Head Coach Pat Boen has guided the Skyhawks to a second NCAA Tournament bid and third NE-10 Championship. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Stonehill Seeded Fourth in NCAA East Regional

NE-10 Champion Skyhawks earn second NCAA Tournament bid in program history, open East Regional against third-seeded New Haven on Thursday

EASTON, Mass. (May 9, 2010) – Northeast-10 Conference champion Stonehill College has earned the second NCAA Division II baseball tournament bid in program history and are seeded fourth in the East Regional which will be hosted by Southern Connecticut State University, Thursday, May 13 through Sunday, May 16, in New Haven, Conn.

Stonehill (29-16, 17-9 NE-10), who previously earned an NCAA Tournament bid in 2000, earned the Northeast-10's automatic qualifier by going a perfect 4-0 at the NE-10 Championships this weekend, capped by a 5-4 ten-inning victory over second-seeded and host Franklin Pierce University on Sunday afternoon. The Skyhawks are paired up with third-seeded University of New Haven (31-13, 18-8 NE-10) in the opening round of the East Regional. It will mark the third-straight week the two clubs have squared off, with Stonehill winning each of the three meetings between the two so far this season, including a 4-1 decision in the opening round of the NE-10 Championships on Thursday.

Host Southern Connecticut State (35-11-1, 21-5 NE-10) is the top seed in the regional and will open against sixth-seeded Dominican (N.Y.) College (28-16, 15-5 CACC), while second-seeded Franklin Pierce (36-14-1, 19-6-1 NE-10) will face fifth-seeded LIU-C.W. Post (31-15-1, 22-8 ECC) to round out the opening round regional games. The winner of the East Regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships in Cary, N.C., May 22-29, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

Complete regional information, including the entire schedule, will be released on Monday.