Baseball | 5/19/2022 2:47:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – For the seventh time in program history, the St. John Fisher College baseball team will compete for an NCAA Championship as the Cardinals, who are receiving votes in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, travel to Cortland on Friday to take on nationally-ranked Endicott College in the opening round of Regional play at SUNY Cortland's Robert H. Wallace Field.
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FAMILIAR FACES: Entering this weekend, the Cortland Region features some familiar faces when it comes to the postseason picture. In all, Fisher will be making its seventh trip to the dance and its second in a row. The Cardinals best finish came in 2016 when they won the Mid-Atlantic Regional and advanced to the Division III World Series for the first time in team history. Endicott, on the other hand, will be playing for a national championship for the sixth time in its history and the first time since 2014. The Gulls have finished as a New England Regional Finalist twice, but have never advanced out of regional play. On the other side of the four-team pod, Bridgewater State claimed its first MASCAC Championship since 2012 and will be represented in the NCAA Championship for the sixth time in all. Meanwhile, Cortland will be competing in the national championship for a Division III record 29th time in all as the Red Dragons have reached the World Series 14 times and won it all in 2015.
NEW FORMAT: This year's format is a bit different than it has been in the past as the NCAA Championship will begin with 14 four-team regional sites. The winner of each double-elimination regional will then advance to eight Super Regional best-of-three series with the final eight programs then advancing to the Division III World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in early June.
ALL-CONFERENCE VIBES: Entering the NCAA Championship, Fisher has already received plenty of postseason recognition with Noah Campanelli becoming the 12th player in program history to be crowned the Empire 8 Player of the Year after leading the conference with a .420 batting average, 73 base hits and 60 runs scored. Connor McHugh was named the league's Pitcher of the Year following a prodigious junior season that saw him go 7-1 with a conference-low 1.75 earned run average. Over 51.1 innings and 14 appearances, McHugh tallied 38 strikeouts and has held opposing hitters to a miniscule .170 batting average. Additionally, Nick Lemire, Michael Beimel, Ben Lavery, Brian Norsen, Alec Teska and Ryan O'Mara were each named First-Team All-Empire 8 following their standout seasons.
POWER SURGE: The Cardinals boast a powerful 1-2 punch led by Lavery and Norsen who have combined to smack 41 extra base hits including 21 homers over 44 games. Lavery has had a breakout season that saw the Clifton Park native post career-highs across the board after hitting .321 with 11 home runs, 12 doubles and 52 RBI in 43 games while Norsen has turned his season around with a .312 average, eight doubles, nine long balls and a team-leading 55 runs batted in.
ONE THROUGH NINE: The Cardinals have shown a tendency to wear out opposing pitching over 44 games so far this year. One of the more patient and disciplined teams in Division III, Fisher enters the NCAA Championship ranked sixth in the nation with 263 walks. Couple that with the fact that head coach
Brandon Potter's team ranks 16th in the nation with a .438 on-base percentage and the Cardinals have found a recipe to score runs at a high clip. In fact, Fisher ranks 17th in Division III with just over nine runs per game on average while its 413 runs scored ranks 10th among all Division III programs at the moment.
THE ROTATION: When it comes to winning a double-elimination regional, the number of solid options you have in your rotation can make or break your NCAA championship aspirations. We touched on McHugh's stats earlier, but he's not the only option Fisher can turn to in any given game. Teska has shown flashes of brilliance this season as the Cato native is 6-3 over 12 starts and owns a 3.06 earned run average. The right-hander has tossed a team-leading 67.2 innings this year and ranks second among the Cardinals' staff with 44 strikeouts. A Third-Team All-Region selection last year, Teska has thrown a team-high four complete games and has been a part of four shutouts. The senior put together one of the top stretches in program history earlier this season after allowing just one unearned run over 32 innings. Waiting in the wings is O'Mara who leads the team and the Empire 8 with an 8-0 record on the hill. A transfer, O'Mara has thrown 45.1 innings and tallied 45 strikeouts over 12 relief appearances.
From there, Potter can turn to his talented and deep bullpen that has helped to nail down nine shutouts this season – the most in Division III – including veteran Tim Geissel who has 18 Ks over 30 innings and newcomer Russell Dunlap who has a 3.86 ERA over nearly 40 frames.
SCOUTING ENDICOTT: The Gulls enter play ranked 19th in the latest D3baseball.com national poll after amassing a 36-7 overall record this year. Fisher's patience at the plate may prove useful on Friday as Endicott boasts one of the top pitching staffs in the country. Over its last 43 games, Endicott ranks fourth in Division III with a 3.07 earned run average while its 1.03 WHIP is the second-lowest in the country. This team won't gift any runs to Fisher either as it leads Division III with a .987 fielding percentage.
Pitching isn't its only strong suit, however, as Endicott ranks fourth in the country with 60 home runs and is 22nd among all Division III institutions with a .510 slugging percentage. John Mulready leads the team with a .366 batting average and 12 home runs while Caleb Shpur is hitting .354 on the year with a team-high 63 hits including 10 doubles, two triples and 10 long balls. Nicolas Notarangelo has 60 hits in 170 at-bats including 26 extra base knocks while Jake Nardone leads the roster with 54 RBI.
On the mound, the Gulls will turn to Nicholas Cannata (6-0) who leads the team with 59.2 innings on the year. Rian Schwede is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA over 58.2 frames while Gabe Van Emon leads the team and is among the nation's leaders with 74 strikeouts. Max Tarlin is 5-2 with a 1.56 earned run average over 34.2 innings of work.
SCOUTING CORTLAND: The Red Dragons claimed their 36th SUNYAC title over the weekend and enter this Regional with another World Series berth in mind. Cortland doesn't do anything in particular that stands out, but everything they do, they do well. Head coach Joe Brown's squad is paced by Danny Coleman's .404 average and 64 RBI while Scott Giordano is hitting .402 with 66 hits and 49 runs batted in. Andrew Michaslski and James Varian have combined to produce 97 hits through 42 games along with 55 RBI while Antonio Pragana is hitting .345 with 12 extra base pokes in all.
On the mound, Cortland leans on Ryan Flansburg's arm as the senior has 62.0 innings under his belt and a 3.77 ERA. Anthony Fusco is 8-2 on the year over 13 appearances and has a 3.02 earned run average paired with 33 Ks while Zack Durant is 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA.
SCOUTING BRIDGEWATER STATE: The Bears enter this weekend's field at 30-13 overall after hitting .299 as a team over the course of the season. Bridgewater is led by Jay Wladkowski's .379 average along with his 43 RBI, 61 hits and 16 doubles. Scott Emerson is hitting .371 overall on the year while Joe Frechette has compiled 44 hits including eight doubles and one triple.
The Bears aren't a power hitting team, but they can manufacture runs. Over 43 games, Bridgewater ranks 14th in Division III with 113 stolen bases on the year. Look for the four seed to test Cortland's backstop early and often.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.
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