NCAA DIII: Breaking down the baseball Regionals
NCAA DIII BASEBALL REGIONALS
MISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY COUGARS
Record: 33-9
Entry: MAC Freedom Conference champion
At the plate: INF/P Connor Maryniak hit 12 homers and knocked in 61, posting a 1.156 OPS. … Four Cougars regulars posted over 1.000 OPS. … OF Garrett McIlhenney hit .421 with a team-best 24 stolen bases and enters the regional with a hit in 10 of last 11 games.
On the mound: Maryniak is 9-2 with a 1.97 ERA, throwing a complete-game four-hitter in the conference championships against Arcadia. … Fellow starter Joe Valenti is 8-2 with a 2.06 ERA and a 1.03 walks plus hits per innings pitched. … Scranton Prep grad Matt Lazendorfer leads the Cougars with four saves, and opponents are hitting just .151 against him.
In the Regional: St. John Fisher, Middlebury College and Keystone College.
KEYSTONE COLLEGE GIANTS
Record: 33-11
Entry: United East Conference champion
At the plate: Junior OF Darren Hagan hit a team-best .410 with six homers and 41 RBIs. … INF Jacob Yager tied for the team lead with six homers, but led with 42 RBIs. … Giants stole 144 bases this season and were successful on a whopping 84 percent of their attempts. … OF Robert Estrada (27) and Hagan (23) led the way in steals.
On the mound: RHP Bryan Villar was named United East Skye Division Pitcher of the Year after going 8-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 10 starts. … Junior right-hander Sean Brennan was equally as good, posting a 7-2 mark with a 2.68 ERA and a 90 strikeouts in 57 innings.
In the Regional: Misericordia (host), Middlebury College and St. John Fisher
UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON ROYALS
Record: 30-11
Entry: Landmark Conference champion
At the plate: Junior INF Jake Elston posted a .557 on-base percentage, making him one of two Royals regulars with a .500 OBP. Sophomore C Vincent Napolitano (.500) is the other. … Senior INF John Zarnowski hit .351 with three homers and a team-best 51 RBIs. … Senior INF Jack Heineman ripped a team-best 14 doubles.
On the mound: Veteran right-hander Daniel Johnson is 6-0 with a 3.91 ERA in 10 games. … Fellow grad student Hunter Ralston is 5-1 with a 4.38 ERA. The Pittston Area grad has two complete-game wins in his last four outings. … Reliever Jason Carpenter has a 0.89 WHIP and allowed a run in just one of his last seven appearances out of the pen for the Royals.
In the Regional: Christopher Newport (host), North Carolina Wesleyan, Immaculata University
— DONNIE COLLINS
