Senior Armand Rugel (7-1, 2.44 ERA) will look to lead Stonehill past Wilmington tomorrow night. |
Skyhawks and Wildcats will meet for the second time this season tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
RINDGE, N.H. (May 14, 2015) – Second-seeded Stonehill College and fourth-seeded Wilmington University will meet for the second time this season tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on day two of the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament East Regional at Pappas Field on the campus of host Franklin Pierce University.
Admission for each day of the double elimination tournament is $8 for adults, and $5 for senior citizens, children and students with an ID from a participating school. For those unable to make it to Franklin Pierce, live stats will be available via www.stonehillskyhawks.com.
Stonehill (34-13-1, 16-7 NE-10), which tied a program record with its 34th win of the season today, is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and is seeking its first-ever East Region title. Wilmington (34-12, 18-2 CACC), the 2015 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament champion, has earned bids to the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons and is making its seventh NCAA appearance overall.
Tomorrow night's contest will serve as the second meeting, both this season and all-time, between Stonehill and Wilmington. The Skyhawks opened their 12-game spring break trip with a 7-3 victory over the Wildcats back on March 6th in Lake Worth, Florida as part of the Palm Beach Challenge.
Sophomore first baseman Eddie Bowler (Hingham, Massachusetts/Hingham) and freshman right-hander Michael Young (Mashpee, Massachusetts/Pope John Paul II) helped get Stonehill off to a strong start in the East Regional, as the Skyhawks registered a 5-2 win over fifth-seeded Dowling College earlier today. Bowler went 2-for-3 at the plate with his first collegiate home run and three RBI, while Young allowed just one earned run over 7.1 innings on the mound.
Stonehill will give the ball to senior right-hander Armand Rugel (Middletown, Rhode Island/Middletown) tomorrow night for his tenth start of the season. The All-NE-10 second team selection is 7-1 with a 2.44 earned run average and 50 strikeouts in 70.0 frames, and will be looking to bounce back from his first loss of the spring that he suffered last Saturday to Franklin Pierce in the conference tournament.
Sophomore Eddie Bowler went 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run and three RBI in Stonehill's 5-2 win over Dowling earlier today. |
Since the start of the NE-10 Tournament last Tuesday, the Stonehill offense has been led by senior catcher Eric Schneider (Camarillo, California/Saint Bonaventure) and junior outfielder Brian Campbell (Franklin, Massachusetts/Mount Saint Charles Academy). Schneider is hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three doubles, two triples and nine RBI, while Campbell checks in at .348 (8-for-23) with three walks, two RBI and seven runs scored. Senior shortstop Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) and junior outfielder Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) are both batting .333 and have scored five runs each, while Fratus has also driven in four and drawn three walks.
Wilmington is coming off a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over third-seeded Southern New Hampshire in its East Regional opener this evening. The Wildcats, who had been held hitless through five frames, rallied past the Penmen with three runs in the decisive eighth inning.
The Wilmington attack boasts six All-CACC performers, including the conference's Player of the Year in senior outfielder Sam Goines (Wilmington, Delaware/A.I. Dupont). Goines is hitting .424 (67-for-158) this spring with 11 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 40 RBI. Senior catcher Matt Lopes (Deerfield Beach, Florida/Deerfield Beach) has driven in a team-high 44 runs, while classmate Frank Samluk (Middletown, Delaware/St. Elizabeth's) is batting .349 (61-for-175) with 15 doubles and 32 RBI.
The Wildcats will likely send either Samluk or senior left-hander Rob Gore (Broomall, Pennsylvania/Marple Newtown) to the mound tomorrow night. Samluk is 6-0 in ten starts with a 2.28 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 55.1 innings, while Gore is 0-2 in eight starts with a 3.92 ERA and 31 punchouts in 41.1 frames.
The matchups and game times for Saturday will be determined following tomorrow's slate of contests, and will be based on the number of teams that have been eliminated from the tournament.
The East Region champion, which will be crowned on Sunday at Pappas Field, advances to the the NCAA DII Championship, to be held from May 23-30 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament East Regional – Hosted by Franklin Pierce University
Thursday, May 14
Game 1: (6) St. Thomas Aquinas 3, (1) Franklin Pierce 0
Game 2: (2) Stonehill 5, (5) Dowling 2
Game 3: (4) Wilmington 3, (3) Southern N.H. 2
Friday, May 15
Game 4: (1) Franklin Pierce vs. (5) Dowling – 11:00 a.m.
Game 5: (6) St. Thomas Aquinas vs. (3) Southern N.H. – 3:00 p.m.
Game 6: (2) Stonehill vs. (4) Wilmington – 7:00 p.m.
If four teams remain after game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 16
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 3:00 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser – 6:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser – 10:00p.m.
Sunday, May 17
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner – 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: Game 10 rematch* -- 5:00 p.m.
*Game 11 only necessary if Game 9 Winner wins Game 10.
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If five teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 16
Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser – 3:00 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 6:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner – 10:00p.m.
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 17
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner – 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: Game 10 rematch* -- 5:00 p.m.
*Game 11 only necessary if Game 8 Winner wins Game 10.
If three teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 17
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser – 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner – 5:00 p.m.
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