The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball teams starts the defense of their East Coast Conference Tournament championship this Thursday, May 8, against Molloy College at Dowling's Golden Lions Field in Brookhaven, NY. Game time is set for 3:00 pm. Here's your guide to everything you need to know entering Thursday's tilt.
For Video Click Here. For Live Stats Click Here.
The Season - St. Thomas Aquinas College, the tourney's #2 seed, finished the regular season with a 30-14 regular-season mark (16-8 ECC), winning nine of its last 11 games. After a 3-5 start to the season, STAC went 27-9 overall, running off winning streaks of eight and nine games, and is ranked #5 in the NCAA's East Region. (see STAC Stats Here)
Until the final days of the season, #3 seed Molloy was on the outside of the ECC Tourney picture looking in. The Lions, who enter the tournament at 19-22 overall (12-12 ECC), defeated Mercy College on the final day of the regular season to punch their ticket. (see Molloy Stats Here)
The ECC Tournament - Four of the seven teams in the conference qualified for the East Coast Conference Baseball Tournament. The tourney is a double-elimination format, meaning a team must lose twice to be eliminated, and results determine scheduling after the opening day.
Top seed and host Dowling College will open the event with a 12:00 noon first pitch against #4 University of Bridgeport. Bridgeport, idle on the regular season's final weekend, stayed alive when LIU Post dropped its final game at Queens College, putting the Purple Knights back into the post-season.
St. Thomas Aquinas has the #2 seed and will face #3 Molloy, starting at 3:00 pm.
(For Full ECC Tournament Info, Click Here)
The Match-Up - The STAC-Molloy rivalry has been a heated one in recent years, with the Lions having taken the season series in both 2013 and 2014.
St. Thomas Aquinas is led by a league-high 10 All-Conference selections, featuring First Teamers Rich Baerga, Kenny Kirshner, Stanley Susana, CJ Ferriggi, Derek Hirsch, and Nick D'Angelo. Second Team honorees include Rob Frank, Mike Apreda, Nick Gargan, and Stephen Sunday. The Spartans had an award winner at every position except third base, though Ferriggi played the majority of the team's games at that position.
Molloy may come in with less star power, not boasting one First Team selection, but they pose a tough foe nonetheless, led by Second Team outfielder Carlos Guzman. Also on the Second Team, DH Ronald Bauer provides depth at the plate, while honorees Max Schonfeld and Anthony Eichhorn bring a strong starting and relief pitching presence, respectively, which makes the Lions a tough out in any tournament.
(For Full ECC Post-Season Awards, Click Here)
Previous Meetings - Season Series - Molloy won series, 3-1
Back in the frigid final weekend of March, the Spartans had heated up with an 8-game winning streak only to be stalled by Molloy. The Lions won the Friday opener on Long Island by a 4-1 count, surviving a bases-loaded scare from the Spartans in the 9th. Saturday's scheduled twin-bill at Provident Bank Park was called after one rain-shortened game, with STAC coming away with a 7-3 decision.
With Sunday's Long Island date shifted to a twin-bill, Molloy made full use of the home field advantage in sweeping the Spartans, 8-2 and 5-1. That would end up being STAC's only ECC series loss of the season.
Potential Opponents - vs #1 Dowling - series tied, 2-2
This barn-burner of a series between the top two seeds should be fresh in everyone's memory, taking place on the last weekend of the regular season. STAC won the Friday home opener with a late rally, 7-4. but Dowling answered with authority in the opener a day later with a 17-4 win, clinching first place.
The Spartans rebounded to win the nightcap, 4-1, and had a chance to win the series before falling short in an epic 7-6, 12-inning setback, earning the split for the Golden Lions.
vs #4 Bridgeport - STAC won series, 4-0
Woolen gloves were more prevalent than baseball gloves in the opening weekend of the ECC schedule. Returning from the warmth of their Florida trip, the Spartans were quick to get their game in gear, outscoring the Purple Knights by a 27-8 count in the four-game sweep.
What's Next? - The losers of Thursday's games will meet at 9:00 am Friday morning in Tournament Game #3, with the loser of that contest being eliminated. Thursday's winners will square off in Game #4 at noon on Friday. The winner of that game advances to Saturday's final, with the loser immediately playing in Game #5, facing the winner of Game #4. The loser of Game #5 is also eliminated.
Game #6 will take place on Saturday at 12:00 noon. The Game #4 winner (who will be undefeated) will face the Game #5 winner (who will have one loss). If the Game #4 winner triumphs in Game #6, they win the championship. If not, the teams immediately play again, with the winner taking home the crown.
(Simple, isn't it?)
One Year Ago......
St. Thomas Aquinas took home the top seed, but due to lack of field availability the ECC Tournament was hosted by #2 seed Dowling.
The Spartans made matters tougher on themselves, losing their opener by a 7-3 count to the University of Bridgeport, putting STAC into the dreaded Loser's Bracket.
Not to be denied, the feisty Spartans eliminated the hosts with a 4-1 Friday Morning win over Dowling. They followed that later in the day with a 10-1 triumph over Molloy, sending the Lions home and advancing the Spartans to the penultimate Day 3, where they would need to defeat Bridgeport twice in order to capture the title.
St. Thomas Aquinas evened matters with a big 6-2 win in the opener and never looked back, jumping on the Purple Knights to the tune of a 9-1 victory, and sending the Sparkill contingent to its first ever ECC Baseball Championship.