CALIFORNIA (May 7) – The California University of Pennsylvania baseball team will begin play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Wednesday, May 8, by playing West Chester, which is the No. 2 seed from the PSAC East, at Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pennsylvania at 9:30 a.m.
 
Tickets: All students from PSAC institutions will be admitted free with a valid student ID. Adult tickets are priced at $15 and student age tickets will cost $7 on May 8-10. Prices will be adjusted for Saturday, May 11, for the Championship Round. All tickets can be purchased at the gate at Point Stadium.
 
Live Coverage: The PSAC is scheduled to provide live statistics for all the games. For additional information about the tournament, please click HERE.
 
Regional Rankings: Mercyhurst remained No.1 in the latest Atlantic regional rankings with Millersville, Bloomsburg, Gannon and Cal U rounding out the top five. East Stroudsburg was ranked sixth, while West Chester and Shepherd completed the top eight in the rankings. The NCAA regional rankings are scheduled to be released again on Wednesday afternoon during the first day of the PSAC Tournament before the field is decided on the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, May 12.
 
Scouting (W3) Cal U: The Vulcans (35-13, 19-9) tied for second place in the PSAC West, which marked their highest finish since 2013. The 19 victories in conference play are the most in program history. Cal U paces the PSAC with a 4.03 ERA and 116 stolen bases, while being tied for the league-lead with six shutouts. Senior Eric Fairman ranks among the top five in the PSAC with a .379 batting average, a .509 on-base percentage and a .682 slugging percentage. Senior Ben Maudie leads the team with 53 hits and 54 runs scored while serving as the team's leadoff hitter. Senior Nico Marchetti has posted 12 multi-hit games this season and paces the team with 44 RBI. On the mound, junior Nick Riggle holds a 7-2 record and ranks second in the league with a 2.05 ERA in 10 starts. Junior Bradyn Kail leads the team with eight wins and 49 strikeouts in 63.0 innings pitched.
 
Vulcans in the PSAC Tournament: Cal U returns to the league tournament for the 15th time in the last 19 seasons with its last appearance during the 2016 campaign. Head coach Mike Conte is the all-time winningest coach in program history, while leading the Vulcans to the conference crown in 2004 and 2010.
 
Scouting (E1) Millersville: The Marauders (37-12, 23-5) claimed seven of the eight conference series this season, sweeping three league opponents. Millersville boasts one of the top offenses in the 16-team league. The Marauders pace the league with a .309 batting average and 467 hits, while averaging 7.8 runs per game. Junior Cole Friese leads the PSAC with 68 hits and 62 runs scored this season, while redshirt senior Ben Snyder has recorded a .349 average and leads the conference with 18 doubles. Millersville features six players batting over .300, including two players with 20-plus multi-hit games. Seniors Eli Nabholz and Cordell Shannon have each totaled nine wins in 12 appearances. Reigning PSAC East Pitcher of the Year, Nabholz has tallied 60 strikeouts with just 15 walks in the regular season in 64.1 innings pitched. Shannon paces the team with 68 strikeouts and has not issued a home run this year.
 
Scouting (E2) West Chester: The Golden Rams (29-13, 19-9) enter the PSAC Tournament on a seven-game winning streak after sweeping regionally-ranked Bloomsburg. West Chester features one of the premier players in the nation in senior Jared Melone, who earned ABCA/Rawlings First-Team All-American in 2018. This season, Melone paces the PSAC with a .441 batting average and a .776 slugging percentage. Teammate Joe Zirolli leads the conference with 14 homers and 55 RBI, while senior Kyle Feaster sits second on the team with a .392 clip behind 47 hits and 13 doubles. On the mound, West Chester ranks fifth in the league with a 4.33 ERA behind three pitchers with at least five wins. Senior Jon Fisher holds a 6-3 record and is tied for the team lead with 57 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched. Sophomore Zach Rice has tossed three complete games in a team-high 61.0 innings in 10 starts. In the field, the Golden Rams sit 10th overall among league schools with a .954 fielding percentage this season.
 
Scouting (E3) Bloomsburg: The Huskies (31-14, 18-10) posted their a second-straight 30-win season and enter the league tournament for a consecutive year. Bloomsburg features a balanced offense with five players batting over a .300 clip and sit third in the PSAC with 86 doubles and 6.9 runs per game. Junior Andrew Holmes registered a .613 slugging percentage in the regular season with eight homers and 33 RBI with 37 runs scored. Sophomore Kyle O'Fier paces the team with 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 45 games played. The Huskies feature a solid pitching rotation with four starters totaling at least five wins. Senior Ashton Raines has posted a 6-2 record and a 2.31 ERA with 46 strikeouts, while junior Chad Cooperman holds a 6-3 mark with a 2.91 ERA and a team-leading 67 strikeouts in 55.2 innings. Senior Trey Hinkle has been one of the best relievers in the conference after surrendering three runs (all unearned) in 15 appearances, while holding opponents to a .188 batting average. Teammate Zach Newmyer paces the PSAC with seven saves this year, while tallying 38 strikeouts in 17 appearances.
 
