Baseball News

AGGIES PREPARE FOR ECAC SOUTH REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - The Delaware Valley College baseball team will look to end the season on a high note as the Aggies vie for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Championship which will be hosted by Alvernia College on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17.

Delaware Valley (24-17) is the third seed for the five-team tournament and will meet second-seeded Wesley College (27-14) in Friday's first semifinal match-up at 11:00 a.m. Alvernia (31-12) is the top seed and will play the winner of Wednesday's first-round contest between No. 4 Washington and Jefferson College (22-16) and fifth-seeded University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (23-20) in the 2:00 p.m. semifinal contest. The two semifinals winners will vie for the ECAC South Region Championship at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The Aggies will make their fifth overall appearance in the ECAC Championships and their first since hosting the tournament and winning the crown in 2004 (they also captured the title in 1999). This year's squad reached the Freedom Conference playoffs two weeks ago and dropped both of its games in the double-elimination tournament.

2008 Freedom Conference Player of the Year Zach Jakubowski (Audubon, NJ/Audubon) paces a Delaware Valley offense that averages 7.1 runs per game. The senior third baseman tops the squad in nearly every category including batting (.465), slugging (.736), hits (67), triples (9) and RBIs (47). The three-baggers are a single-season record (as is his career total of 15) while his number of hits is just three shy of tying current assistant coach Tony DeLude's record total from the 2002 campaign.

Fellow senior Kyle Bobb (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) and sophomore Mike Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) were named to the all-Freedom first team at first base and utility respectively. Bobb is batting .346 with four doubles, 22 runs scored and 22 RBIs. Isgro is hitting .367 with nine doubles, four triples, two home runs, 27 runs scored and 22 RBIs.

Sophomore second baseman Dylan Saldutti (Lansdale, PA/Lansdale Catholic) and junior outfielder Kevin Weingart (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) are two other players to watch in the lineup.

Saldutti is batting .355 with seven doubles, 33 runs scored and 18 RBIs. Weingart has a .338 average, a .574 slugging percentage, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 44 runs scored and 32 RBIs to his credit.

Isgro, who was also a second team, all-Freedom honoree on the mound, heads an Aggie pitching staff that has a 4.13 team ERA. He is 6-2 with 49 strikeouts and a 4.50 ERA in 54 innings of work.

Sophomore Sean Tappan (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) is 4-5 with 49 K's and a 3.10 ERA in 58 innings while Metague is 5-3 with 39 strikeouts and a 5.19 ERA in 44-plus innings.

WESLEY COLLEGE PREVIEW

The Wolverines will make their second straight appearance in the ECAC Championships after reaching the Capital Athletic Conference playoffs. They have won three of their last four contests to move their mark to 27-14.

Wesley boasts a team batting average of .327 and averages nearly nine runs (8.8) per game. Stu Madden kickstarts the attack as he is batting .395 with 34 stolen bases, 52 runs scored and 33 RBIs. Dan Bunnion is a big threat as well with a .356 average, 13 doubles, three home runs and 50 RBIs.

Ryan Buckland has started 11 games for the Wolverines this season and is 8-1 with 69 strikeouts and a 2.74 ERA. Colin Warner is 6-0 with three saves and a 1.71 ERA out of the bullpen.

ALVERNIA COLLEGE PREVIEW

The Crusaders are 31-12 on the season and last played on May 3 when they were the top seed, dropped a pair of games and were eliminated from the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference playoffs.

Alvernia's offense averages 9.2 runs per game to go along with a .353 batting average. Three starters are hitting over .400 with James Geosits leading the way with a .428 mark. He also has 19 doubles, six home runs, 44 runs scored and 51 RBIs on the season.

PAC Player of the Year Dale Curry is batting .424 with 20 doubles, nine home runs, 46 runs scored and 61 RBIs while Tim Carroll is hitting .424 with 15 doubles, six triples, 46 runs scored and 34 RBIs.

On the mound, Chuck Nicholas is a perfect 8-0 with a 1.07 ERA in 50-plus innings of work. Chris Stoudt is also unbeaten as he is 6-0 with a 2.76 ERA in 45-plus innings.

WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE PREVIEW

The Presidents are appearing in the ECAC Championships for the fourth consecutive season. They have a 22-16-1 record and recently competed in the Presidents' Athletic Conference playoffs.

Washington & Jefferson bats .311 and averages 6.9 runs per game as a team. Jim Paquine leads the team with a .374 batting average and has knocked in 23 runs while Frank Quirin has a .360 average, seven doubles, three triples, six home runs and 37 RBIs to his credit.

Ian Poole is the team's top pitcher as he is 7-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 60-plus innings. Mitch McClay has hurled nearly 50 innings and has a 5-1 record and a 5.44 ERA.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT BRADFORD PREVIEW

The Panthers just missed out on winning the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III that went with it as they dropped a 9-8 decision to Penn State-Behrend in the deciding game. They are 23-20 and have won three of their last four.

Pitt-Bradford averages 6.3 runs per contests and has a .312 team batting average. Mike Seech is batting .371 with 11 doubles, two home runs, 17 stolen bases, 45 runs scored and 19 RBIs. Justin Bifano is a key as well with a. 367 average, 13 doubles, two home runs and 36 RBIs.

On the mound, Ben McCracken is 4-4 with 69 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA in 62-plus innings while Jake Wells has a 6-3 mark to go along with 40 K's and a 3.94 ERA in 48 innings.