America East Conference Baseball News & Notes

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America East Conference Baseball News & Notes

The regular season is over in the America East Conference. The 2018 Tournament is set to begin on Wednesday morning and continue throughout the day at Mahoney Diamond on the University of Maine campus. Here is how the championship shapes up.

The Hartford Hawks are your 2018 regular season champion with a 16-8 mark. They receive a bye and do not play until Thursday. Also getting a bye and waiting to play on Thursday, is the UMass Lowell River Hawks by virtue of their second-place finish. For the River Hawks, who are eligible for the postseason for the first time since joining the league, their finish is both impressive and maybe a bit of a surprise.

Congrats to @HartfordBASE, 2018 #AEBASE regular-season champs! The Hawks also capture the No. 1 seed in the #AEBASE tournament! pic.twitter.com/fliYJzzBR2

— America East (@AmericaEast) May 18, 2018

The Tournament will begin with Stony Brook meeting Maine at 11 am. The Seawolves come to Maine as the only team in the field with an overall record above .500 (29- 23). Nick Grande makes the offense go as he finished the season second in hitting at .386. He ended the year, second in hits with 73, and third in total bases with 111. As a top of the order guy, Grande was a threat to steal bases. He led America East in stolen bases by swiping 30 in 35 attempts.

On the mound, look for Stony Brook to give the ball to Aaron Pinto when they have a lead late in the game. He recorded 11 saves which was tops in the league. His record of 4-2, 1.18 ERA is solid. So is giving up only five earned runs in 38 innings pitched.

For the host school, the Maine Black Bears, Junior SS Jeremy Pena enters the tournament hot!!! He is riding a 12-game hitting streak. Pena is the only member of the Black Bears to play all 50 games. He leads the team in batting with a .309 average, and in hits with 60. He also has 10 stolen bases to his credit in 11 attempts.

UMBC and Albany may be getting a little tired of seeing each other. On Wednesday afternoon, these two teams will be facing off against each other for the fourth straight game. They just concluded a three-game series at Maryland-Baltimore County. Albany was able to snap a six-game losing streak during that series. Patrick Lagravinese has started all 41 games, hitting .295 with 10 extra base hit. On the hill, Dominic Savino has been finishing what he starts. In his last 10 starts, Savino has completed seven of them. In 71 innings he has given up 72 hits while striking out 62. Look for him to get the Wednesday start.

A year ago, UMBC was winning this event when it was held in Lowell. The defending champions return to the field looking to repeat. Help from Zack Bright would be a step in that direction. Bright was fifth in the batting race with a .310 average and fourth in doubles with 11. Mitchell Wilson may be the starter on Wednesday and he has a 3-1 record with a 3.40 ERA. to go with 34 hits allowed in 42 innings.

The 2018 #AEBASE bracket is set, here are the initial matchups!

More info at championship central: https://t.co/VR2nBtZzaO pic.twitter.com/mcFBwPJuJY

— America East (@AmericaEast) May 21, 2018

The third game of the first day will pit the two losers against each other in an elimination game.

Waiting in the wings will be the two teams with a bye, Hartford, and Lowell. The Hawks boast the leading hitter in the conference. Mark Campana ended the year with a .409 average. He was first in hits (74), doubles (16), tied for first in HRs with 10, leads the league in total bases with 120, and had 20 stolen bases in 25 tries.

Closer Stephen Schoch tied for second in saves with 10 and 63 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched. The Hawks will await the winner of the Stony Brook versus Maine matchup.

It's official! We have clinched a berth in the #AEBASE tournament for the first time in program history! #RiseUp #UnitedInBlue pic.twitter.com/p75Ii7IAaS

— UMass Lowell Baseball (@RiverHawkBB) May 13, 2018

The River Hawks finished the season with a 13-11 conference record. They may also have the Player of the Year in their lineup. Junior Russ Olive hit a robust. 368 this year, and his 13 home runs lead the league. Olive slugged .665 hitting third in the lineup.

The fourth-place hitter was not bad either. First basemen Steve Passatempo hit a hard .299, finishing second on the team with 32 RBIs. Passatempo bat was getting warm at the right time for the River Hawks. This might be the best three-four hitters in this field.

Coach Ken Harring of UMass Lowell took his season-opening closer and turned him into a starter. Nick Rand has been impressive his last two times out, both wins against Fairfield and Stony Brook. He has not allowed a run in his last 12 innings pitched. Overall, he is 3-3 with a 3.57 earned run average.

The River Hawks will face the winner of the UMBC versus Albany game on Thursday afternoon