BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The top seeded Moravian College baseball team will begin the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament with a first round game versus eighth seed Haverford College in the second game of the Misericordia Regional at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday, May 14 with first pitch slated for 1:15 p.m.
Joining the Greyhounds (32-10) and the Fords (22-18 and the Centennial Conference champions) in Moosic are second seed Rowan (N.J.) University (32-10 and the New Jersey Athletic Conference champion), third seed Susquehanna University (28-12 and the Landmark Conference champion), fourth seed Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) University (25-18 and runner-up in the Ohio Athletic Conference), fifth seed and host Misericordia University (29-13-1 and the Freedom Conference champion), sixth seed Keystone College (27-12 and champions of the Colonial State Athletic Conference) and seventh seed Wesleyan (Conn.) University (27-11 and New England Small College Athletic Conference champion).
Action will begin at 10:00 a.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday at PNC Field. For more information on the tournament schedule and tickets, visit http://athletics.misericordia.edu/sports/2014/5/6/NCAABB_0506141501.aspx.
The Greyhounds have won a school record 32 games this spring and were the runner-up in the Landmark Conference Tournament after finishing first in the conference regular season with a 14-4 mark under the direction of eight-year Head Coach Paul Engelhardt.
Moravian, which is ranked No. 22 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 and No. 24 in the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Top 30 is making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third berth in five years. The Hounds have won over 20 games in each of the last six years will making the postseason each year, and the squad has reached the 30-win plateau twice.
The Greyhounds are hitting .332 this spring with 501 hits including 88 doubles, a school-record 22 triples and four home runs, and the team also has 75 stolen bases and has a .954 fielding percentage this season. Moravian has had five players reach their 100th career hit this year, and the Hounds have a total of six players in the starting line-up with 100 or more career hits.
Junior right fielder Matt Hanson, the 2014 Landmark Conference Player of the Year and a Landmark All-Conference First Team honoree, is hitting .397 and leads the squad with three homers, 52 runs, 24 walks, 12 hit-by-pitch and 47 RBIs to go along with 58 hits, nine doubles, four triples and 13 stolen bases. Freshman left fielder Anthony Gaetaniello has the Hounds' top average at .449 on 40 hits to go with 32 runs, 19 RBIs, six doubles and a pair of triples, and Gaetaniello is hitting .517 (31-for-60) since being inserted into the leadoff position 14 games ago. Hanson has made 63 putouts and an assist while Gaetaniello has 42 putouts and an assist.
Junior third baseman Ryan Luke, who was named to the Landmark All-Conference First Team, leads Moravian with 62 hits and 16 doubles to go with a .383 batting average, 38 runs scored, 38 RBIs, four triples, 19 walks and 13 stolen bases. Luke is second on the squad with 88 assists in the field, and he also has 27 putouts. Sophomore first baseman Charles Savite, a Landmark All-Conference First Team selection, became the latest player to reach 100 career, and he is just the second sophomore in school history to reach the milestone. This season, Savite has a .345 average to go along with 58 hits, 32 runs, eight doubles, three triples and 47 RBIs, and he has a school-record 365 putouts to go with 26 assists.
Junior shortstop Colin Case is hitting .338 with 51 hits, 40 runs, six doubles, three triples, a homer and 25 RBIs, and Case has made a team-high 110 assists in the field to go with 51 putouts. Senior center fielder Joseph Connell, named to the Landmark All-Conference Second Team, is third in school history with 174 career hits with 52 coming this season along with 26 runs, eight doubles, two triples, 36 RBIs and a team-high 18 stolen bases. Connell is just one RBI away from becoming the second player in school history to record 100 hits, score 100 runs and drive in 100 runs in a career. Connell also 85 putouts and two assists in the field, and he along with Luke and Savite are the only players to see action in all 42 games so far this spring.
Senior Daniel Seitzinger, junior Alex Longernecker and sophomore Alex Bull have platooned at second base this season. Seitzinger is hitting .319 with 22 hits, 20 runs, three doubles and 12 RBIs while Longernecker has a .333 average on 24 hits, 22 runs, seven doubles, four triples and nine RBIs. Bull has contributed 19 hits, 13 runs, three doubles and six RBIs. Seitzinger has made 46 putouts and 52 assists in the field while Longernecker has 37 putouts and 46 assists and Bull has 29 putouts and 27 assists.
Senior Matthew Gutkes has split time behind the plate and as a designated hitter this season, and he is hitting .330 with 29 hits, 10 runs, seven doubles and 12 RBIs at the plate and has made 80 putouts and 14 assists as a catcher. Sophomore Mike Roethke, a Landmark All-Conference First Team honoree, has 22 hits, 19 runs, four doubles and 10 RBIs at the plate, and he has 164 putouts and 34 assists while catching. Roethke has thrown out 18 of 53 base runners this season.
Junior Justin Pilchman has seen action as a designated hitter and in left field, and he has contributed 26 hits, 14 runs, five doubles and 16 RBIs while junior first baseman/designated hitter Joey DiSarno has added a .333 average with 13 hits, six runs, a pair of doubles and 14 RBIs. Junior outfielder Chris Lansberry and senior infielder Kyle Spence each had seven hits this season with Spence adding six runs, two doubles and four RBIs and Lansberry contributing five runs, a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Cameron Leon has five hits and three runs on the year while freshman outfielder Cedar McCredie as scored six times and added three hits and a pair of RBIs.
Moravian's pitching staff has a 3.72 ERA this spring and has posted a total of seven shutouts while striking out 257 batters in 358 innings of action. Leading the staff in senior closer Chris Soltys, who was named to the Landmark All-Conference First Team, and he is 6-1 with four saves, a 0.90 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 12 walks in 40 innings of action. Sophomore Ian Carbone has also been strong out of the bullpen with a 2-0 record, one save, a 0.40 ERA, 19 strikeouts and just two walks in 22.1 innings while sophomore Hunter Guard is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA, 11 strikeouts and four walks in 17.1 innings. Senior Jason Jamula has a 1-0 mark with a 2.13 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12.2 innings of relief work while senior Ben Hammel has a 2-1 mark as 13 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of action.
Senior Robert Solano, a member of the Landmark All-Conference Second Team, leads the starters with a 5-0 record, a 3.54 ERA, one shutout, two complete games and 37 strikeouts in a team-high 61 innings. Freshman Nicolas Ampietro is 5-2 in his debut season with a 2.81 ERA, one complete game and 30 strikeouts in 48 innings. Senior Thomas Mariano is 4-3 with a complete game and 32 strikeouts in 54 innings of action while sophomore Anthony Zaloga is 3-1 with 26 strikeouts in 31 innings of action. Sophomore Brett Wagner has a 2-2 slate with 19 strikeouts in 32 innings this season.
Moravian and Haverford played once earlier this season with the Greyhounds posting an 8-0 win at Gillespie Field on April 2.