Friday afternoon is a new start for the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team as head coach Thomas Seay leads the Hawks to their first ever appearance in the NCAA DIII Regional tournament. It's a short two-and-a-half hour drive from New Paltz to Eastern Baseball Stadium in Mansfield, CT yet the journey to the NCAAs has been a six year journey for Seay and the Hawks.

Coming off their record setting 30-14 season and first ever SUNYAC baseball championship, No. 3 seed SUNY New Paltz faces a formidable task this weekend placed in the regional tournament pod with three well-seasoned teams, all with lengthy NCAA experience and two that are currency ranked nationally. Yet, as SUNY Oswego and SUNY Cortland discovered last weekend, anything is possible when these Hawks take the field. Joining SUNY New Paltz in the Mansfield Regional are host Eastern Connecticut University, Endicott College and Husson University.

Let's preview each game:

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Game One: No. 1 seed Endicott College vs. No. 4 seed Husson University

Endicott College | Beverly, Massachusetts

Endicott College, coached by 18-year veteran Bryan Haley, are currently ranked first in all national DIII baseball polls and enter the tournament with an overall record of 41-1 and a 13-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference mark. Last weekend, the Gulls won their ninth consecutive CCC championship, earning their ninth NCAA DIII tournament invite. Last season, Endicott progressed through both the Regional and Super Regional tournaments, reaching the College World Series, losing in the championship pod to Baldwin Wallace University and Misericordia University.

The Gulls landed 14 players on the CCC 2024 all-star team, eight on the first team, five on the second team, including Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year honors. As a team, Endicott in 43 games has batted .312 with 397 runs scored, with an on base percentage of .446 and a slugging percentage of .491, hitting 46 home runs and is currently on an 18 winning streak. With a lineup packed with so many all-stars, it's hard to single out just a few… leading the offense is Joey Frammarino (Sr., OF, North Reading, MA) with a .350 batting average, 48 hits, 40 runs scored, 40 RBI and five home runs. Nicolas Notarangelo (Sr., OF, Taunton, MA) is hitting .344 with 45 hits, 33 runs, 12 doubles and a .557 slugging percentage. Dylan Pacheco (Sr., IF, Dartmouth, MA) bats .333 with 43 hits, 10 doubles, 40 runs, 34 RBI, and a .535 slugging percentage. Danny MacDougall (Jr.,IF/OF, Taunton, MA) batted .317, with 45 hits, 12 doubles, 33 runs, 37 RBI and 42 stolen bases and a .503 slugging percentage. Finishing the top five is TJ Liponis (So., IF, Scarborough, ME) who is batting .315 with 51 hits, six home runs, 39 runs scored, 48 RBI and a .556 slugging percentage.

Five pitchers have led the Gulls, starting with Jordan Gottesman (Sr., LHP, Acton, MA) with a 10-0 record in 67.2 innings pitched, with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. John Connolly (Jr., RHP, Attleboro, MA) was 8-0 in 68.0 innings, a 2.65 ERA and a .94 WHIP. Charlie Hale (FY., RHP, Brookline, NH) was 7-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 46 innings and a .88 WHIP. Nicholas Cannata (Sr., RHP, Marlborough, CT) was 5-1 on the year, with a 1.61 ERA in 56.0 innings and a WHIP of .88. Rounding out the rotation is Kyan Bagshaw (So., LHP, Amherst, NH) with a 3-0 record and four saves in 29.2 innings with 1.08ERA and a .92 WHIP.

On defense as a team, Endicott fielded at a .981 pace, with only 28 errors in 42 games.


Husson University | Bangor, Maine

Husson University enters the tournament as the North Atlantic Conference champion, the Eagles fifth consecutive title. In his fifth year, coach Chris Morris has led the Eagles to a 23-10 overall record, a 16-2 NAC mark and to three straight NCAA DIII tournament appearance; Husson has appeared in six NCAA tournaments overall.

