| Scouting the No. 3 Messiah College Falcons (22-18, 13-8) |
 Messiah seems to be peaking at the right time, the Falcons finished the regular season as winners in 12 of their last 14 games. After holding a 10-16 record as recently as Apr. 9, the Falcons have turned it around and won 12 of their last 14 games to now stand four-games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2011 season (25-19).
The recent stretch has been paced by strong pitching, the Falcons' pitching staff has pitched to a 1.90 ERA over 109.0 innings. In those games Messiah has struck out 91 batters and allowed just 20 extra-base hits. While the pitching has set the tone, the bats have come alive as well. Messiah is batting .310 over the 14 game stretch with 46 extra-base hits including eight home runs. Messiah has also gone 30-33 on stolen base attempts during the streak.
Players to Watch:
- Joseph Saufley - Saufley has been most consistent offensive piece in the Falcons' line-up over the past two years. This year Saufley is slashing .384/.476/.674 with nine home runs, 40 RBI, and 35 runs. Saufley picked-up his third-straight All-MAC Commonwealth award with a Second Team award this season.
- Adam Janney - Messiah's everyday shortstop, Janney has been a consistent bat in the middle of the Falcons' order this season. Janney has slashed .315/.340/.409 with 14 RBI and 33 runs scored.
- Ben Sollenberger - As Messiah's leadoff hitter, Sollenberger slashed .336/.408/.497 with four home runs and 14 RBI. Sollenberger has played exceptional defense in left and center field in addition to his efforts at the plate.
- Josh Good - Good has put together his finest season on the diamond in his final year with the team. He slashed .310/.369/.397 with a home run and 21 RBI. Good also collected two separate four-hit games on the season.
- Steven Ridings - The MAC Commonwealth's pitcher of the Year, Ridings made 11 starts in the regular season and pitched to a 6-4 record over 74.1 innings and a 1.94 ERA. Ridings threw a complete game shutout against Stevenson with nine strikeouts and three hits allowed.
- John Griffitts - Griffitts has pitched exceptionally well in his first year as a conference starter for the Falcons. In seven starts (10 appearances), Griffitts has gone 4-2 with a 2.67 ERA over 54.0 innings. Against Albright on Mar. 19, he struck on 14 batters in a complete game, two-hit shutout.
- Drew Betz - Messiah's most effective reliever during the 2016 season has been right-handed, side-arm slinger Drew Betz. Betz was named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth earlier this morning. He made 19 appearances and pitched to a 1.21 ERA with a 3-2 record. Betz also tied the Messiah record for single-season saves with his fourth and fifth saves in his last two appearances.
Insider Notes:
- Joseph Saufley's .476 on-base percentage this season is the highest since Craig Mease got on base at a .534 clip. Saufley's 23 walks are also the most in a season since Ryan Brown walked 31 times in 2012.
- Messiah has won 12 of their last 14 games to end the regular season. It is their best record over a 14 game stretch since the 2011 team went 12-2 from Mar. 19 to Apr. 11.
- Steven Ridings' Pitcher of the Year honor from the MAC Commonwealth is Messiah's fifth in school history. He is the first winner since Kyle Brobst won in 2005. Brobst's honor ended a stretch of four straight awards being given to the Falcons.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
CF - Ben Sollenberger (.336)
SS - Adam Janney (.315)
1B - Joseph Saufley (.384)
DH - Kyle Schoen (.262)
3B - Colin Fry (.284)
RF - Josh Good (.310)
C - Jon Mullin (.299)
2B - Austin Pletcher (.188)
CF - Andrew Eyster (.280)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Steven Ridings
74.1 IP -- 1.94 ERA -- .219 BAA
John Griffitts
54.0 IP -- 2.67 ERA -- .218 BAA
Zach Luman
50.2 IP -- 4.08 ERA -- .291 BAA
Drew Betz
29.2 IP -- 1.21 ERA - .208 BAA |
| Scouting the No. 1 Alvernia University Crusaders (27-13, 17-4) |
 The Crusaders took the top seed in the conference tournament thanks to an impressive streak to end the season. Much like the Falcons, Alvernia has been on fire in the month of April. the Crusaders have won 16 of their last 18 games with both of their losses coming on the road to Lebanon Valley (10-4) and Arcadia (3-2) during that stretch.
The Crusaders began the year 5-6 and have played to a 22-7 record since, including the hot streak during the month of April.
As a team the Crusaders are batting .323 on the season with 28 home runs and 108 extra-base hits. While the bats have carried the Crusaders throughout the regular-season their pitching is not something to overlook. The Crusaders staff holds a 3.44 ERA over 313.2 innings on the mound. They have struck out 225 batters while issuing 101 free passes.
Players to Watch:
- Cameron Coons - Coons was named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year after slashing .426/.479/.651. Coons knocked four home runs, 15 doubles, drove in 33 runs, and scored 24 runs. He was first in the conference in both batting average and on-base percentage.
- Nathan Sides - As the primary leadoff hitter for the Crusaders, Sides slashed .368/.422/.479 and played solid defense at short. The freshman was named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth for his play at short. He holds a .937 fielding percentage.
- Chris Burns - The power threat in the Crusaders line-up Burns hammered nine home runs (eight of which came in the first 19 games). He has batted .348 on the season with a .607 slugging percentage.
