NCAA DII Atlantic Regional information page (hosted by Millersville)  l  Photo Gallery (Wednesday practice)

All-Region releases:
NCBWA (Wednesday - Bennie Co-Player of the Year)
D2CCA (Thursday)

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University will compete in the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament for the third time in six seasons, and the fourth time in school history, as the Warriors travel to West Lawn, Pa. for the Atlantic Regional hosted by Millersville May 19-23.

ESU (36-16), which has set a school record for wins in a season, is the No. 6 seed in the seven-team field and faces No. 3 Mercyhurst (40-12) in its first round game on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

The Warriors are led by two PSAC award winners in redshirt senior Matt Festa, the PSAC East Co-Pitcher of the Year, and redshirt junior OF Robert Bennie, the PSAC East Athlete of the Year.

A school-record eight Warriors were named All-PSAC East this season, including seven on the first team - Festa, Bennie, redshirt junior 2B Jay Young, redshirt junior SS Conner Crookham, redshirt senior 3B Drew Hercik, junior utility (OF/LHP) Ian Allen and sophomore DH Christian Rishel - along with sophomore catcher Steven Zimmerman, Jr. on the second team.

ESU has previously competed in the NCAA Tournament in 1985, 2011 and 2013. The Warriors placed third in the regional in 2011, hosted by Millersville at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, for their best-ever national finish.

This year's regional will be held at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa., a suburb of Reading, and a 90-minute drive from ESU's campus.

Millersville (47-5) is the No. 1 seed and regional host. In Thursday's three games, No. 4 seed Shepherd (37-13) faces No. 5 Seton Hill (39-16) at 11 a.m., No. 2 seed West Chester (36-12) faces No. 7 Chowan (26-24) at 3 p.m. and ESU faces Mercyhurst at 7 p.m.

The PSAC gained five of the region's seven bids - West Chester earned the automatic bid by winning the PSAC championship last week in Butler, and Millersville, Mercyhurst, Seton Hill and ESU qualified as at-large teams. Shepherd (Mountain East) and Chowan (CIAA) also earned automatic bids.

The Warriors enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the top offensive teams in Division II baseball, leading the nation in on-base percentage (.453) and ranking 4th in batting average (.354), 12th in slugging percentage (.532) and 13th in runs per game (8.7).

ESU's top offensive team in school history has set program records for runs (454) and home runs (55), and is on target to set records for batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs per game and home runs per game.

The Warriors' offensive patience has been crucial and fueled DII's top team in on-base percentage. ESU ranks second in DII with 274 walks, the second-most in PSAC history and 10 from the record (284) set by Kutztown in 2001.

All seven teams in the regional are averaging at least seven runs per game this season.

ESU owns a 3-6 record in the NCAA Tournament, going 0-2 in 1985, 2-2 in 2011 and 1-2 in 2013.

The Warriors are 3-4 all-time vs. Mercyhurst, including the last five meetings in postseason play. ESU won 18-11 in the first round of the 2015 PSAC Tournament in the most recent match-up.

ESU head coach John Kochmansky, in his ninth season, has guided ESU to three NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons, and five PSAC Tournament trips in the last seven seasons. The Warriors have won 30 games for the fourth time under Kochmansky's leadership.

He enters the NCAA Tournament with a career record of 259-180-1 (.590), one win from tying the school record of 260 wins set by Roger Barren, who was 260-312-6 in 13 seasons (1994-06).

Information on ESU's probable starting lineup and NCAA DII ranks in major statistical categories for the tournament field is below.

Top four starting pitchers:

R-Sr. RHP Matt Festa - PSAC East Co-Pitcher of the Year … NCBWA and D2CCA All-Region 1st team ... national semifinalist for Brett Tomko Award ... school records for wins in season (11) and career (23) … has career record of 23-6 in three seasons at ESU, making 32 starts (37 appearances overall) … 204.0 innings (7th at ESU) … 205 strikeouts (3rd) … .793 winning percentage (23-6 - 2nd at ESU) … 3.49 ERA (5th at ESU since 1985) … 9.0 strikeouts per 9 innings (5th) … 3.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio (1st) … .250 batting average against (4th since 1991).

