The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team enters the 2022 ECC Tournament, beginning on Thursday at 12pm, opening against Molloy College at the Mitchel Field in Uniondale, N.Y. The double elimination format will continue on Friday and Saturday on Long Island.
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The Spartans (22-21, 14-7 ECC) - STAC enters the weekend with as the #4 seed in the tournament and holds a current six-game winning streak. The offense is sparked by Andrew Guerra, who posted a .337 batting average with 30 RBI and 30 runs scored over 42 games played. Andrew Jemison enters the tournament hitting .326 with 12 doubles, four triples and two home runs. Gregory DiGiaro (.322 BA, 34 RBI, 23 Runs) paced the Spartans with seven homers on the season. On the mound Aaron Dona (3-3, 3.66 ERA), John Archer (5-5, 3.78 ERA) and Mark Barillas (3-2, 3.51 ERA) helped lead STAC to the post season, while Yanni Orfanidis (40 IP, 4-0, 3.12 ERA) and Justin Baeyens (1-2, 5.54 ERA, 7 Svs) provided one of the best 1-2 combinations at the back-end of any bullpen within the conference.
The Lions (32-11, 16-2 ECC) - The ECC Regular Season Champions from Molloy begin the postseason on an eight-game winning streak and are the top seeds and hosts for the tournament. The Lions feature the both the conference Pitcher of the Year, Charlie Cucchiara (7-0, 2.88 ERA) and the Co-Coach of the Year, Joe Fucarino. Molloy possesses one of the most lethal hitting line-ups across the ECC, as Thomas Brady (.364, 38 RBI), David Franchi (.359, 36 RBI), Matt Overton (.354, 19 2B, 5 HR, 35 RBI), Chris Einemann (.342, 40 RBI), Vincent Pecora (.341, 24 RBI), Peter Theodorellis (.336, 27 RBI), Robby Keane (.312, 19 RBI) and Patrick Hoffman (.309, 31 RBI) all hit .300 or better, while playing at least 30 games or more this season. Following Cucchiara on the hill are Billy Wildman (7-1, 3.34 ERA) and Mike Andreoli (9-2, 4.36 ERA), giving the Lions a very formidable starting rotation.
Season Series (Molloy, 2-1) - The Spartans and Lions opened their three-game ECC series on April 1 at Clover Stadium in Pomona, with Molloy posting 17 runs on 16 hits to take the opener 17-7. Chris Einemann recorded a 4-for-5 afternoon with a double, five RBI and a run scored, while Robby Keane picked up four RBI on two hits in three at-bats. Charlie Cucchiara registered his fourth win of the year, going six innings and allowing 12 hits and six runs (four earned), while fanning five.
The following day, the teams split a twin bill at Mitchel Field, with STAC winning the opener 5-2, before Molloy closed the series with a 9-8 come-from-behind victory. In game one Andrew Jemison went 4-for-5 with an RBI and Matthew Johnson and Kyle Lagrutta each went 2-for-4 with a double apiece. Starting pitcher John Archer performed well, allowing eight hits and two runs (one earned) over 6.1 innings, while walking three and K-ing four to earn his third win of the season. Justin Baeyens closed things out in the ninth to pick up his fifth save.
Game two saw the Spartans race out to a 4-0 first inning lead, before Molloy chipped away at the score to tie things at 4-4 in the seventh and force extra innings. STAC then plated three eighth inning runs, hoping to pick up the series victory. However, the Lions scored four in the bottom of the frame to earn a walk-off triumph. Matthew Johnson went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI in the contest and Eric Volpi homered for the maroon and gold. Meanwhile, for the hosts, Vincent Pecora recorded three hits in five at-bats with an RBI, while Thomas Brady (2-5, 2 RBI), Matt Overton (2-4), David Franchi (2-5, 2 RBI) and Patrick Hoffman (2-4, RBI) powered the Molloy rally. Robert Lucano (2-0) earned the victory, hurling 0.2 innings in relief.
In the Post-Season - STAC holds seven regular-season championships (2008, '12, '13, '16, '17, '18 and '21), and has captured tournment titles in 2013, '14, '15 and '18. The Spartans are in search of their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, have won East Region Championships in 2014 and 2017, and were among the three finalists for the 2017 National Championship.
Molloy returns to the postseason as the defending ECC Tournament Champions and broke a 20-year drought without winning an ECC Championship a season ago. The Lions advanced all the way to the 2021 NCAA Division II East Regional Championship, before falling to Southern New Hampshire University on the final day of the tournament.
What's Next? - The same four teams that qualified last season - Molloy, Queens, Mercy, and St. Thomas Aquinas - will compete for an ECC title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. The tournament, which returns to its traditional double-elimination format, will be hosted by Molloy College at Mitchel Field in Uniondale, N.Y. The action starts on Thursday, May 12, and runs through Saturday, May 14.
The other side of the bracket sees No. 2 Queens (24-15, 15-6 ECC) play No. 3 Mercy (21-23-1, 14-7 ECC). The two schools just played this past weekend with Queens taking two of three to earn the No. 2 seed by one game.
Queens currently holds the longest streak of consecutive tournament appearances as they play in their third straight ECC Championship. The Knights look to end a 24-year drought without a conference championship, with their last coming during the 1998 season.
Mercy qualified for the second straight season but will actually play in the tournament for the first time since 2010. Last year’s edition of the Mavericks had to withdraw from the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.
All games during the championship will be broadcast live on the ECC Network and the ECC Network app on Apple and Android mobile devices and also on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku OTT streaming devices.
2022 ECC Baseball Championship hosted by Molloy College at Mitchel Field - Uniondale, N.Y.
For More Information, visit the ECC Baseball Championship Central
Thursday, May 12
12:00 PM - No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 1 Molloy
3:00 PM - No. 3 Mercy vs. No. 2 Queens
Friday, May 13
10:00 a.m. - Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two
1:00 p.m. - Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two
4:00 p.m. - Winner Game Three vs. Loser Game Four
Saturday, May 14
12:00 p.m. - Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Five
If necessary - 30 minutes after the completion of Game Six
TICKET PRICING
Single Game Ticket
$8 - General Admission
$5 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Weekend Passes
$20 - Adults
* Children under 5 free for all games
** Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Cash will not be accepted so walkup tickets at the venue must be purchased through the ECC website (QR code will be available at the gate).