Baseball Set to Host 2021 NECC Championship
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Finishing with a conference record of 14-2, Mitchell College has secured the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the 2021 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Baseball Championship.
Dougie DelaCruz, the 2019 NECC Player of the Year, leads a potent Mitchell offense that produced a conference-best 293 runs. He enters the tournament batting .404 with a league-leading seven homers and 49 RBI. On the mound, Roland Thivierge tops the NECC with six wins and 46 strikeouts, and starters Jakari Pellegrini and Camren Varney rank among the league leaders in ERA.
As the No. 1 seed, Mitchell has earned the right to host the double-elimination tournament, which is slated to start on Friday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. In their first match-up, the Mariners will face fourth-seeded Becker College, which finished with a 6-10 mark in conference play. Becker will look to Ethan Perry to make an impact at the plate, as the catcher heads into the postseason with a .328 batting average, which places him in the top 10 in the league.
Friday's second match-up will feature the No. 2 seed New England College, which will battle third seeded Elms College at 12:30 p.m. The Pilgrims, who finished with a conference record of 13-3, are the reigning NECC champions after taking home the crown in 2019. NEC has seen Garrett Langis make an immediate impact, as the rookie is tied for the league lead with seven home runs and is second in the NECC with 28 RBI. He is also a danger on the base paths with a league-best 17 stolen bases. On the other side of the ball, pitcher Shaun Cormier has been a force for the Pilgrims, as he is second in the league with a 3.15 ERA and 40 strikeouts.
No. 3 Elms finished conference play with an 8-12 record, and will look to AJ Cook to make an impact in postseason play. Cook heads into the playoffs with a team-leading .333 average, which is also good for top-10 in the league.
The losers of game one and game two will face-off in the first elimination game on Friday at 3:30 p.m., while the two winners will meet in the first game of the day on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Championship game is slated for Sunday, May 9.
This year marks the seventh straight NECC Championship that will he held in New London and the eighth overall. The Mariners have used the home-field advantage to win titles in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
