ESU NCAA Tournament History: Making back-to-back appearances for the first time program history and sixth all-time, the Warriors hold a 9-11 record in 20 NCAA tournament games. The Warriors advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Super Regional for the first time in program history in 2022 but came up one game short of advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships.
About the Warriors: Getting off to their best 30-game start in program history, the Warriors enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Region with a record of 35-12. ESU is the best pitching team in NCAA Division II, maintaining the top ERA at 3.06 across 376.1 innings pitched while ranking third in WHIP (1.26), sixth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.89) and 12th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.65). The Warriors are the second-best fielding team in the country with a 0.982 percentage and have been presence on the base paths. ESU eclipsed the single season record for steals while ranking third in the country with 175 as well as third in stolen bases per game with 3.72.
Victor Cruz paces the Warriors offensively as the graduate student owns a team-high .355 batting average, .444 on-base and .522 slugging percentage. He has notched 49 hits, including 15 doubles, 35 RBI and 17 stolen bases. Mike Kelly plugged into ESU’s lineup perfectly since transferring as the junior owns a .344 batting average, .447 on-base and .405 slugging percentage. Kelly recorded 45 hits and ranks 26th in the country for stolen bases, going a nearly perfect 31-of-32. Sophomore Jack Rothenhausler continues to impress in his second season wearing the red and black as the Bethlehem native is hitting .346 with a .426 on-base and .519 slugging percentage. Rothenhausler leads ESU with 56 hits, five home runs, 39 RBI and 84 total bases.
Anchoring the top pitching staff in the country are starters Chase Nowak, Tom Reisinger and Brent Francisco. Nowak is 8-3, with the 19th-best ERA in Division II at 2.10, across a team-high 77.0 innings pitched to go along with 78 strikeouts. In his final season with the Warriors, Nowak set the program records for wins (27), strikeouts (298), innings pitched (264.2) and games started (51). Reisinger is in the midst of a stellar junior campaign as the Kulpmont native holds a 6-2 record and 2.79 ERA to go along with 89 strikeouts, which ranks 35th in the country, in 67.2 innings pitched. Francisco holds an 8-3 record in 13 starts, pitching to a 3.04 ERA in 68.0 innings while punching out 52 hitters.
Appearing in a team-high 21 games, Nick McAuliffe is 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA while recording three saves and 62 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched during his first season with ESU. Redshirt senior Mike Yates has been brilliant in 14 appearances, pitching to a 1.81 ERA in 24.2 innings to go along with 19 strikeouts and three saves.
All-PSAC: Led by PSAC East Pitcher of the Year Chase Nowak, the Warriors paced its side of the conference with five All-PSAC East First Team selections including, Mike Kelly (OF), Tom Reisinger (SP), Nick McAuliffe (RP), Cameron Hubbard (DH) and Nowak.
CSC Academic All-District: On Tuesday, redshirt junior outfielder Ben Piripavel was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. The Bethlehem native became the seventh overall and fifth individual in program history to be an Academic All-District selection, joining Christian Rishel (2019), Jay Young (2015), Eric Boyer (2011-13) and Bill Hezel (2009).
Scouting the Lakers: The Lakers earned the No. 6 seed in the Atlantic Region with a record of 28-15 overall after dropping their first game of the PSAC Tournament to West Chester in extra innings. Mercyhurst earned a trio of All-PSAC honors with Jarrett Hieman leading the way as the PSAC West Pitcher of the Year, while Eric Chorba and Zachary Kourous were named to the Second Team.
Scouting the Griffins: Seton Hill, who earned the PSAC’s automatic bid after winning the PSAC Championship, earned the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Region with a 44-10 record. The Griffins recorded 10 All-PSAC West selections including Freshman of the Year honors to Jack Whalen and Coach of the Year accolades for Marc Marizzaldi.
Scouting the Raiders: Earning their first NCAA Championship appearance since the 2017 season, Shippensburg (27-23) was tabbed as the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Region. The Raiders had three players named to the All-PSAC East Second Team including Justin Byler, Austen LaBarre and Mike Heckman.
What’s Next: The two regional winners will meet in the NCAA Atlantic Super Regional on May 26th and 27th. The Super Regional is a best of three series. The eight regional winners will advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships at the USA Baseball Training Facility in Cary, NC from June 3-10.