Offensively, the Eagles batted .278 as a team with an OPS of .832. They had 279 hits and 230 runs scored, with 52 doubles and 26 home runs. They had a .432 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .409. They also stole 63 bases. Senior infielder Jackson Curtis (Ellsworth, ME) led the team with a .386 batting average on 44 hits, 31 runs scored, nine doubles and 10 home runs with a slugging percentage of .728 and an on base percentage of .478, with 35 RBI. First year outfield Matt Holmes (Bangor, ME) hit for .366 with 34 hits, 21 runs scored with six doubles and six home runs, 22 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .667 and an on base percentage of .440. Senior catcher Akira Warren (Hallowell, ME) averaged .339 on 37 hits, 36 runs, seven doubles with 24 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .450 and an on base percentage of .450. Utility Cam Rendell (So., Halifax, Nova Scotia) hit for .363 with 25 hits, 17 runs, eight doubles and 16 RBI with a .522 slugging percentage and a .489 on base percentage. Collin Marshall (So., UT, Greenland, NH) rounds out the top five with a .231 average on 23 hits, 21 runs and 19 RBI.

On the mound, three pitchers saw the most action for the Eagles, led by junior Matt Wallingford (RHP, Greene, ME). Wallingford was 5-2 on the year with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP, in 42 innings, giving up seven earned runs with 44 strikeouts in nine appearances. Senior Alex Smith (RHP, Northborough, MA) went 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in 37.1 innings, with 33 strikeouts and giving up 14 earned runs. Connor Abood (Jr., RHP, Sandown, NH) was 5-2 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 43 innings, striking out 33 and allowing 22 earned runs.

Defensively, the Eagles had a team fielding percentage of .966.


Game Two: No. 2 Seed Eastern Connecticut State University vs No. 3 seed SUNY New Paltz

Eastern Connecticut State University | Mansfield, Connecticut 

In just two seasons, Coach Mike Odenwaelder has continued the great success of Warrior baseball. He led ECSU to a 29-13 record and a 13-3 Little East Conference regular season mark and disappointing third place finish in the LEC Tournament. Yet for the third season in a row and the 38 season overall, the Warriors will be in the NCAA DIII tournament. ECSU has reached the DIII College World Series 14 times, with five national titles in house, the last in 2022. Currently ranked second in Region II, just behind Endicott College, the 22nd ranked Warriors are a team to be taken seriously. With eight 2024 LEC all-stars, five first team, one second team and one third team, ECU is for real.

Offensively, the Warriors hit .308 for the season, with an .874 OPS. They scored 328 runs on 456 hits, with 90 doubles, 14 triples and 47 home runs for a slugging percentage of .483. In addition, they stole 53 bases with an on base percentage of .391. Leading the pack is senior outfielder Josh Confrancesca (Southington, CT) with a .338 batting average on 48 hits, 26 runs scored, nine doubles, 34 RBI, a slugging percentage of .464 and an on base percentage of .366. Junior center fielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull, CT) hit .335 with 53 hits, 33 runs scored, nine doubles, five home runs, 14 stolen bases. He has a slugging percentage of .500 and an on base percentage of .429. His .973 fielding percentage represents just two errors in 75 chances.

Outfielder/Designated Hitter Alejandro Soriano (Sr., Hartford, CT) batted .327 with 37 hits, 24 runs scored, 17 RBI, a .434 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .366. Zach Donohue (Sr., INF, South Windsor, CT) batted .325 with a team high 55 hits and 47 runs scored, with 33 RBI. He hit 14 doubles and four home runs with a slugging percentage of .562 and an on base percentage of .395. Catcher Hank Penders (Jr., Wethersfield, CT) batted .319 with 29 hits, 19 runs, 29 RBI and four home runs, with a slugging percentage of .560 and an on base percentage of .410.

