Baseball Ready for NCAA Regionals
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College baseball team spent Thursday preparing to host the first ever Regional Round of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in school history.
The Mariners (31-8 overall) are the third seed in the New London, Conn. Regional and will face second-seeded Tufts University (31-9 overall) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament, which begins Friday, May 19. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 pm at Alumni Field (Directions). Prior to that game, top-seeded and 8th ranked Wheaton College will face off against fourth-seeded Husson University. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 am.
General admission tickets are $5 and can only be purchased at the gate. Tickets will go on sale one hour prior to the first game on each day.
The winner of Friday's game between Mitchell and Tufts will face either Wheaton College or Husson on Saturday at noon. The losers from Friday's games will meet in an elimination game on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
The winner of the regional advances to super regionals and will face the winner of the Baltimore, Maryland Regional, hosted by Johns Hopkins University.
Quick Hits
• Mitchell enters the NCAA Championship with an overall record of 31-8 out of the New England Collegiate Conference.
• The Mariners have won seven of their last nine games.
• Mitchell enters the tournament batting .330 as a team and averaging 10.4 runs per game.
• The Mariners own a team ERA of 3.81 (20th in nation DIII) and have held opposing teams to a .263 batting average.
• Mitchell has faced four teams in this year's NCAA field, going 3-3 against Husson, Bridgewater St., Salve Regina, and Denison.
How They Got Here
• Mitchell finished first in the NECC standings (11-1) and were the top seed in the 2023 NECC Championship.
• The Mariners went 3-0 and outscored their opponents by a 46-6 margin in the tournament.
• Mitchell topped Eastern Nazarene College by a 15-3 final in the title game to claim its ninth NECC crown (seventh under Travis Beausoleil).
• Owen Robbins was named tournament MVP while Dougie DelaCruz and Chris Gibbs earned all-tournament spots.
Last Time Out
• Mitchell defeated Lesley (3-2), New England College (28-2), and Eastern Nazarene College (15-2) in a dominant NECC championship tournament performance.
• In the first game, senior Dougie DelaCruz snapped a 2-2 tie with a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
• In the championship game against Eastern Nazarene, Chris Gibbs tossed seven shutout innings, while Lelo Martinez had a team high four hits and Angel Galindez drove in a team best four runs.
NECC Honors
• Dougie DelaCruz was named NECC Player of the Year for the third time in his career.
• The Mariners had a total of seven players receive all-conference recognition: Dougie DelaCruz (outfield), Matt Falk (catcher), Lelo Martinez (third base), Ryan Solimine (pitcher), Angel Galindez (shortstop), and Bo Yaworski (first base).
• Head coach Travis Beausoleil earned NECC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his tenure with the Mariners (2015, 2019, 2021, 2023).
Mitchell in the NCAA Championship
• Mitchell is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Championship (2022, 2021, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011).
• The Mariners are 5-14 overall in the NCAA Championship, with the last victory coming against Lebanon Valley College in 2022.
• Mitchell will be the third seed in the New London, Conn. Regional.
• It marks the first time Mitchell College has ever hosted an NCAA Regional.
• The Mariners are 0-1 all-time against Tufts, having suffered an 8-1 setback on the opening day of play at the 2016 NCAA Division III New England Regional.
• The Mariners are 8-1 all-time against Husson, most recently sweeping a doubleheader against the Eagles at home in late March.
• The Mariners have never faced Wheaton College (MA).