NCAA Division II East Regional Championship final
#4 Southern New Hampshire (38-15)
vs.
#2 St. Thomas Aquinas (39-14)
Monday, May 21, 2018 - 12 p.m.
Finnerty Field - Pleasantville, N.Y.
SERIES: SNHU leads, 8-7
LAST MEETING: SNHU 8, #17 St. Thomas Aquinas 1 (05/20/18 at Pleasantville, N.Y.)
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Last time out: SNHU 8, #17 St. Thomas Aquinas 1 (05/20/18 at Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Streak: Won 3
Offensive Leaders:
#7 Tom Blandini – 53 G, 73-216, .338/.427/.500, 1 HR, 47 RBI, 49 R, 12 2B, 10 3B, 15 SB
#2 Kyle Pangallo – 53 G, 61-183, .333/.428/.448, 30 RBI, 38 R, 15 2B, 3 3B, 16 SB
#23 Caleb Potter – 50 G, 57-190, .300/.392/.547, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 42 R, 10 2B, 2 3B, 7 SB
#26 Dakota Mulcay – 42 G, 37-143, .259/.383/.462, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 28 R, 5 2B
Probable Starter:
#35 Shane McDonald – 11 G, 11 GS, 6-2, 4.50 ERA, 66.0 IP, 61 H, 37 R, 33 ER, 94/21 K/BB
Out of the 'Pen:
#13 Hayden Manning – 12 G, 0-0, 1 SV, 1.15 ERA, 15.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 22/9 K/BB
#33 Wesley Tobin – 16 G, 3-1, 1 SV, 1.20 ERA, 30.0 IP, 21 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 34/9 K/BB
#30 Brendan Welch– 16 G, 2-1, 1 SV, 1.45 ERA, 18.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 19/13 K/BB
#36 Jeffrey Praml – 10 G, 0-0, 1 SV, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 12/2 K/BB
Notes: For the first time under the current format, Southern New Hampshire advanced to the NCAA East Regional final through the winner's bracket with an 8-1 triumph over second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday ... the Penmen, who are in the regional final for the third straight season, will look to avenge last season's regional title game loss to the Spartans ... SNHU opened the scoring with a pair in the second and led, 3-1, when it collected some breathing room with a four-run sixth, before adding a run in the seventh ... sophomore Tom Blandini (Bow, N.H.) was 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored, while redshirt-sophomore Joshua Goldstein (Haverhill, Mass.) went 3-for-3 with a walk, RBI and a run ... freshman Sam Henrie (Middleboro, Mass.) finished 1-for-2 with his first career home run, a pair of walks, an RBI and three runs scored, with classmate Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.; walk, two runs) and senior Kyle Pangallo (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; RBI, run) each going 1-for-3 ... graduate student Andrew Lalonde (Bedford, N.H.) improved to 6-4, as he allowed one run on two hits, while striking out two and walking one, over five-plus innings ... sophomore Wesley Tobin (Portsmouth, N.H.) earned his first save with four no-hit innings, fanning seven and walking three ... the Penmen will be looking for their first regional title and trip to the College World Series since 2012.
#17 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Last time out: #17 St. Thomas Aquinas 4, New Haven 0 (05/20/18 at Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Streak: Won 1
Offensive Leaders:
#7 Joseph Pena – 53 G, 71-191, .372/.502/.550, 1 HR, 37 RBI, 50 R, 19 2B, 6 3B, 37 SB
#47 Giovanni Dingcong – 53 G, 68-187, .364/.467/.717, 15 HR, 55 RBI, 48 R, 15 2B, 3 3B, 21 SB
#8 Nicholas Lucchese – 48 G, 54-178, .303/.377/.404, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 33 R, 9 2B, 13 SB
#23 Cris Ruiz – 42 G, 37-124, .298/.396/.379, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 17 R, 4 2B, 11 SB
Possible Starter:
#11 Frankie Moscatiello – 14 G, 12 GS, 9-2, 1 SV, 2.57 ERA, 77.0 IP, 43 H, 25 R, 22 ER, 72/45 K/BB
Out of the 'Pen:
#45 Reyan Mustafoski – 7 G, 0-0, 3.52 ERA, 7.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2/4 K/BB
#14 Chris Pennell – 22 G, 2 GS, 7-1, 3 SVs, 1.73 ERA, 41.2 IP, 26 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 48/16 K/BB
#4 Angelo Baez – 19 G, 1 GS, 4-2, 11 SVs, 2.54 ERA, 39.0 IP, 29 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 43/11 K/BB
Notes: After falling to Southern New Hampshire in the morning game Sunday, St. Thomas Aquinas claimed its spot in the regional final the hard way with a 4-0 blanking of top-seeded New Haven in the nightcap ... the Spartans hung a three-spot in the second and added one more in the sixth, which was more than enough ... senior Chris Pennell fired a complete-game, four-hit shutout, as he struck out 13 and did not issue a walk over the nine innings ... senior Giovanni Dingcong (two RBI) and junior Michael Morgan (two RBI, run) were each 2-for-4 ... senior Mark Shkrelja went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while sophomore Anthony Maisano (run), redshirt-senior Bobby Morse and freshman Kyle Lagrutta were all 1-for-4.
