SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Western New England College hopes its success against nationally ranked teams continues at the NCAA Division III New York Regional Tournament, which begins Wednesday (May 13) in Farmingdale, New York.
The fifth-seeded Golden Bears (29-15) meet No. 20 and second-seeded Ithaca (29-8) at 3:30 p.m. in the first day of competition in the double elimination event.
In other games, No. 19 and top-seeded Cortland (30-12) meets sixth-seeded Clarkson (21-19) at noon while No. 22 and third-seeded Rensselaer (31-9) plays fourth-seeded Farmingdale State (26-13) at 7:00 p.m. The double elimination tournament continues with three more games on Thursday (May 14).
WNEC (1,184 games) and Ithaca (1,765) have combined to play 2,949 baseball games in their respective histories, but this will be the first meeting between the schools.
Western New England College has captured three of five outings against teams ranked in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division III poll this spring.
Western New England College opened its season at the Greater Phoenix Invitational with losses against No. 30 The College of New Jersey and No. 23 Wheaton.
The Golden Bears defeated then No. 14 Johns Hopkins during their trip to Arizona, top-ranked Eastern Connecticut there, and No. 14 Curry in the championship game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC).
WNEC will count on that experience in dealing with the Bombers who are making their 33rd appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
With 1,272 all-time wins in 70 seasons and two national titles (1980 and 1988), the Ithaca baseball program ranks among the most successful in the nation.
Western New England College is building its own strong tradition with coach Matt LaBranche leading the way.
The Golden Bears are enjoying their 15th consecutive winning season and have a chance to hit the 30-win plateau for the fifth time in the last six years.
Western New England College enters the national tournament with a .351 team batting.
Senior center fielder Chris Newell (Wallingford, CT) leads the way with a .426 mark and has no errors in 97 chances for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
Sophomore third baseman Tony Trubia (Tolland, CT) is second at .414 with a team high 16 doubles. He has 67 hits that tied the school's single season record.
In his first year as a starter, sophomore second baseman Andrew Fatse (Hampden, MA) has a .411 batting average, which includes a school record 66 runs-batted-in.
Six other players also are hitting over .300, including freshman designated hitter Matt Fleishman (East Northport, NY) who returns to Long Island with The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Rookie-of-the-Year award on his resume. He leads the team with seven homers and has a .321 batting average.
Senior lefty Bryan Calzone (Bethel, CT) leads the pitching staff with an 8-3 record and 3.34 earned-run-average.
Freshman righthander Mark DiTommaso (Hebron, CT) is enjoying a terrific rookie campaign with a 6-0 record and 3.38 ERA.
The blend of veterans and newcomers gives LaBranche and his staff high hopes for a successful tournament.
“With such a young team, we went through some ups and downs, but I think we are playing our best at the right time and when we’ve played our best, we have proven we are as good as anyone in the country,” LaBranche said.
Ithaca advanced to the national tournament after capturing its 10th straight Empire 8 title with a 14-2 record. The Bombers’ pitching staff is third nationally in ERA (2.83) and eighth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.33).
Senior righthander Peter MacDaniel (Gansevoort, NY) is undefeated at 8-0 with a 2.22 ERA. Junior Tom Fishback (Webster, NY) has an 8-4 mark and team-high 52 strikeouts.
Sophomore third baseman David Ahonen (Farmington, NY) leads the team with a .393 batting average and five home runs.