Scouting (E4) East Stroudsburg: The Warriors (31-17, 17-11) are making their fourth appearance in the last five years in the PSAC Tournament. ESU boasts the top defensive team in the conference with a .973 fielding percentage and 40 double plays this season. Offensively, the Warriors sits second overall in the league with a .406 on-base percentage, which comes from the team drawing 228 walks. Sophomore Brainy Rojas has collected 51 runs scored and 28 stolen bases, while also leading the PSAC with 36 walks. Junior Anthony Torreullas sits second in the conference with 19 doubles and has totaled 40 RBI behind a .320 batting average. Redshirt sophomore Nate Fiala has had a solid season after boasting a 2.89 ERA with a 4-2 record, while leading the team with 51 strikeouts. The pitching staff has only tossed two complete games this campaign, but have nine pitchers that have made at least 10 appearance throughout the season.

Scouting (W1) Gannon: The Golden Knights (31-13, 21-7) captured their first outright PSAC West title after a walk-off, three-run homer in the final game of the regular season. Gannon also has not lost a regular season PSAC series over the past two seasons. The Golden Knights have matched their program-high win total for the second-straight year and look to set a new record in the tournament. Gannon leads the conference with 57 homers and a .496 slugging percentage. Redshirt senior Nate Cardy paces the offense with a .357 average with 11 doubles and 42 RBI. Senior Jared Beach and freshman Ian Hess feature virtually identical numbers this year with both players in double-figures in home runs. Sophomore Deven Judy and senior Matthew Yough have posted a combined 12-0 record on the mound this season. Judy holds a 7-0 record in eight starts with four complete games, while ranking fourth in the PSAC with 77 strikeouts. Yough has made 17 appearances out of the bullpen and recorded a 3.74 ERA while holding opponents to a .235 clip.
 
Scouting (W2) Mercyhurst: The Lakers (29-11, 19-9) enter the tournament as the defending-Atlantic Region champion and once again feature one of the top pitching staffs in the nation. Mercyhurst is tallying 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks first overall in NCAA Division II this season. The Lakers pace the conference with 7.26 hits allowed per nine innings and a 2.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Redshirt senior Matthew Minnick is having a breakout season with 106 strikeouts this year, while leading all of Division II baseball with 17.67 strikeouts per nine innings. Teammate Tyler Garbee holds a 2.10 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched with 85 strikeouts and three complete games. Garbee ranks third in the PSAC in strikeouts and has registered a team-leading seven wins this year. Offensively, Mercyhurst ranks among the bottom half of the conference in several categories, including batting average, hits, home runs, runs scored and stolen bases. Senior Alex O'Donnell currently is the only player on the roster hitting over .300 and holds the team lead with 44 hits and 32 RBI. Teammate Matthew Schneider has totaled eight homers and 29 RBI with a .547 slugging percentage in 38 games played.
 
Scouting (W4) Seton Hill: The Griffins (29-19, 18-10) have made the tournament every season since joining the PSAC in 2013, including claiming the fourth seed for the third-consecutive seasons. Seton Hill is the two-time, defending-PSAC Champion and will arrive at the tournament on a six-game winning streak. The Griffins rank among the top in the league with a .309 batting average, a .407 on-base percentage and 106 stolen bases. Seton Hill has five players hitting over a .300 clip, led by junior Tommy Pellis with a .367 clip, 10 homers, 42 RBI and 42 runs scored. Redshirt senior Andrew Chuba also leads the team with 18 multi-hit games and a .475 on-base percentage. On the mound, the Griffins have suffered several injuries throughout the season, but sophomores Jared Kollar and George Coyle have put together solid outings. Kollar is 5-2 this season with a 3.38 ERA, while leading the team with 65 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched. Coyle paces the team with six victories after converting into a starter during conference play. Seton Hill will look to become the first team to three-peat since Mansfield, which won four-straight conference titles from 1992-95.
 
2018 Tournament Recap: Seton Hill claimed its second-straight conference title last year posting a perfect 4-0 record in the double-elimination tournament. The Griffins earned a 5-1 victory over Millersville in the championship after registering run-rule wins over Bloomsburg and Shippensburg. The Marauders also posted two run-rule victories in the tournament before defeating Bloomsburg to advance to the title game.
 
Looking Ahead: The winner of the PSAC Tournament will receive an automatic qualifier (AQ) into the 2019 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament. The Mountain East Conference (MEC) will also receive an AQ, while the next top-four teams in the final Atlantic regional rankings will obtain at-large bids. Starting this spring, the top-two teams in the region will split hosting duties with three teams competing at each site. The winner of each sub-regional will advance to the highest-remaining seed for a best-of-three series in the NCAA Super Regionals with the winning team advancing to the National Championship Tournament in Cary, North Carolina.
 
2019 PSAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 8
Game 1: (E2) West Chester vs. (W3) California, 9:30 a.m.
Game 2: (W1) Gannon vs. (E4) East Stroudsburg, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: (W2) Mercyhurst vs. (E3) Bloomsburg, 3:30 p.m.
Game 4: (E1) Millersville vs. (W4) Seton Hill, 3 p.m.
 
Thursday, May 9
Game 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 9:30 a.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 12:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 7: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 3:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 6:30 p.m.
 
Friday, May 10
Game 9: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7, 9:30 a.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 10: Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 8, 12:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 3:30 p.m.
Game 12: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 6:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Saturday, May 11
Game 13: Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 11, 10:30 a.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Championship Round
Game 14: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 11, 2 p.m.
(Tournament is complete if Winner of Game 11 wins Game 14)
 
Sunday, May 12
Championship Round – if Game
*Only played if Winner of Game 13 wins Game 14
Game 15: Rematch of Game 14, 12 p.m.
 
Tournament concludes no later than Sunday, May 12