When they met:
- The Crusaders swept the Falcons in their three game series with wins of 2-1, 4-3, and 7-3. In the 4-3 victory, the Crusaders rallied to score two runs in the ninth and walked off on a throwing error that would have ended the game. Ben Sollenberger, Joseph Saufley, and Kyle Wickenheiser each homered in the series for Messiah, Chris Burns homered for Alvernia.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
SS - Nathan Sides (.368)
3B - Mike Cunningham (.296)
LF - Franco Esposito (.305)
DH - Chris Burnes (.348)
1B - Cameron Coons (.426)
RF - Ben Dubas (.336)
2B - Ian Shaffer (.284)
C - James Bertolotti (.330)
CF - Joe IacoBellis (.407)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Thomas Malik
55.2 IP -- 2.26 ERA -- .256 BAA
John Catchmark
59.1 IP -- 3.19 ERA -- .267 BAA
Zack Landy
16.1 IP -- 0.00 ERA -- .230 BAA |
| Scouting the No. 2 Widener University Pride (21-16-1, 14-7) |
 The Pride finished the regular season with a 21-16-1 overall record and a 14-7 mark in the conference. It's been a balanced team effort thus far for the Pride. They are relatively middle of the pack in the conference in both overall pitching and hitting, ranking fifth in batting average (.293), third in runs scored per game (6.18 runs), fourth in ERA (4.86), and fifth in runs allowed per game (.5.73 runs). While the Pride haven't excelled in any one area, they haven't lagged behind either.
The numbers all add up to the Pride receiving the No. 2 seed in this weekend's tournament. The Pride are looking for the second conference title in the last three years after defeating Alvernia 3-2 in the Championship game in 2014.
Players to Watch:
- Josh Lafferty - The sophomore starter earned First Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors after a stellar 2016 season. Lafferty started nine games, going seven-plus innings in six of his starts. He pitched to a 7-2 record over 61.2 innings with a conference-low, among starters, 1.90 ERA.
- Nicholas Enos - Widener's shortstop, Enos has been the Pride's most consistent hitter this season. He has slashed .366/.408/.412 with 22 RBI and 22 runs scored. Enos was an honorable mention to the All-Conference team.
- Bob Barnett - Widener's leftfielder and regular three-hole hitter had a solid season in his junior campaign. Barnett was second on the team with a .353 average. He drove home 29 run and score 29 runs as well.
When They Met:
The Falcons and Pride completed their three game series just this past weekend. Messiah took two out of three games, winning the single game on Friday (7-2) and splitting the doubleheader on Saturday (Game One, Widener 5-3 - Game Two Messiah 7-1). In the series, Joseph Saufley hammered two home runs and Adam Janney went 8-13 at the plate.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
3B - Michael Elfreth (.344)
RF - Nick D'Alessandro (.298)
LF - Bob Barnett (.353)
2B - Justin Healey (.338)
SS - Nicholas Enos (.366)
DH - Stephen DeBellis (.263)
CF - Greg McDonough (.272)
C - Glenn Seymour (.217)
1B - Kyle Lowery (.210)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Josh Lafferty
61.2 IP -- 1.90 ERA -- .242 BAA
Kyle McKelvy
58.0 IP -- 4.50 ERA -- .256 BAA
Elliot Snyder
14.2 IP -- 1.84 ERA -- .250 BAA |
| Scouting the No. 4 Stevenson College Mustangs (20-20, 11-10) |
 The Mustangs enter the MAC Commonwealth Tournament with an even 20-20 overall record and an 11-10 mark in the MAC Commonwealth. The Mustangs swept their final series of the season over the Albright Lions to secure their spot in the playoffs. The Mustangs have been right around .500 all season long. They are a balanced team scoring 6.18 runs per game and allowing 6.33 per game.
Stevenson's numbers are relatively consistent across both non-conference and conference games. They are about even in pretty much every statistical category with their opponents. They are playing slightly better in conference games, on the season, Stevenson is batting .298 in conference play with 11 home runs, both third among MAC Commonwealth teams. On the mound the Mustangs have pitched to a 5.44 ERA in conference games with 115 strikeouts. Their 115 conference strikeouts ranks third behind Messiah (167) and Alvernia (127).
Players to Watch:
- Ian Eberly - Eberly was named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth for his play in the outfield this season. Eberly led the Mustangs with a .358 batting average. He drove home 28 runs and scored 37 of his own from the top of the Stevenson line-up.
- Alec Romanowski - The lone Mustangs' pitcher with a sub-four ERA (more than 20 innings) collected a 3.79 ERA in 73.2 innings on the mound. Romanowski went 5-3 in 11 starts with two complete games and 49 strikeouts over 73.2 innings. He picked up Second Team All-Conference honors in 2016, his senior season.
- Craig Joseph - Joseph earned Second Team All-Conference honors as a designated hitter this season. The senior slashed .338/.467/.480 with three home runs, 32 RBI, and 26 runs scored.
When they Met:
The Falcons and Mustangs met two weeks ago. Messiah took two of three games to win the series. Included in those two wins was the most memorable victories of the season for the Falcons. Messiah was down to their final out with nobody on base. Messiah rallied to score three runs and come away with the 5-4 victory. As mentioned above, Steven Ridings threw a gem in the final game of the series going all seven innings for a complete game, three-hit shutout. Messiah earned the victory in that game 1-0, with the lone run coming on a throwing error by Stevenson.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
LF - Ian Eberly (.358)
CF - Kevin Wu (.278)
DH - Craig Joseph (.338)
RF - Kevin Kopas (.292)
SS - Nick Peifer (.301)
1B - Billy Small (.273)
2B - Matt Myers (.290)
C - Jake Dimon (.242)
3B - John D'Aquanno (.250)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Alec Romanowski
73.2 IP -- 3.79 ERA -- .258 BAA
James Wiercinski
39.1 IP -- 4.35 ERA -- .284 BAA
Trevor Fitzsimmons
19.0 IP -- 2.84 ERA -- .258 BAA |