Festa in 2016: 11-1 in 12 starts (8 complete games, 2 shutouts) … 2.14 ERA, 95 strikeouts, 21 walks, 60 hits in 80.0 innings … started 10-0 (first PSAC pitcher to go 10-0 in first 10 starts in at least a decade) … ranks 4th in PSAC (22nd in DII) in ERA, 2nd in PSAC (28th in DII) in strikeouts, 4th in PSAC (34th in DII) in strikeouts per 9 innings, 3rd in PSAC (28th in DII) in hits allowed per 9 innings, 1st in PSAC (4th in DII) in complete games … holds ESU single-season record for wins (11) … 2nd in winning percentage (.917) … 2nd in strikeouts (95) … 3rd in innings (80.0) … 3rd in strikeouts per 9 innings (10.7) … 6th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.5) … t-1st in games started (12) … t-1st in complete games (8) … t-4th in shutouts (2) … 4th in batting average against (.203) … 7th in hits per 9 innings (6.7).

Jr. RHP Tyler Eckman - 5-5 in 12 starts (2 complete games) … 3.24 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 14 walks, 79 hits in 66.2 innings … 9th in PSAC in ERA ... All-PSAC East 1st team relief pitcher in 2015 (ESU record 9 saves) … made transition to starting rotation … t-1st at ESU in games started (12).

R-Sr. RHP Cody Klinger - 5-3 in 11 games (6 starts, 2 complete games) … 4.85 ERA, 44 strikeouts, 17 walks, 49 hits in 42.2 innings.

Sr. RHP Brandon Holup - 5-2 in 12 games (8 starts, 3 complete games, 1 shutout) … 5.08 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 18 walks, 63 hits in 51.1 innings … All-PSAC East 1st team starting pitcher in 2014 … Daktronics and NCBWA All-Region 2nd team … went 5-2 with 2.19 ERA in 11 games (7 starts) in 2014 … Career: 14-8 in 46 games (28 starts) … 6 complete games, 2 shutouts … 3.87 ERA (7th at ESU since 1985) … 163.0 innings … 144 strikeouts, 59 walks … 2.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio (5th at ESU).

Offense:

R-Jr. OF Robert Bennie - PSAC East Athlete of the Year in first season at ESU (transferred from DI Virginia) … NCBWA Atlantic Region Co-Offensive Player of the Year ... D2CCA All-Region 1st team ... national semifinalist for Tino Martinez Award ... hitting .413/.477/.670 with 85 hits, 19 doubles, 2 triples, 10 HR, 53 RBI, 63 runs, 21 walks, 6 HBP, 19-for-22 stolen bases … has started all 52 games … ESU single-season records for hits (85), total bases (138) and runs (63) … 6th in RBI (53) … 4th in extra-base hits (31), t-4th in doubles (19), t-3rd in HR (10) … currently 8th in batting (.413) and slugging (.670) … ranks 10th in PSAC in batting and on-base percentage and 8th in slugging percentage … t-8th in HR … 1st in hits and runs … 7th in RBI … 9th in stolen bases.

Jr. OF Ian Allen - PSAC East 1st team (utility - OF/LHP) … NCBWA All-Region 2nd team ... hitting .311/.448/.450 with 56 hits, 9 doubles, 5 triples, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 51 runs, 42 walks, 5 HBP, 35-for-39 stolen bases … has started all 52 games … on the mound, is 2-0 in 5 starts … 5.47 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 4 walks, 34 hits in 26.1 innings … NCBWA preseason All-America 3rd team utility … 1st in PSAC and set ESU single-season record for stolen bases (35) … ranks t-1st in career stolen bases (66) … 25th at ESU in career hits (132) … 7th in career walks (85) … t-2nd in single-season walks (42) … career batting line of .312/.433/.470 … career pitching record of 9-2 in 18 starts (4 shutouts, 1 complete game) … 101 strikeouts, 23 walks, 110 hits in 90.0 innings … threw no-hitter at Virginia State in 2015.

R-Jr. SS Conner Crookham - PSAC East 1st team … NCBWA All-Region 2nd team ... hitting .357/.451/.664 with 51 hits, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 10 HR, 48 RBI, 43 runs, 25 walks, 3 HBP, 4-for-5 stolen bases … has played in 46 games (44 starts) … t-8th in PSAC in HR … ranks t-4th at ESU in career HR (16) in just 70 games over 2 seasons … t-3rd in single-season HR (10) … career line of .386/.460/.700 after transferring from DI Old Dominion.