ECSU possesses a deep starting rotation, led by graduate student Nathan Furino (RHP, East Haven, CT). Furino was 7-0 on the season with a 1.35 ERA and a .91 WHIP with 54 strikeouts in 53.1 innings. He gave up eight earned runs and also had one save. Junior Matthew Wootton (RHP, Milford, CT) was 4-2 on the year with two saves. His ERA was 3.08 with a WHIP of 1.17 in 64.1 innings pitches; he struck out 64 and gave up 22 earned runs. Junior Dan Driscoll (LHP, Waterford, CT) was also 4-2 with one save; in 53.2 innings he had an ERA of 4.53 and a WHIP of 1.38; he had 74 strikeouts and gave up 27 earned runs. While, 6 foot, 7-inch' sophomore Dylan Scudder (RHP, Simsbury, CT) was 4-1in 11 appearances, with five games pitched in relief, for an ERA of 2.72 and a WHIP of 1.35 with 26 strikeouts in 36.1 innings and gave up 11 earned runs. Also seeing considerable action were Christ Torres (FY., LHP, West Springfield, MA) and Tyler Rice (Jr.,RHP, Berlin, CT) with 43.2 and 15.2 innings respectively.

Defensively, the Warriors turned 30 double plays with a fielding percentage of .962.

SUNY New Paltz | New Paltz, NY 

The Hawks of SUNY New Paltz look to be the wildcard in the Mansfield Regional. Having never played in the NCAA tournament before, they have no history to compare to. Yet they are winners, setting a school record of 30-14 overall and a best SUNYAC mark of 11-7. In capturing the SUNYAC Championship last weekend, they went 4-1, defeating Oswego in the first game, losing to Cortland in game two, defeating Oswego again to move into the championship round, where they defeated defending champion Cortland twice to capture the 2024 SUNYAC baseball crown and the trip to the NCAA DIII tournament.

Offensively, the Hawks batted .320 on the season, scoring 384 runs on 493 hits, including 99 doubles, 17 triples and 29 home runs. They had a .463 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .417, with 77 stolen bases to their credit.
 
Leading SUNY New Paltz in nearly every offensive category has been junior Tommy Kreider (INF, New City, NY). Kreider hit for .458 with an OPS of 1.196, with 77 hits, 56 runs scored, 17 doubles, three triples and three home runs, 34 RBI, 21 stolen bases, with a slugging percentage of.649 and an on base percentage of .547. Sophomore Fabian Apicella (INF, Howard Beach, NY) batted .426 and a ,933 OPS; he scored 35 runs, had 58 hits and 26 RBI, with a slugging percentage of.449, and on base percentage of .484, with seven stolen bases. Infielder Michael Boccarossa (Gr., Port Chester, NY) was .336 from the plate with an OPS of .865 on 51 hits, 40 runs scored, eight doubles, 44 RBI, a slugging percentage of .421 and an on base percentage of .444. Outfielder Anthony Pericolosi (Jr., Rockville Centre, NY) hit for .335 with an OPS of .922 and had 55 hits, scored 46 runs, had 10 doubles and five home runs with 46 RBI; he had a slugging percentage of .512 and an on base percentage of .410. Junior outfielder Michael Ascanio rounds out the top five with a .308 batting average and an OPS of .914; he scored 31 runs, had 49 hits with eight doubles, three triples and four home runs and tallied 38 RBI. His slugging percentage was .472; his on base percentage was .442 and he also swiped 14 bases.
 
A total of 12 pitchers earned at least one victory in 2024 for the Hawks with three sophomores each winning four games, which includes Matt Sarni (RHP, Levittown, NY), Xavier Zykoff (RHP, Poughkeepsie, NY) and Robert Gregory. Gregory was 4-0, Sarni and Zykoff were 4-1; Sarni also picked up five saves. With three wins each were graduate student Connor Olson (RHP, Goshen, NY), senior James McGovern (RHP, Goshen, NY), and sophomore Liam Ryan (RHP, Middle Island, NY). With two wins were junior Jason Wall (RHP, Levittown, NY) and freshman Ryan Knieriemen (LHP, Westhampton Beach, NY). Contributing with one win were sophomore Jeff Lundstedt (LHP, East Fishkill, NY) and freshmen Nic Kostulias (RHP, Mineola, NY) and Dylan Hayes (RHP, Cornwall, NY).

In the field, the Hawks had a .959 fielding percentage with 25 double plays on the season.
 

Tournament Basics

The NCAA DIII Mansfield Regional Tournament runs from Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19. All games are played at: Eastern Baseball Stadium 1 Mansfield City Road Mansfield, CT 06268
Tickets are: $10 per day for both games for adults, $7 per day for both games for children and seniors.

For the complete tournament schedule, click here.

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