Baseball | 5/18/2023 10:55:00 AM
PITTSFORD, NY – The St. John Fisher University baseball team will travel to Baltimore, MD, as they compete in the 2023 NCAA Diviaion III Baseball Regional Tournament, hosted by Johns Hopkins University. The double-elimination tournament sees the Cardinals take on No. 16 Randolph-Macon College at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 19. The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Johns Hopkins University vs. Penn State Altoona.
Building on 16-Game Winning Streak
The Cardinals enter the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 30-12, a conference record of 18-0, and are currently on a 16-game winning streak. Coming off winning their third straight Empire 8 Tournament Championship, Fisher boasts the 12th most home runs in the nation, hitting 55 from 42 games. Five players are currently batting over .325. Empire 8 Player of the Year, Noah Campanelli has the 25th-best batting average in the nation, and the second most stolen bases, stealing 50 bases, four behind the current leader. Campanelli's 78 hits rank him fifth in the nation, while he has also reached 129 total bases, the ninth-best in the nation.
Hitting 14 home runs this season, James Murphy ranks tied for 19th in Division III. Murphy has also batted in 64 runs, putting him tied for sixth in the nation. Ben Lavery enters the week with a batting average of .324 while hitting 12 home runs and having an OPS of 1.110. Brian Norsen currently has a batting average of .335, hitting 53 times, nine of those hits being home runs. Patrick McGuire enters the week undefeated on the mound, holding a record of 7-0, and holds an ERA of 1.61, the 12th best in Division III.
No. 1 Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins enters the tournament as the No. 1 team in Division III. Johns Hopkins currently has an overall record of 39-4, a conference record of 17-1, and has won their previous game. As a team, the Blue Jays have a collective ERA of 3.33, ranking them ninth in the nation. On the other side of the mound, the Blue Jays have 534 hits from 43 games, putting them tied for sixth in the nation. Leading Division III in home runs, Johns Hopkins has 89, 19 more than second place.
Matthew Cooper leads the Blue Jays in batting average, having 147 at-bats and hitting 67 times, 21 of those home runs, holding an average of .456. Alex Shane holds a batting average of .436, having 117 at-bats and hitting 51 times. Stealing the most bases for the Blue Jays, Tripp Myers has stolen eight bases from 10 attempts. Johns Hopkins' star pitcher, Gabriel Romano holds an ERA of 1.66, the 13th best in Division III, winning nine of nine games, the eighth most in the nation.
No. 16 Randolph-Macon College
Randolph-Macon College enters the tournament ranked as the No. 16 team in Division III. As a team, the Yellow Jackets are 31-13 overall, 16-6 in conference play, and have lost their previous two games. Randolph-Macon has a collective .317 batting average, 132 extra-base hits, and 325 runs batted in.
Ethan Iannuzzi holds the Yellow Jacket's highest batting average, hitting .395. Myles Webb has a batting average of .316, hitting seven triples, and has stolen 14 bases. Hunter Cole leads Randolph-Macon in doubles, hitting 11 on the season, while also hitting four triples and 12 home runs, boasting a slugging percentage of .643.
Penn State Altoona
Penn State Altoona enters the tournament with an overall record of 20-25, a conference record of 5-9, and has won their previous five games. As a team, the Nittany Lions have a collective batting average of .302, an ERA of 7.14, and have hit 77 doubles.
Jonathan Rauch leads Penn State Altoona in batting average, hitting 55 times from 144 at-bats for an average of .382. Corey Chamberlain sits right on par, hitting 62 times from 164 at-bats for an average of .378. Hitting the most home runs for the Nittany Lions, Timothy Richard has hit five on the season, collecting 25 total hits. Tyreke Green has stolen the most bases for Penn State Altoona, stealing 13, while also having an on-base percentage of .464.
2023 Regional Championship Schedule (All games to be played at Johns Hopkins University)
Friday, May 19
Game 1 – Penn State Altoona at No. 1 Johns Hopkins – 10:30 a.m.
Game 2 – No. 16 Randolph-Macon vs. St. John Fisher – 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 20
Game 3 – Losing Team of Game 1 vs. Losing Team of Game 2 – 10:30 a.m. (elimination game)
Game 4 – Winning Team of Game 1 vs. Winning Team of Game 2 – 2 p.m.
Game 5 – Winning Team of Game 3 vs. Losing Team of Game 4 – 5:30 p.m. (elimination game)
Sunday, May 21
Game 6 – Winning Team of Game 4 vs. Winning Team of Game 5 – 10:30 a.m.
Game 7 – Winning Team of Game 6 vs. Losing Team of Game 6 (If Necessary) – 2 p.m.
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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