BEREA, Ohio – The No. 4 Penn State Behrend baseball team will battle top seed and host Baldwin Wallace in the first game of the NCAA Division III Regional Baseball Tournament on Friday, May 17. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. The winner of this game will take on the winner of Adrian vs. Catholic Saturday at noon, while the losing teams of game one and two will meet each other Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
Coverage:
Video | Live Stats | Tournament Information
Behrend News & Notes:
* The Lions claimed their seventh AMCC Championship and sixth NCAA Tournament berth with a 7-1 victory over La Roche on Sunday
* For their efforts this past weekend, freshmen Dylan Barnes (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills), Andrew Bredel (Clinton, PA/Burgettstown), and Spencer Deitz (Erie, PA/McDowell) were named to the AMCC All-Tournament Team
* This week freshman David Gibson (North East, PA/North East) was named AMCC Newcomer of the Year and earned a spot on the All-AMCC Second Team, while eight other Lions secured All-Conference honors
* First team honorees were shortstop Silvio Ionadi (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum), left fielder Anthony Slate (Hopewell, PA/Hopewell), designated hitter Daniel Boehme (Peters Township, PA/Seton LaSalle), and relief pitcher Jake Manendo (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep)
* Joining Gibson on the All-AMCC Second Team was freshman starting pitcher Colin Bolla (Fairview, PA/Fairview)
* Rounding out the All-Conference honors were third team selections: second baseman Dylan Barnes (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills), right-handed pitcher Jeff Zick (Moon, PA/Our Lady of Sacred Heart), and catcher Thomas Nicely (Delmont, PA/Franklin Regional)
* Gibson ranks first in the conference with 47 RBIs and is tied for second with five home runs, while being fourth on the team in batting average (.362)
* Ionadi leads the team and is third in the conference with a .392 batting average and has scored a conference-high 51 runs to go along with 14 stolen bases
* The second-year shortstop is five hits away from his 100th career hit
* On the mound, Manendo has delivered a 1.24 ERA for a 4-0 record in 29.0 innings. Bolla leads the Lions with 58 strikeouts to go along with a 4-2 record in six starts
* In the Division III baseball national rankings, Behrend is seventh in hits allowed per nine innings (7.95) and ninth in earned run average (3.55)
* The last time the Lions competed in a Regional Tournament game was on May 30, 2021, falling to Marietta by a score of 7-3
Meet the Opposition:
* Baldwin Wallace is currently ranked No. 3 in the D3Baseball/NCBWA Top 25 after defeating Marietta, 6-5, to claim the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) title, marking its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history
* The Yellow Jackets hold an overall record of 36-8 coming in to this weekends regionals
* Eight players were selected to the All-OAC Team: Tyler Walker (Pitcher of the Year/First Team), Joey Marousek (First Team), Mally Kilbane (First Team), Max Anastasio (Second Team), Dennis Ritlinger-Nirider (Second Team), Vince Dolcemaschio (Second Team), Jake Heatherington (Second Team), Nick Clark (Third Team)
* Marousek leads the team in hitting with 65 hits and a .363 batting average, while Anastasio has driven in a team-high 37 RBIs and Mark Mohnickey Jr. has hit a team-high eight homers
* On the bump, Walker has tallied a conference-high 9-1 record with two saves and a 3.24 ERA in 66.2 innings. Dolcemaschio is the team leader in strikeouts (59)
* Heatherington is ranked fourth nationally in saves with eight, while Walker stands in seventh in the national rankings in victories
* Head coach Brian Harrison earned OAC Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career and second straight season. He is leading his team to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in his tenure and reached his 500th career win earlier this season
* Last season, the Yellow Jackets made it to the final four in the NCAA Division III College World Series, eventually falling to then No. 1 ranked Johns Hopkins
Series History:
* The two teams have only played each other twice all-time with Baldwin Wallace winning both matchups
* The Yellow Jackets took a single game from the Lions in 2022 and during the regular season this year
Tournament Schedule:
* Double Elimination - Champion advances to NCAA Division III Super Regionals, hosted by Penn State Harrisburg on May 24-25
Friday, May 17 - Day One
Game 1 - Penn State Behrend vs. Baldwin Wallace - 10:00 a.m.
Game 2 - Adrian vs. Catholic - 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
Game 3 - Loser of Game #1 vs. Loser of Game #2 - 8:30 a.m.
Game 4 - Winner of Game #1 vs. Winner of Game #2 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 5 - #Winner of Game #3 vs. Loser of Game #4 - 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19
Game 6 - Winner of Game #5 vs. Winner of Game #4 - 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 - Winner of Game #6 vs. Loser of Game #6 (If Necessary) - (45 minutes after conclusion of Game #6)
