Fisher Gets NCAA Regional Bid - Opens with Suffolk
HARWICH, Mass. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College baseball team will continue its quest for an NCAA Championship beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday as the No. 18 Cardinals take on Suffolk University in the opening round of the New England Regional at historic Whitehouse Field. Fisher, which is making its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship, is one of eight teams battling for a chance to advance to the Division III World Series next week at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Fans unable to make the trip to Cape Cod can still follow every pitch of every game using the links below:
BREAKING DOWN THE REGIONAL: Eight teams make up the New England Regional with UMASS-Boston earning the top seed. Arcardia was awarded the second overall seed while Fisher will play as the region's three seed. Salve Regina is the fourth seed, Babson the fifth while Suffolk, Worcester State and Penn State-Berks round on the remaining seeds.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Of the eight teams playing for a Regional championship this week, Fisher is the sole team to earn its way into the field via an at-large bid. The Cardinals, who enter play with a 30-10 overall record, fell in the Empire 8 title game to Ithaca College. Fisher did, however, boast one of the nation's best winning percentages and strength of schedules – all of which played an important role in awarding it a bid and a three seed. UMASS-Boston earned the top seed after winning the Little East title with a 33-10 while Arcardia, who enters play with a 32-11 mark, won the MAC Commonwealth Championship and the automatic bid that came with that. Salve Regina won the Commonwealth Coast Conference with a 34-10 overall record while Babson, which has won its last 12 games, won the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) with a 25-13 overall record. Suffolk took down the GNAC Championship title at 26-15. Worcester State was named the Region's seventh seed with a 20-20 record, which includes a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) title and Penn State-Berks won the North East Athletic Conference crown with a 20-19 overall record.
POSTSEASON PRAISE: Fisher enters the week with a slight confidence boast as 10 members of the team were named All-Conference by the Empire 8 on Tuesday. Junior
Scott Eisenmenger was named the Conference's Player of the Year while freshman
Anthony Brophy collected Rookie and Pitcher of the Year Honors. The duo, along with
Dillan Wilkinson and
Justin Graham, were each named First-Team All-Conference while
Evan Ryan,
Ryan Fahy,
Kyle Chambers,
Malcolm Kelsey and
Dominick Pisciotto were named Second-Team All-Conference. Additionally,
Ryan Prevost was named Sportsman of the Year.
WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE…KIND OF: Last season, en route to its first-ever appearance in the Division III World Series, Fisher had to win the Mid-Atlantic Regional, which featured some of the same teams that make up this season's New England Regional. In 2016, the Cardinals took down Salve Regina before advancing to the title game after defeating UMASS-Boston. Penn State-Berks was also in last year's Regional. Furthermore, Fisher faced off with its first-round opponent, Suffolk University, earlier this season in Florida.
PITCHING, PITCHING, PITCHING: At this stage of the game, pitching makes the difference. With a double-elimination tournament, teams will likely need three, even four starters that can give you innings. Of the eight teams in this Regional, Fisher boasts the third-lowest team ERA at 3.37 (27th in the nation). UMASS-Boston sits sixth in the country with a 3.04 earned run average while Salve Regina is 20th overall at 3.29. This season, Fisher has held its opponents to just a .265 batting average and boasted a conference-low 3.37 earned run average. The Cardinals were also controlled on the mound as the staff yielded just 141 walks in 347.1 innings. Fisher's big three was even better. Brophy (9-0),
Jim Dawson (6-1) and Pisciotto 5-0) combined to notch 125 strikeouts against just 46 walks this season and pitched to a 2.59 ERA over nearly 178 combined innings. Out of the bullpen, Wilkinson has been equally impressive with a 1.38 while
Kyle Chambers has a team-leading five saves. Chambers is a strikeout machine with 36 Ks in just 29 innings.
