Bracket

Framingham State earned the top seed in this week's MASCAC Baseball Tournament which begins on Thursday with the first round and quarterfinal games.

Hosted by the one and two seeds, the first round games begin on Thursday, May 11 with #3 Westfield State facing #6 Fitchburg State hosted by #2 Bridgewater State at 11 am with the winner facing the Bears in the quarterfinals at 2 pm. #4 Worcester State will play #5 Mass. Maritime hosted by #1 Framingham State at 11 am with that winner meeting the Rams at 3 pm.

After the first round games, the tournament becomes double elimination and will continue Friday with two semifinals, Saturday the last semifinal and championship game then Sunday is the "if necessary" championship game. The tournament winner will not only be MASCAC Champion, but they earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Framingham State claimed the top seed with a 15-3 record at the end of MASCAC action for a share of the regular season crown. Leading the way for the Rams was Ryan Boyle who closed out the regular season atop the league in several categories, including batting average (.378), slugging percentage (.646), RBI (47), doubles (10), home runs (8) and total hits (48).

Earning the other hosting duties and share of the regular season title is Bridgewater State in the second seed. The Bears were also 15-3 this season. On the hill, Matt Josselyn was tough to hit with a 2.11 ERA, seven wins, eight complete games, three shutouts and 69 strikeouts over 64 innings of work to finish atop the league leaderboard in many spots.

Sitting in the third spot is Westfield State. The Owls concluded the MASCAC schedule with a 13-8 record. Riding a late season hot streak is Ethan Day who finished the regular season with a .388 batting average, 13 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 21 runs scored, .500 slugging percentage and 18 walks for the Owls.

Worcester State lands the fourth seed after going 11-10 in league play. Alex Sorenti-Burns led the Lancers with a .313 batting average, six doubles, three home runs, 28 RBI, 20 walks, 26 runs scored and 36 total hits on the season so far. 

Rounding out the 2023 tournament field is Mass. Maritime and Fitchburg State with the fifth and sixth seed. The Buccaneers collected 10 MASCAC wins while the Falcons had nine. For Mass. Maritime, Brett Velvis had a solid season, averaging . 377 at the plate with a .623 slugging percentage along with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, 27 RBI and 36 runs scored. For Fitchburg State, Vinny Eramo was a force at the plate, batting .383 with a .744 slugging percentage, 11 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 18 walks, 52 RBI, 31 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. 

During the 2022 MASCAC Baseball Tournament, Bridgewater State  captured its sixth Tournament title and first since 2012 as the top-seeded Bears downed #3 seed Massachusetts Maritime, 7-4, in the championship round to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.