BOSTON - For the fourth time in the last five seasons, Stony Brook is the America East baseball regular-season champion and will be the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament as the regular season came to a close Saturday. Joining the Seawolves at next week's tournament will be second-seeded UMBC, third-seeded Maine and fourth-seeded Hartford.
The 2015 America East Baseball Championship will take place May 21-24 at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass., for the third-straight year, home of the UMass Lowell River Hawks and Boston Red Sox Class A Affiliate Lowell Spinners. All games of the four-day, double-elimination tournament will be available for free on AmericaEast.TV. Tickets will be sold at the door of LeLacheur Park and will be $10 for adults, $5 for youth (14 and under) and $2 for America East students with valid ID.
Stony Brook (31-14-1, 18-4-1 AE) had already locked-up its fourth regular-season title heading into the weekend and concluded the America East regular-season by losing only one conference series. The Seawolves are tied for third in America East history with four regular-season titles, matching Binghamton and trailing only Maine (6) and Delaware (7) for most all time. The Seawolves boast five of the top-six hitters in terms of batting average during conference play.
UMBC (32-18, 14-10 AE) is making its first America East Championship appearance since 2008 and only its second overall in school history. The Retrievers had clinched a tournament spot heading into the weekend, but needed a 4-0 win in game two of their series with Hartford to clinch the No. 2 seed. The second-place finish is the best in Retriever program history and eclipsed the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2002. Freshman Matt Chanin and junior Conrad Wozniak and one-two in ERA during conference play.
Maine (24-26, 10-10 AE) is making its sixth-straight tournament appearance, finishing the regular-season by winning five of its last six conference games. The Black Bears clinched a spot in the tournament with a win over Albany to open the weekend. Maine pitching staff has been led by freshman Justin Courtney, who is 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA during conference play.
Hartford (22-29, 10-12 AE) is making its second-straight trip to the tournament. Prior to the last two years, the Hawks had not made the tournament since 1996. The Hawks won the first game of their three-game series with UMBC, 1-0, to clinch a tournament spot.
On Thursday, Stony Brook will face Hartford at 1 p.m. and UMBC will take on Maine at 5 p.m.. Following Thursday's doubleheader, two games will be played Friday with two more on Saturday and the if necessary championship game is scheduled for Sunday. The league champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Baseball Championship.
Visit Championship Central for complete updates throughout the tournament.
2015 America East Baseball Championship
At LeLacheur Park, Lowell Mass.
Thursday, May 21
Game 1: No. 1 Stony Brook vs. No. 4 Hartford, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 UMBC vs. No. 3 Maine, 5 p.m.
Friday, May 22
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 1 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 23
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser, 1 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 5 p.m. (championship game)
Sunday, May 24 (If Necessary)
Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, Noon