The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team was named as the #4 seed in the East Region for the upcoming NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament. The Spartans open the regional on Thursday against #3 Wilmington University at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.
(*UPDATE* - The Spartans will face Wilmington in tournament Game 3 at 7:00 pm. SNHU hosts Felician in Game 1 at 11:00 am, followed by Franklin Pierce-Dowling at 3:00 pm. If STAC wins Thursday, they will play in Game 6 at 7:00 Friday. If STAC loses Thursday, they will play in Game 5 at 3:00 pm Friday.)
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After capturing their second straight East Coast Conference championship with a stirring victory at Dowling College on Saturday, the Spartans earned an automatic bid to the national tourney and awaited Sunday night's word as to seeding and pairing.
As champions of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, Felician College (29-18) earned an automatic bid and was awarded the #6 seed, while Northeast-10 champ Southern New Hampshire (39-12) jumped to the #1 slot, earning the right to host the regional for the third straight season.
Despite being upset in their conference tournaments, Franklin Pierce University (35-16) was an easy choice for an at large bid and took the #2 seed, while Wilmington University (33-9-1) earned the #3 position.
Switching places with Dowling College (33-15) from the final regular-season ranking, STAC (34-15) slid into the #4 slot while Dowling, forced to anxiously await the other tournament results, secured the final at large bid and comes in with the #5 ranking.
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Last season, the Spartans made their first journey into the NCAA Tournament, though the experience in the double-elimination regional was shorter than hoped. STAC, entering as the #2 seed, fell to New Haven by a 3-0 count in their opener, and was sent home by Wilmington the next day after an 8-1 loss.
STAC and Wlimington did not play this season, though the teams were scheduled for a double-header which was canceled by rain. The Spartans earned their conference title after losing the ECC Tournament opener and winning the next four games, including two against top seeded host Dowling. Wilmington, entering the CACC Tourney as the top seed and host, lost its opener to Dominican College, staved off elimination with a win over Post University, but fell to Felician in the final game.
Click here for Newsday's coverage of STAC's ECC Title win, including photo gallery!
Other pairings for Day One of the regaional will see #1 Southern New Hampshire take on #6 Felician, with #2 Franklin Pierce meeting #5 Dowling. The regional is scheduled to go through Sunday, May 18, with the eventual champion advancing to the Division II College World Series, to be hosted by the University of Mount Olive and played at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina from May 24-31.