The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team opens its second straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance against Wilmington University at Southern New Hampshire University starting at 7:00 pm Thursday night. St. Thomas Aquinas, seeded #4, takes on #3 Wilmington in the third game of Day 1.
For East Regionial Central, Click Here
In the opener, top seed and host Southern New Hampshire squares off with #6 seed Felician College at 11:00 am, with #2 Franklin Pierce University meeting #5 Dowling College starting at 3:00 pm.
For Video of All Regional Games, Click Here
For the first time, we will be Live-Blogging all of STAC's NCAA Tournament games, be sure to check stacathletics.com and follow along with every step of the Spartans run to the National Championship.
The NCAA Tournament:
The NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament consists of 48 teams - six teams in each of the nation's eight regions. All eight regionals will be held this weekend, with a double-elimination format (a team must lose two games to be eliminated). The eight regional champions will advance to the Division II College World Series, to be held at the USA National Baseball Center in Cary, North Carolina from May 24-31.
Click Here for NCAA Tournament Bracket
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How They Got Here:
#4 St. Thomas Aquinas (34-15) - The Spartans entered the East Coast Conference as the #2 seed. STAC, ranked #5 in the final NCAA regional poll, lost its tournament opener but won the next four straight - including the final two games over host Dowling - to earn the conference's Automatic Bid.
#1 Southern New Hampshire (39-12) - SNHU entered the Northeast-10 Tournament as the #3 ranked team in the region, but the Penmen swept their way through their conference tourney, shutting out Adelphi University in the final to capture not only an Automatic Bid, but the right to host the regional for the third straight season.
#2 Franklin Pierce (35-16) - The Ravens held the region's top ranking entering the Northeast-10 Tournament. In the 8-team tourney format, the first round is single-elimination with the four teams advancing to the double-elimination weekend. FPU came up short in thier opener, eliminated by Stonehill College, but still earned an At-Large bid and the region's second seed.
#3 Wilmington University (34-9-1) - After battling for the region's top ranking, the Wildcats ran into trouble in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament, dropping their opener to Dominican College. They rebounded to defeat Post University, but the hosts fell to Felician College in the finale, settling for an At-Large bid.
#5 Dowling College (33-15) - The Golden Lions earned the right to host the ECC Tournament and sailed into the winner's bracket before dropping a pair to St. Thomas Aquinas - the final game in a dramatic 10 innings. Dowling was ranked #4 entering the weekend and was forced to sweat out other conference tournaments before earning the final At-Large berth.
#6 Felician College (29-18) - While the Golden Falcons were unranked entering the CACC Tournament, they made their case with authority, going undefeated to sweep their way to their first conference title. Felician defeated host Wilmington in the tournament finale to earn the conference's Automatic Bid.
For NCAA Baseball Championship Digital Program Click Here
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STAC vs Tournament
Participants (5-2 overall):
St. Thomas Aquinas did not play Wilmington, SNHU, or Franklin Pierce this season. The Spartans were scheduled for a twin-bill against Wilmington which was canceled due to rain. Last season, STAC and Wilmington split four meetings, with the Spartans taking two-of-three early season contests, and the Wildcats eliminating St. Thomas Aquinas from the NCAA Tournament.
vs. Dowling - STAC took four of six meetings against the Golden Lions this season, splitting the four-game regular-season series before sweeping their way to the ECC Championship with a pair of tourney wins against the hosts. Two of those contests were extra-inning thrillers, including the championship final game.
vs Felician - In their lone meeting of the season, on May 1 in New Jersey, St. Thomas Aquinas posted four quick runs in the first inning and held on for a 6-4 win.
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East Regional Schedule:
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 15
Game 1: (6) Felician at (1) So. New Hampshire - 11:00 am
Game 2: (5) Dowling vs. (2) Franklin Pierce - 3:00 pm
Game 3: (4) St. Thomas Aquinas vs. (3) Wilmington (Del.) -
7:00 pm
Friday, May 16
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 11:00 am
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser - 3:00 pm
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner - 7:00 pm
If four teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used.
Saturday, May 17
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 11:00 am
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser - 3:00 pm
Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser - 7:00 pm
Sunday, May 18
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - 12:00 pm
Game 11: Game 10 rematch - 4:00 pm (if neccessary)
If five teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used
Saturday, May 17
Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser - 11:00 am
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner - 3:00 pm
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner - 7:00 pm
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used
Sunday, May 18
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - 12:00 pm
Game 11: Game 10 rematch - 4:00 pm (if neccessary)
If three teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used
Sunday, May 18
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser - 12:00 pm
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 4:00 pm
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What's Next:
If the Spartans win their opener (Game 3), they will advance in the Winner's Bracket to tournament Game 6 on Friday at 7:00 pm, facing the winner of Game 2 between Franklin Pierce and Dowling.
If the Spartans lose their opener, they will play in Tournament Game 5 against the winner of Game 1 between Southern New Hampshire and Felician.