Baseball Tournament Bracket

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Worcester State Lancers have earned the top seed in the 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament which begins with first round action on Thursday, May 1 then the quarterfinals Friday, May 2, followed by the semifinals on Saturday May 3 and commences with the championship on Sunday, May 4.

Both Worcester State and Salem State earned a first round-bye and will await the winners of the first round game on Thursday. Third-seeded Framingham State is set to host sixth-seeded Bridgewater State at 3 p.m. while fourth-seeded Westfield State will play host to fifth-seeded Fitchburg State also at 3 p.m.

Worcester State will face off with the winner of Westfield State/Fitchburg State while Salem State will match up with either Framingham State/Bridgewater State in the quarterfinals which then becomes a double elimination tournament. The tournament continues on Saturday at top-seeded Worcester State with the first game at 10 a.m. followed Sunday by the championship game which is set to begin at Noon at Rockwood Park with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.

The Lancers landed the top seed in the tournament with an 11-3 mark in conference play this season and a share of the regular season title. Dave Ruggiero led the way for Worcester State, batting .395 and a slugging percentage of .535 with the third most hits in the conference at 20. Teammate Kris Doyle has been strong on the mound during his freshman campaign with a 2.87 ERA, five wins and three complete games tossed.

Salem State finished the season with an 11-3 conference record to earn a piece of the MASCAC regular season crown as well. Brett Cahill led the way with the fourth best batting average in the MASCAC (.402) and led the conference in RBI (31). Second baseman Richard Fecteau had a strong year for the Vikings, hitting .375 with 21 doubles, four triples and 26 RBI. Pitcher Ryan Hyjek finished his senior season with six wins, a 2.10 ERA and 41 strikeouts.

Landing the third seed is Framingham State with an 8-6 conference mark. Having a stellar first year for the Rams was freshman Mike Andrews who ended the regular season with the best ERA in the conference (0.97) and a perfect 7-0 record. Teammate Mark Mainini was a thief on the base paths, leading the league in stolen bases with 21. Westfield State nabbed the fourth seed with a 7-7 conference mark. E.G. McMillian led the Owls with a .411 batting average along with two doubles and 12 RBI on the year.

Rounding out the tournament field are Fitchburg State and Bridgewater State with the fifth and sixth seed, respectively. Fitchburg State ended the year at 6-8 in the league. Stephen Drury Jr. closed out his freshman year for the Falcons atop the MASCAC in batting average (.455) and tied for second in the conference in RBI (26). Bridgewater State earned the final seed in the tournament with an identical 6-8 record. Ryan Manning led the Bears in batting average at .360 with eight RBI while teammate Nick White came in right behind him with a .353 batting average, nine doubles and 12 RBI on the year.

During the 2013 season, top-seeded Salem State took home the MASCAC tournament title after defeating third-seeded Westfield State, 5-0.