CAA Baseball Championship Gets Started On Wednesday
Rob Washburn
CAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
RICHMOND, Va. (May 21, 2019) – After a competitive regular-season race, the CAA Baseball Championship returns to JMU’s Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va. starting Wednesday afternoon.
Six teams will compete for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament using a slightly revised format that once again rewards the top two seeds with first-round byes. Eight different schools have won the CAA championship over the past decade, with UNCW (2012, 2015, 2018) the only team to earn more than one title during that stretch.
The double-elimination tournament opens at Noon on Wednesday with a rematch of last year’s championship game as #4 Northeastern (26-27, 12-12 in CAA) faces #5 UNCW (28-28, 12-12 in CAA). An in-state battled between #3 William & Mary (31-20, 12-12 in CAA) and #6 James Madison (31-24, 11-13 in CAA) follows at 4 p.m.
Thursday’s schedule begins with an 11 a.m. elimination game. Top-seeded Elon (30-22, 19-5 CAA) meets the lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner at 3 p.m. and second-seeded Charleston (36-19, 16-8 CAA) takes on the highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner at 7 p.m. There are three more games on Friday and another on Saturday, setting the stage for the championship contest at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
After capturing its first CAA regular-season title, Elon is looking to add a CAA Tournament crown for the first time. The Phoenix pitching staff posted an impressive 2.63 team ERA during conference play and features three of the league’s top starters in George Kirby (8-1, 2.07 ERA, 105 K’s), Kyle Brnovich (6-3, 3.81 ERA, 103 K’s) and Jared Wetherbee (6-4, 2.70 ERA, 91 K’s). Closer Ty Adcock has recorded a team-high eight saves and also contributes with his bat, belting a team-high 10 homers with 48 RBI’s. First baseman Joe Satterfield (.342, 3 HR, 33 RBI’s) and shortstop Cam Devanney (.328, 9 HR, 49 RBI’s) are among the CAA’s top four in batting average.
Charleston is making its sixth consecutive CAA Tournament appearance and will try to claim its first title since 2014. The Cougars, who come into the event on a season-best eight-game winning streak, top the league in a number of offensive categories. Catcher Danny Wondrack (.324, league-high 14 HR, 50 RBI’s), outfielder Bradley Dixon (.314, 34 R) and second baseman Dupree Hart (.306, 44 RBI’s, 40 SB) lead a veteran lineup. On the mound, Griffin McLarty has posted an 8-4 record while leading the conference in ERA (2.04) and strikeouts (108). Closer Nathan Ocker is 5-4 with a 2.74 ERA and a league-high 12 saves.
William & Mary returns to the tournament for the sixth time in the past seven years, with its last championship coming in 2016. The Tribe won its final three conference series and is 7-2 in its last nine games. W&M’s offense is led by third baseman Zach Pearson (.302, 32 RBI’s), outfielder Brandon Raquet (.285, 6 HR, 28 RBI’s) and designated hitter Hunter Smith (.277, 12 HR’s, 39 RBI’s). The pitching staff has been anchored by starters Bodie Sheehan (5-2, 2.48 ERA) and Wade Strain (5-4, 3.79 ERA), while Chris Farrell (4-2, 5 svs., 3.00 ERA) has performed well as the Tribe closer.
Northeastern, which earned a CAA Tournament berth for the seventh straight season, reached the finals a year ago but is still looking to claim its first championship. The Huskies closed the regular-season with eight victories in their final 11 games. Offensively, Ian Fair (.343, 7 HR, 30 RBI’s) tops the conference in batting, while first baseman Jake Farrell (.306, 9 HR, 44 RBI’s) is among league leaders in several categories. NU’s pitching staff has been solid with starters Sean Mellen (5-2, 2.85 ERA, 107 K’s) and Kyle Murphy (5-4, 4.38 ERA) setting the stage for closer Andrew Misiaszek (3-3, 10 svs., 2.06 ERA).
Defending champion UNCW extended its streak of consecutive CAA Tournament appearances to 34 and is aiming for a sixth title in the final season under legendary head coach Mark Scalf. The Seahawks are paced offensively by shortstop Greg Jones (.333, 62 R, 37 SB), third baseman Cole Weiss (.310, 43 RBI’s) and outfielder Kep Brown (.279, 7 HR, 52 RBI’s). On the mound, Luke Gesell (5-5, 3.00 ERA, 63 K’s) and Landen Roupp (5-2, 3.26 ERA, 73 K’s) have been UNCW’s top starters, while Blake Morgan (3-2, 3.11 ERA) and Henry Ryan (3-4, 3.86 ERA) each have recorded three saves from the bullpen.
Host James Madison is back in the tournament for the first time since 2016 and will be looking to win its first CAA championship since 2011. The Dukes’ pitching staff posted a league-low 3.72 ERA this season. Starters Nick Stewart (4-4, 2.34 ERA) and Kevin Kelly (7-6, 3.28 ERA) set the stage for a deep bullpen that includes Nick Robertson (5-1, 8 svs., 0.56 ERA), Brett Ayer (4-1, 2.60 ERA) and Shelton Perkins (3-1, 3.09 ERA). The offense is led by third baseman Trevon Dabney (.306, 43 R, 17 SB’s), designated hitter Kyle Novak (.306, 28 RBI’s) and first baseman Brady Harju (.302, 8 HR, 42 RBI’s).
All-session tournament passes are $25, while single-day tickets can be purchased for $10. Students from participating institutions are admitted free with a valid student ID.
The first nine games of the 2019 CAA Baseball Championship will be video-streamed live for free in high definition on CAA.TV and are also available on OTT platforms Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. The CAA championship game will be streamed for free on CollegeSportsLive.com.
For more information, check out CAA Baseball Championship Central on the web at
caasports.com/baseball.
2019 CAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Veterans Memorial Park – Harrisonburg, Va.
Wednesday, May 22
Game 1 - #4 Northeastern vs. #5 UNCW – 12 pm
Game 2 - #3 William & Mary vs. #6 James Madison – 4 pm
Thursday, May 23
Game 3 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 11 am
Game 4 - #1 Elon vs. Lowest-seeded Game 1/2 winner – 3 pm
Game 5 - #2 Charleston vs. Highest-seeded Game 1/2 winner – 7 pm
Friday May 24
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Lowest seeded Game 4/5 loser – 11 am
Game 7 - Game 6 winner vs. Highest seeded Game 4/5 loser – 3 pm
Game 8 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 7 pm
Saturday, May 25
Game 9 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser – 1 pm
Game 10 - Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner – 5 pm
Sunday, May 26
Game 11 (if necessary) – Game 10 vs. Game 10 loser – 1 pm