THESE GUYS ARE FRESHMEN?: Fisher carries perhaps one of the strongest freshmen classes in all of Division III as
Justin Graham,
Antony Mantova,
Allen Murphy,
Dillan Wilkinson,
Anthony Brophy and
Thomas Pasquale have had a significant impact on the team's success to date. Graham ranks second on the team with a .366 batting average along with 33 runs scored while Pasquale is hitting .324 with 45 hits and 27 RBI through 39 games. In 20 games this season, Mantova is hitting .327 (16-for-49) while Murphy has 29 hits in 98 at-bats. Murphy has also proven to be an effective pitcher as the Richburg native has posted a 2.40 earned run average over 15.0 innings of work. Wilkinson is one of the Empire 8's top relievers after going 3-1 with this season with 19 strikeouts in 26 innings. Brophy leads the team and the Empire 8 in several pitching categories including wins (9-0) and earned run average for a starting pitcher (1.57). In 10 appearances this season, Brophy has tallied 52 strikeouts in 63.0 total innings.
VERTERAN LEADERSHIP: So the freshmen can play, but the upper classmen on the team have set the bar high. Shortstop
Evan Ryan ranks second on the team with 52 base knocks including nine doubles, one triple and four home runs. Ryan is hitting .319 on the season and has accounted for 38 runs scored and 28 RBI. Utility man
Jack Trotman has had a strong senior season as well after hitting .342, which ranks third on the roster. Trotman has accounted for 17 RBI on 27 hits and ranks second on the team with a .464 on-base percentage.
Ryan Fahy has put together a solid junior season with a .325 average to go along with 39 hits, eight doubles, one triple, five homers and 16 walks. His 33 runs driven in ranks second on the squad while his .533 slugging percentage is third.
Malcolm Kelsey closed out the regular season on a tear as the Piscataway, N.J. native has a .333 batting average along with 33 hits, four doubles, one triple and five diners. Kelsey, who mashed three home runs and two doubles in just four starts a couple weeks back, was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week for his efforts. Additionally,
Ryan Prevost has caused problems for opposing backstops all season and leads the team with 13 stolen bags while hitting over .300.
Nate Roethel has had a power surge this season as 12 of his 28 hits this season have gone for extra bases.
Frank Carnevale and
Victor Konstantinovsky have combined for 28 hits and 29 runs scored.
SCOUTING SUFFOLK: As previously mentioned, the Rams earned their way into this year's field of 56 after winning their third straight Greater Northeast Athletic Conference crown via a 1-0 win over Johnson & Wales. As a team, the Rams boast a .311 overall batting average, however, on the mound, their staff is pitching to a 4.63 earned run average. At the plate, the Rams have also been known to bail out opposing pitchers as they've grounded into 34 double plays on the season – more than twice as many as Fisher in 2017 (17).
Suffolk does work the count, however, as the Rams led the GNAC in walks with 223 – 40 more than any other conference opponent. They also run well once they've reached base and ranked second in their conference with 58 stolen bases.
Individually, the team is led by Brady Chant's .371 average and 66 base hits. Chant is an extra base machine with 13 doubles, 12 triples and four home runs to go along with 46 runs scored and 34 RBI and 16 stolen bags. Matt Brenner is batting .343 with 49 base hits including 15 extra base knocks along with a team-leading 36 RBI. Kevin Belskie ranks third on the roster with 47 hits while Sean Cameron and Luke Ronchi have each produced 45 hits on the season.
On the mound, the Rams are led by Matt Fusco's 1.38 earned run average. Furthermore, Fusco is 3-4 with three completes games. At the top of the rotation, Ryan Pordes and Chuck Gibson have combined to go 14-2 this season with three saves in almost 130 combined innings. Pordes has 51 strikeouts in 67 innings and owns a 3.63 earned run average. Gibson has amassed 42 Ks in 62.1 innings with a 2.02 ERA. From there, Worth Walrod is 3-2 with a 3.77 earned run average over 43 innings pitched.