seeded Le Moyne at 11 a.m. on Thursday to start the double-elimination regional.
Championship Central:
- Per tournament policy, the following ticket prices will be charged to all fans attending tomorrow's game:
- Adults - $8; Children/Seniors - $5
- For full details on ticketing, travel, parking and other accommodations, head to the University of New Haven's East Region Championship Central Page
East Regional Championship (double elimination)
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 1: No. 3 Le Moyne (33-15-1) vs. No. 6 Merrimack (31-19) | 11:00 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (36-13) vs. No. 7 Wilmington (Del.) (33-19) | 3:00 p.m.
Game 3: No. 4 Southern New Hampshire (35-15) vs. No. 5 Franklin Pierce (32-13)
Friday, May 18, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 | 11:00 a.m. | Elimination Game
Game 5: No. 1 New Haven (37-10) vs. Winner Game 3 | 3:00 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 | 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 7: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5 | 11:00 a.m. | Elimination Game
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6 | 3:00 p.m. | Elimination Game
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 | 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 20, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Elimination Game
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 | 4:00 p.m. | Elimination Game
Monday, May 21, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 13 (if necessary): Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 | 4:00 p.m.
Last Time Out:
- The Warriors championship-weekend culminated on Saturday when Merrimack beat top-seeded New Haven twice to claim the NE10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- Needing a win to force Saturday's "if necessary" game, senior PJ Browne took the ball and worked his first complete game of the season and fourth of his career to guide the Warriors to victory. Browne struck out a season-high 13 batters, falling one shy of tying his career high
- Sophomore Joey Porricelli led the offense with a four-hit attack including hitting the go-ahead home in the eighth inning that broke a 2-2 tie
- Game two saw Merrimack score seven times off NE10 Co-Pitcher of the Year David Palmer, and built an 8-1 lead through 5.5 innings. Junior Riley Sorenson took the ball, making his first start in over two years, and allowed three runs over six innings of work to put himself in line for the win
- New Haven rallied, plating four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to cut Merrimack's advantage to one, 9-8. Graduate student Tyler Lyne ended the eighth with a spectacular diving catch in center, which eliminated the likely tying run from scoring. Lyne then came up in the ninth, picked up his 15th hit of the tournament, and drove in the Warriors' 10th run of the game to give Merrimack some insurance
- Senior Anthony Lupi closed out the program's first conference title in 22 years with his second save of the season. A chopper to junior Anthony Garbarino ended the game, and booked Merrimack's NCAA Tournament ticket
- Lyne hit nearly .700 over the six games in the NE10 Championship, and totaled an OPS of over 1.700 to earn Tournament MVP honors. Lyne swiped eight bases to lead the team, moving within three swipes of tying the program single-season. Porricelli and Browne joined Lyne as all-tournament selections
- For a full recap on last night's win, click here
NCAA Regional History:
- The Warriors will play in the program's fourth NCAA Tournament, and first since three trips in the 1990s (1990, 1996, 1999)
- Merrimack has played in eight games over its three tournament appearances, owning a 2-6 all-time record
- The program played a school-record three games in its last appearance in regionals, defeating UMass Lowell, 3-1, to advance in the winner's bracket. Merrimack won one game each in 1996 and 1999, but have never won more than once in a regional appearance
'Mack Facts:
- Merrimack's NE10 Championship was the program's first tournament title since 1996. The 2018 edition of the Warriors join the 1990, 1995 and 1996 baseball programs with tourney crowns
- The program embarks on its first NCAA Tournament since 1999, ending a 19-year drought. Merrimack earned the sixth seed as the NE10's automatic qualifier
- Combining regular season championships, the Warriors now own nine titles – the second most among current NE10 institutions
- The program set a single-season wins record with the victory, collecting its 31st of the year. The Warriors own just the second 30-win campaign in school annals
- Browne's victory on Saturday marked the 18th of his career – setting a new program record for wins. He tossed the first complete game of his season and fourth of his career, bringing his career inning total to 248.1, which sits three shy of the school record
- Head coach Nick Barese posted his 99th and 100th career wins on Saturday, reaching the milestone over four years at the helm of the Warriors. He became the fourth coach in baseball's history to reach the century mark, and the fastest ever to total 100 career wins
- Merrimack will enter the regional as the top hitting team in the tournament, owning a .300 team batting average
- The Warriors own a 23-7 ledger over their last 30 games
Top Performers:
- Browne's victory on Saturday marked the 18th of his career – setting a new program record for wins. He tossed the first complete game of his season and fourth of his career, bringing his career inning total to 248.1, which sits three shy of the school record
- Lyne was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament, while Porricelli and Browne joined him as all-tournament team selections. Lyne became the first player in school history with an 80-hit season on Saturday, finishing with 81 base knocks. In the tournament, Lyne went 15-for-22 with an 1.747 OPS
- Lyne's final season has been one for the record books – in every literal sense of the phrase. Starting with single-season lore, not only does the Agawam, Mass. native own the single-season record in hits, but he ranks fourth in runs (58) and doubles (18) as well as second in steals (34). He needs four steals this week for a new program record
- The center fielder enters the tournament tied for first in program history in runs scored (141) and triples (14), while ranking fourth in hits (209), second in doubles (47) and at-bats (648) as well as sixth in RBI (114). With his eighth and final steal of the NE10 Championship, Lyne became the sixth Warrior in school history with 60 career steals
- Entering this season, Merrimack had just three 70-hit seasons in school history. In 2018 alone, senior Matt Nicholson and sophomore Joey Porricelli joined Lyne at that plateau – doubling the all-time program output. Nicholson has also been one of the top home run hitters to come through campus, ranking fifth all-time with 20 long balls
- Porricelli enters the tournament leading the NE10 with 59 runs scored from the leadoff spot. His 29 steals trail just Lyne for the most of the conference
Scouting the Opposition:
Up Next:
Depending on Thursday's results, Merrimack will either play again at 11 a.m. on Friday morning in an elimination game or face a 7 p.m. first pitch. The tournament consists of three games in three days from Thursday-Saturday, two games on Sunday and the regional final on Monday. The winner of the tournament advances to the College World Series