R-Sr. 3B Drew Hercik - PSAC East 1st team … D2CCA All-Region 1st team ... hitting .377/.520/.623 with 63 hits, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 45 RBI, 57 runs, 47 walks, 6 HBP, 10-for-12 stolen bases … has started all 52 games … ranks 3rd in PSAC in on-base percentage (.520) … ranks in ESU's career top 10 in 9 categories … holds school record for games played (all 199 in career) … 1st in walks (101) … t-1st in runs (159) … 2nd in RBI (127) … 2nd in total bases (300) … t-4th in HR (16) … 5th in hits (202) … 5th in extra-base hits (62) … t-5th in doubles (42) … school record for single-season walks (47) … t-7th in extra-base hits (26) … 10th in total bases (104) … t-4th in runs (57).

R-Sr. 1B Matt Walewski - Hitting .337/.444/.454 with 55 hits, 10 doubles, 3 HR, 47 RBI, 38 runs, 30 walks, 6 HBP, 3-for-5 stolen bases … has played in 50 games (49 starts) … career batting average (.345) currently ranks t-6th among 4-year players in school history … 10th at ESU in career RBI (100) … 21st in career hits (140).

So. DH Christian Rishel - PSAC East 1st team … hitting .373/.435/.576 with 66 hits, 9 doubles, 9 HR, 51 RBI, 47 runs, 15 walks, 9 HBP, 5-for-9 stolen bases … has played in all 52 games (50 starts) … hit .302/.328/.440 in 39 games (29 starts) as a freshman in 2015 … 11 career HR … ranks 12th at ESU in single-season hits (66) … t-7th in HR (9) … 13th in total bases (102) … t-8th in RBI (51).

R-Jr. OF Casey Saverio - Hitting .317/.444/.463 with 52 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 5 HR, 40 RBI, 40 runs, 36 walks, 3 HBP, 15-for-15 stolen bases … has played in all 52 games (51 starts) … career line of .319/.447/.457 in 99 games (98 starts) after transferring from DI Monmouth … 31-for-34 in career stolen bases … ranks 6th at ESU in single-season walks (36).

So. C Steven Zimmerman, Jr. - PSAC East 2nd team … hitting .338/.476/.599 with 48 hits, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 9 HR, 40 RBI, 46 runs, 29 walks, 11 HBP, 7-for-9 stolen bases … has played in 49 games (48 starts) … has thrown out 15 of 37 opposing base stealers … hit .286/.400/.364 in 39 games (31 starts) as a freshman … has reached base 88 times, including 29 walks and 11 HBP (t-3rd season HBP at ESU).

R-Jr. 2B Jay Young - PSAC East 1st team … NCBWA and D2CCA All-Region 1st team ... hitting .403/.455/.448 with 62 hits, 7 doubles, 41 RBI, 37 runs, 13 walks, 6 HBP, 8-for-8 stolen bases … has played in 50 games (46 starts) … career .377 batting average (143-for-379) … hit .396/.453/.491 in 45 games (43 starts) in 2015 … ranks 20th at ESU in career hits (143) in three seasons … 2015 Academic All-America 2nd team.


NCAA Division II Ranks

#1 Millersville (47-5)
Batting - .359 (2)
On-Base % - .441 (4)
Slugging % - .516 (20)
Runs/Game - 9.1 (6)
ERA - 3.23 (11)

#2 West Chester (36-12)
Batting - .315 (55)
On-Base % - .400 (56)
Slugging % - .481 (45)
Runs/Game - 7.1 (59)
ERA - 5.26 (132)

#3 Mercyhurst (40-12)
Batting - .336 (12)
On-Base % - .429 (9)
Slugging % - .535 (9)
Runs/Game - 7.8 (32)
ERA - 3.00 (6)

#4 Shepherd (37-13)
Batting - .336 (13)
On-Base % - .419 (14)
Slugging % - .533 (10)
Runs/Game - 8.1 (24)
ERA - 5.10 (122)

#5 Seton Hill (39-16)
Batting - .323 (37)
On-Base % - .415 (20)
Slugging % - .541 (8)
Runs/Game - 7.8 (33)
ERA - 4.59 (84)

#6 ESU (36-16)
Batting - .354 (4)
On-Base % - .453 (1)
Slugging % - .532 (12)
Runs/Game - 8.7 (13)
ERA - 4.88 (106)

#7 Chowan (26-24)
Batting - .330 (24)
On-Base % - .414 (25)
Slugging % - .473 (55)
Runs/Game - 7.2 (56)
ERA - 6.53 (197)