The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team begins it's quest for the National Championship, taking on Colorado-Mesa University at 5:00 pm in Cary, North Carolina. Rob Frank is expected to start for the East Regional Champion Spartans, who come in with a record of 38-16 overall, with UCM, representing the South Central Region sporting a 44-11 mark.
Both teams will play next on Tuesday, May 27, with time and opponent to be determined based on today's results in the double-elimination format. The winner of today's game will play at 3:00 vs. the winner of today's 1:00 pm contest between Atlantic Region representative Seton Hill (PA) and Central champ Minnesota-Mankato. The loser's of today's games will face elimination in the 7:00 contest Tuesday.
Full Interactive NCAA Tournament Bracket
St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off a stirring East Regional Championship, which saw them lose their first contest before winning four straight, including a sweep of East Coast Conference regular season champ Dowling on the final day, a repeat of their feat from the ECC Championship Tournament.
The Spartans, who were seeded #4 in their regional, are the only team of the final eight to emerge by winning two games on the final day of the region, and their seed was the lowest to take a title in any region. Four #1 seeds are in the Division II Baseball National Finals - Tampa (South), Lander (Southeast), Southern Indiana (Midwest) and Colorado-Mesa. Chico State (West) was a #2 seed, while Seton Hill and Minnesota-Mankato were both #3s.
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NCAA Division II Baseball Finals Results and Schedule
Full Scoreboard and Game
Center
Saturday, May 24
Game 1 - Southern Indiana 4, Tampa 3 - The Tournament starts with an upset, as Southern Indiana scores a run in the top of the 9th to upend the top ranked team in the country, as Tampa sees its record fall to 51-3 overall.
Game 2 - Lander 6, Chico State 4 - A back-and-forth contest sees the Southeast Champs from South Carolina take down the California contingent with a three-run 7th-inning rally.
Sunday, May 25
Game 3 - Minnesota-Mankato vs Seton Hill - 1:00 pm
Game 4 - St. Thomas Aquinas vs Colorado Mesa - 5:00 pm
Monday, May 26
Game 5 - Tampa (1L) vs Chico State (1L) - 1:00 pm (Loser eliminated)
Game 6 - Southern Indiana (0L) vs Lander (0L) - 5:00 pm
Tuesday, May 26
Game 7 - Loser Game 3 vs Loser Game 4 - 3:00 (Loser eliminated)
Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4 - 7:00
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STAC FACTS:
Game No. 55
Post Season Game No. 11
Vs Colorado-Mesa University
At NCAA Baseball Finals – Cary, NC
Semper Fi , Joe Grimaldi – In the only change from their 25-man regional roster, the Spartans will be without relief pitcher Joe Grimaldi for the Finals. The senior, who had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, is scheduled to report to Parris Island, South Carolina on Tuesday, May 27, and was unable to get his report date postponed (see attached release).
“The Cat’s Meow,” Part 1 – Scott Muscat – nicknamed “Cat” is the only head coach the STAC program has had since moving from NAIA to Division II in 2001. He celebrated his 300th Division II victory with a 23-8 victory over Queens College on April 17, 2014.
“The Cat’s Meow,” Part 2 – Spartan coaches and players have decided to have fun with their head coach, who was raised in North Carolina. In light of his penchant for “pearls of wisdom,” his crew has started recording them for posterity in a “newsletter” which is occasionally updated and posted in the dugout. It’s name? Why, “The Cat’s Meow,” of course.
Wood you Believe? – For the past six years, the East Region has been the only one of the eight in which all three conferences (the East Coast Conference, Northeast 10 and Central Atlantic Collegiate) agree to use wood bats. As such, the Spartans will be swinging aluminum bats for the first time this season at the NCAA National Finals. They played an early season game against Rollins in Florida, but elected to use wood while Rollins swung aluminum in that contest.
Chris Goetz to the Finals – This is actually the second trip to a national finals for Spartan Utility man Chris Goetz. In 2006, he was actually the ace pitcher on the Mid-Island Little League team from Staten Island, NY, that advanced to the Little League World Series in Willimasport, PA. Chris will be hoping for a different result this time around, with that team having lost all three games.
Fear the Beard – When he’s not patrolling third base, bearded senior CJ Ferriggi is one of the top relievers in the East, having led the ECC in saves for the second straight season. In the final game of the ECC Tournament, he made his first ever career start. The “closer” hit unchartered territory, carrying a gutty 3-1 lead into the 9th inning before yielding a 2-run homer to tie the score. He finished the frame and did not get a decision, though his team won the title in a 10th inning walkoff. CJ proceeded to be named the MVP of the East Regional, on the strength of picking up a win and a save and his strong play at third.
Frank-ly Amazing – Senior Rob Frank already held the STAC records for career wins and strikeouts, but his performance in the East Regional was one for the ages. Coming from the Losers Bracket, the Spartans ace took the hill to face top seeded Southern New Hampshire. After working five strong innings with his team holding a 3-1 lead, the persistent rains began to cause havoc. After a brief delay to tend the field, three batters came to the plate for STAC in the bottom half before the field was tarped for 64 minutes. After resuming play, the Spartans pushed across a pair of runs to take a 5-1 lead. And Frank strode back to the mound, after over 80 minutes on the bench. He was dominant over the final four frames, allowing just four hits overall with 13 strikeouts in 142 pitches of a 6-1 St. Thomas Aquinas victory.
Pressure? What Pressure? – One will pardon the Spartan coaches and fans for the extra supply of antacids. Over the past two seasons, the Spartans have lost their first game in all four tournaments (twice in the ECCs, twice in the NCAAs). Last season, they won their last four straight from the Losers Bracket to win their first ever ECC title, though they dropped their second game in the East Regional and were eliminated in two straight. This season, they duplicated their conference feat, winning four in a row facing elimination. To top that off, lightning struck a third time at the East Regional. After an opening loss to Wilmington, STAC defeated Southern New Hampshire, Felician, and Dowling twice, to run their record to an astounding 12-1 when facing elimination over the past two years.
Late Magic – After a slow start which saw St. Thomas Aquinas win just three of its first eight games, the bats heated up, bringing the team average to an even .300 to date, as the team has gone 35-11 since that point. In particular, the late innings have belonged to the Spartans, who have outscored opponents to the tune of 74-27 from the 7th inning on. The team is 26-2 when leading after six innings, and have won five games when trailing after seven innings, and another three when tied.
Three times 30 - The 2014 campaign is the third straight 30-win season for STAC. Over that period, their record entering the NCAA Finals is 111-48 (.698 pct). They were 39-14 last season and 34-18 in 2012.
School record in sight – Their eight post-season wins has left the Spartans just one short of the school’s single-season wins record (39), set last season.
Davids vs Goliaths – As evidenced by the enrollment numbers, bigger isn’t necessarily better as St. Thomas Aquinas College is the second smallest among the eight national qualifiers. Ranked in order by enrolment (numbers per Wikipedia): Cal-Chico – 16,356; Minnesota-Mankato – 15,409; Southern Indiana – 10,820; Colorado-Mesa – 9.245; Tampa – 7,200; Lander – 3,000; St. Thomas Aquinas – 2,800; Seton Hill – 2,500