Baseball Prepares For Thursday's NCAA Opener
NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Early on Wednesday morning, the Mitchell College baseball team boarded a bus en route to the 2021 NCAA Baseball Championship.
The Mariners (25-7 overall) are the fourth seed in the Auburn (N.Y.) Regional and will face third-seeded Keystone College (21-4 overall) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament, which begins Thursday, May 27. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Falcon Park (directions).
General admission tickets are $3 (cash only) and can only be purchased at the gate each day. Temperature checks will be conducted upon entrance, and while masks are not required, fans are asked to bring them and also maintain proper social distancing. For those who can't make the trip, all games will have live video/audio streams and live stats (click here).
The winner of Thursday's game between Mitchell and Keystone will face either second-seeded SUNY Cortland or fifth-seeded Tufts University on Friday at 6 p.m. The loser will play either top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University or sixth-seeded Merchant Marine Academy on Friday at 2:30 p.m. to stave off elimination.
The winner of the regional advances to the eight-team NCAA Division III World Series, which will be held June 4-9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Mitchell's NCAA History
Mitchell is making its sixth NCAA appearance and first since 2018. The Mariners are 3-10 all-time in the tournament with victories in 2018 (vs. Suffolk), 2016 (vs. ECSU) and 2014 (vs. ECSU).
Mitchell vs. Keystone
Thursday's game will mark the second postseason meeting between Mitchell and Keystone, which last clashed in the 2018 Harwich Regional. The Giants pulled out a 3-2 victory thanks to a walk-off single by Bray Curreri in the 11th inning at Clark University's Granger Athletic Complex.
Mitchell vs. The Field
The Mariners also have a postseason history with three other teams in the Auburn Regional. Mitchell is 2-0 against ECSU (with wins in 2014 and 2016) and 0-1 against both SUNY Cortland (2011) and Tufts (2016).
Scouting the Giants
Keystone punched its NCAA ticket by winning the Colonial States Athletic Conference Championship on May 15. The Giants went 4-0 in the tournament to earn their 12th straight CSAC title and are making their 13th NCAA appearance.
Back to Falcon Park
Mitchell returns to Falcon Park for the first time since making its NCAA debut in 2011. The Mariners opened that year's tournament with a 3-1 loss to top-seeded SUNY Cortland before being eliminated by Brockport the following day.
How We Got Here
Mitchell finished first in the NECC regular season standings (14-2) and earned the right to host the 2021 NECC Championship. The Mariners then went 3-0 in the conference tournament and outscored their opponents by a 43-5 margin. Mitchell topped Elms College by a 15-2 final in the title game to claim its seventh NECC crown, with Dougie DelaCruz earning MVP honors while Hunter Yaworski and Roland Thivierge grabbed all-tournament spots.
Last Time Out
Mitchell hosted Salve Regina University–another NCAA qualifier–for a doubleheader on May 20. The Mariners saw an 11-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-1 loss in the opener. However, a walk-off homer by Hunter Yaworski propelled the Mariners a 9-6 victory in the nightcap. Yaworski hit a pair of three-run homers in the win.
Tournament Schedule
1. Eastern Connecticut State University (32-6)
2. SUNY Cortland (27-6)
3. Keystone College (21-4)
4. Mitchell College (25-7)
5. Tufts University (12-6)
6. Merchant Marine Academy (16-3)
Thursday, May 27
Game 1: (#1 seed) Eastern Connecticut State (32-6) vs. (#6 seed) Merchant Marine Academy (16-3), 11 a.m.
Game 2: (#2 seed) Cortland (27-6) vs. (#5 seed) Tufts (12-6), 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: (#3 seed) Keystone (21-4) vs. (#4 seed) Mitchell (25-7), 6 p.m.
Friday, May 28
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 29
Game 7: TBD
Game 8: TBD
Game 9: TBD
Sunday, May 30
Game 10: TBD
Game 11: TBD