Golden Eagles to Battle Golden Knights for Region II Championship

5/18/2019 12:11:00 AM

West Chester, Pa – The Golden Eagles will once again square off against the Gannon Golden Knights on Saturday for the Atlantic Region II Championship after eliminating the host West Chester Golden Rams

The Golden Eagles enter the final day of the tournament after going 2-0 against their PSAC opponents.

BROADCAST INFO
TV: https://bit.ly/2zNvIqc
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NEED TO KNOW
No. 6 University of Charleston
Head Coach: Andrew Wright (Fourth Season)
2019 Record: 39-17, 25-7 MEC
Career Record: 282-208 (.737)
Batting Average: .307
ERA: 4.66
Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats

The Golden Eagles are 9-1 in their last 10 games, a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament, heading into their first regional championship.
Charleston is making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after posting a 9-8 win in the Mountain East Conference Championship game over Notre Dame (Ohio).
Colby Johnson (Lewisburg, W.Va.) (.364, 10 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 53 RBI) is the most biggest statistical threat for Charleston.
Seven players are hitting at least .300 this season for head coach Andrew Wright's complete offense
Wright was named the MEC Coach of the Year after guiding UC to a third consecutive 30-win season, and second straight MEC South Title
Austin Henrich is the team's top strikeout man with 69 while Robert Fultineer holds a team best with a 2.50 ERA in 12 appearances.
Charleston used a five-run sixth inning to edge out the Falcons in the MEC Championship
Charleston finished the regular season with a 3-1 stand against the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets.
Charleston's squad finished the year with a record 37 wins, breaking the 2018 record of 36.
Charleston saw seven players to All-Conference Honors, with Gianfranco Morello, Jack Brunetti, and Colby Johnson earning a first team nod. Morello and Brunetti went on to earn first-team All-Region Honors, announced Wednesday.
With four RBI last week, Colby Johnson became the single season record Holder with 53 RBI in a season.
Morello earned himself the title of MEC Tournament MVP with a stellar performance, eight RBI, and two game winners in extra innings to boost UC over the Fairmont State Falcons, and a game tying RBI against the Notre Dame Falcons.
The Golden Eagles have been hot offensively in their last eight games, scoring 56 runs in their last eight games, with 29 RBI.

OPPONENT PREVIEW
No. 4 Gannon University
Head Coach: Greg Coleman (Fourth Season)
2019 Record: 33-16, 21-7 PSAC
Career Record: 114-75 (.657)
Batting Average: .286
ERA: 4.78
Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Already a record-breaking season, Gannon makes its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the three seed in the Atlantic Region 2. The Golden Knights, the PSAC West regular season champions, set a new program record for wins with their 32^nd victory of 2019.
Gannon is looking to come back from consecutive losses in the PSAC Tournament against West Chester and Seton Hill. Gannon opened the conference tournament with a 5-4 walk-off victory against ESU
GU ranks 12^th nationally in home runs/game (1.32) and 16^th in total home runs (62). The Golden Knights are 16^th in PSAC history for home runs in a season and need just one more to tie Shippensburg's 1987 squad. Mansfield smacked 97 home runs as a team in 1995 to lead the league for a season.
Deven Judy (Belle Vernon, Pa.), the final NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week, has surrendered just three hits and no runs over his last two starts. Judy boasts a perfect 7-0 record on the season and the right-hander has struck out a combined 17 batters in his last two outings. With 82 strikeouts on the season, the Bell Vernon, Pa. native is second on the Gannon single-season strikeout list.
Elijah Quiceno (Berryville, Va.) now leads the team with a .357 batting average and has emerged as one of the top offensive threats for the Golden Knights. Quiceno recorded his 40^th RBI of the season in the conference tournament and leads the team in multi-hit games (16) and multi-RBI games (12).
Nate Cardy (Franklin, Pa.), who was one off seven players on the team to earn their diplomas at Gannon's commencement last weekend, has rewritten the record books throughout his career. Cardy is the school's all-time leader in home runs, doubles, RBI, runs scored and total bases.
Jared Beach (McDonald, Pa.) enters the NCAA Atlantic Regional on a six-game hitting streak. The senior outfielder holds the single-season record for home runs at Gannon with 14. He is second in the conference with a .697 slugging percentage.
Dominic Mori (Greensburg, Pa.) has picked up a hit in three straight contests, including a two homerun day to open the conference tournament against ESU. He is one of five Gannon players entering the regional with at least a .300 average.
Justin Hamm (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has been a fixture in the top of the Golden Knights' batting order and along the middle of the infield in his first collegiate season. Hamm is tied for third on the team with 44 knocks.
Eric Sapp (Deerfield, Ohio) and Cory Hegedus (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) have combined for 23 starts on the mound this season. The hurlers have struck out 130 batters this season and are two of the mainstays in the Gannon starting rotation.
Ty Phelps (Pomeroy, Ohio) worked out of the bullpen in two of three games during the conference tournament, picking up a victory with 3.1 innings of relief against East Stroudsburg.

NEW LOOK FOR 2019 NCAA DII TOURNAMENT
The championship consists of eight regional sites hosting three teams and eight regional sites hosting four teams, for a total of 16 regional sites in the NCAA Tournament. All regionals are double-elimination tournaments and will be played May 16-18. Regional winners will advance to the best-of-three super-regional competition May 24-25. Super Regional winners will advance to the double-elimination championship finals June 1-8 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The finals will be hosted by the University of Mount Olive and the town of Cary, North Carolina.
The Atlantic Region consists of two three-team regionals. No. 7 Millersville will serve as host for the Atlantic One Regional. Bloomsburg and No. 20 Mercyhurst will join the Marauders. West Chester will serve as host for the Atlantic Two Regional and will welcome Gannon and the University of Charleston.
ATLANTIC REGIONAL TWO SCHEDULE