NCAA Regional Team Capsules
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The NCAA Division III Selection Committee has selected the Eastern Connecticut Baseball Stadium as the site for the 2009 NCAA Division III Baseball New England Regional Tournament, co-hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University and the Little East Conference between May 13 -17. The five-day, double-elimination tournament is just one of the three eight-team sites in the 54-team tournament field.
If you are unable to make the trip to Mansfield, Conn., you can follow all the action live on the
Little East Conference Web site. The tournament championship page will provide full coverage of the New England Region with a link for real-time statistics and video broadcast for each of the games. The Eastern Connecticut sports information staff will be running live in-game statistics, while Bridgewater Television (BTV9) will be producing each broadcast.
The New England Region features three of the top six teams in the latest edition of the D3Baseball.com Top 25 national poll, which have combined for seven national titles. Four-time national champion Eastern Connecticut State University (35-6) earned the top seed, followed by two-time national titlist University of Southern Maine (35-7), and defending national champion Trinity College (Conn.) (29-5). WPI (28-11), Suffolk University (30-9), Westfield State College (23-15), Husson University (31-12), and Babson College (22-18) round out the seeding order, respectively.
The Rams and Engineers open the 2009 tournament at 10 a.m. on May 13 with the Warriors hosting the Beavers at approximately 1:15 p.m. In the third game, the Bantams and Owls square off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Huskies and Eagles in the final contest of the evening at 7:45 p.m. General admission tickets are $5 per day, $3 for students with a valid ID and senior citizens, and children under the age of 5 will be admitted free. A limited number of tournament passes will be sold on the first day of competition. Adult passes are $15 and students and senior citizens are $10.
Eastern Connecticut is making its fourth straight and 30th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Little East Championship this past weekend. Southern Maine received its 18th invitation, while Trinity and Westfield State enter the tournament fray for the eighth time. Suffolk is making its fourth appearance, two more than Babson. Husson and WPI are making their NCAA tournament debuts. Six of the eight regional tournament teams qualified automatically, while the Huskies and Engineers received at-large berths.
In 1993, the NCAA Division III Championship Committee separated the Northeast Region into the New England and New York Regions, respectively, to expand to championship tournament to its present eight region field. An institution from the Little East Conference has captured 10 of the 16 past championships with Eastern Connecticut winning seven and Southern Maine raising the trophy three times. The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) has won three championships, while the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) sport two and one title, respectively. Last season, the Bantams hoisted the regional championship tournament en route to winning the national tournament.
The eight regional winners advance to the NCAA Division III national tournament May 22-26 at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin.
Covering The Field
BABSON COLLEGE BEAVERS
Head Coach: Matt Noone, 7th Year (Current Record: 157-120)
Seed: No. 8 NCAA Appearance (last): 2nd (2004)
NCAA Tournament Record: 0-2 (.000)
National Championships: 0
New England Championships 0
Conference: New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
How selected: NEWMAC Tournament Champion
EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY WARRIORS
Head Coach: Bill Holowaty, 41st Year (Current Record: 1,284-472-6)
NCAA Tournament Record: 109-57 (.657)
Seed: No. 1 NCAA Appearance (last): 30th (2008)
National Championships (last): 4 (2002)
New England Championships (last): 7 (2007)
Conference: Little East Conference (LEC)
How selected: LEC Tournament Champion
HUSSON UNIVERSITY EAGLES
Head Coach: Jason Harvey, 2nd Year (Current Record: 47-35-2)
NCAA Tournament Record: 0-0
Seed: No. 7 NCAA Appearance 1st
Conference: North Atlantic Conference (NAC)
How selected: NAC Tournament Champion
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE HUSKIES
Head Coach: Ed Flaherty, 24th Year (Current Record: 724-308-3)
NCAA Tournament Record: 52-34 (.605)
Seed: No. 2 NCAA Appearance (last): 18th (2008)
National Championships (last): 2 (1997)
New England Championships (last): 6 (2001)
Conference: Little East Conference
How selected: At-Large
SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY RAMS
Head Coach: Cary McConnell, 14th Year (Current Record: 358-192)
NCAA Tournament Record: 5-6 (.455)
Seed: No. 5 NCAA Appearance (last): 4th (2005)
National Championships 0
New England Championships 0
Conference: Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)
How selected: GNAC tournament champion
TRINITY COLLEGE BANTAMS
Head Coach: Bill Decker, 19th Year (Current Record: 451-192)
NCAA Tournament Record: 20-13 (.606)
Seed: No. 3 NCAA Appearance (last): 8th (2008)
National Championships (last): 1 (2008)
New England Championships (last): 2 (2008)
Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference
How selected: NESCAC tournament champion
WESTFIELD STATE COLLEGE OWLS
Head Coach: Ray Arra, 5th Year (Current Record: 96-88)
NCAA Tournament Record: 4-14 (.222)
Seed: No. 6 NCAA Appearance (last): 8th (2007)
National Championships 0
New England Championships (last): 0
Conference: Mass. State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC)
How selected: MASCAC tournament champion
WPI ENGINEERS
Head Coach: Mike Callahan, 3rd Year (Current Record: 82-66-1)
NCAA Tournament Record: 0-0
Seed: No. 4 NCAA Appearance 1st
Conference: New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
How selected: At-Large