STANDISH, ME – Sixth-seeded Saint Joseph's College (28-13, 11-3 GNAC) faces #3 Tufts University (33-7, 9-3 NESCAC) in the first round of the 2014 NCAA DIII New England Baseball Tournament at 4:30 PM on Wednesday at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts.

The regional tournament, which follows a double-elimination format, begins on Wednesday with #4 Endicott College (30-14, 13-3 CCC) facing #5 MIT (24-13, 12-5 NEWMAC) at 9:30 AM. Top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University (32-7, 11-3 LEC) takes on #8 Mitchell College (23-12-1, 12-6 NECC) at 1:00 PM and #2 University of Southern Maine (31-12, 11-3 LEC) battles #7 Worcester State University (25-15, 11-3 MASCAC) in an 8:00 PM start. All New England Regional Tournament games will be played at Whitehouse Field.

How they got here:

Saint Joseph's, the #2 seed in the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament, kicked off the postseason with a 9-2 quarterfinal round victory over #3 Lasell College and advanced to the championship – for the seventh-consecutive season – with a 9-2 semifinal triumph over top-seeded Suffolk University. The Monks proceeded to clinch their sixth GNAC Championship with a 2-0 win over the Rams in the title game on April 27th.

The conference championship counts as the Monks' ninth in the last 10 years and the subsequent NCAA Tournament berth is the program's eighth in the last nine seasons.

Tufts claimed one of 14 at-large berths divvied out by the 2014 NCAA DIII Baseball Tournament selection committee after finishing as the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) runner-up to Wesleyan College, which was selected as the #7 seed in the Mid-Atlantic Regional. Entering the final day of the NESCAC tourney through the losers' bracket, the Jumbos required a pair of wins against the undefeated Cardinals and opened with a 10-0 victory to force a winner-take-all scenario, but fell short in the final, 6-4.

Who to watch – Saint Joseph's

Pitching has been one of the Monks' strengths in the past few years and this this season has been no different. Led by a trio of senior starters in Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine), Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, Mass.) and Lincoln Sanborn, Saint Joseph's feature a deep staff with five starters having logged at least 38 innings.

In the midst of one of the finest seasons ever recorded by an SJC pitcher, Whittaker sports a 6-2 record with a 2.63 ERA and a team-high 75 strikeouts in 61.2 innings as a senior. Gruntkosky has enjoyed his best campaign and heads into NCAA action with a 1.64 ERA along with a 5-0 record and 42 K's in 38.1 frames and Sanborn is 6-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 51 punch-outs in 51 innings this season.

Sophomore Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) has emerged as top pitcher and is 5-1 with four saves and a 1.64 ERA along with 30 strikeouts – against just seven walks – over 44 innings while being used in a variety of roles this spring. Junior Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) rounds out the quintet with a 3.49 ERA and a 4-2 record with 44 K's in 49 innings.

The Monks' lineup, which features six regulars hitting .313 or better, could be the program's most well-rounded in recent memory. Senior right fielder Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.) leads the team in batting (.343, 46-134) and ranks second on the team in doubles (11) and RBI (33) and junior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) is currently hitting .338 (48-142) with nine doubles, four home runs and 24 RBI. Junior designated hitter Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) leads the Royal Blue in doubles (14) and RBI (42) while hitting .331 (46-139) and freshman shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) has been a pleasant surprise, batting .333 (51-153) with 35 runs, nine doubles and 19 RBI while serving as the Monks' primary leadoff hitter this season.

Seniors Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Louie Vigars (Stratham, N.H.) have posted the best numbers of their respective careers this spring. Sophomore Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) and freshman infielders Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) and Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) have provided major contributions during the 2014 campaign.

Who to watch – Tufts:

Junior lefthander Kyle Slinger (Danville, Calif.), senior righty Christian Sbily (Gaithersburg, Md.) and freshman southpaw Tim Superko (Wellesley, Mass.) form one of the best starting pitching trios in the region, if not the nation. Undefeated with an 8-0 record, Slinger sports a spectacular 1.21 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 67 innings while holding opponents to a paltry .184 batting average. Sbily owns a 1.36 ERA and a 6-0 record with 30 K's in 53 frames and Superko rounds out the threesome with a 1.90 ERA and a 4-1 record with 49 punch-outs in 52 innings this spring.

Junior center fielder Connor McDavitt (Holden, Mass.) ranks as the Jumbos' leading hitter with a .346 (53-153) batting average while tallying 37 runs, 14 doubles, 28 RBI and a team-high 15 stolen bases. Senior first baseman Max Freccia (Stamford, Conn.) enters the tourney hitting .323 (42-130) with 27 runs, 11 two-baggers and 30 RBI and sophomore shortstop Matt Moser (Great Falls, Va.) is batting .304 (42-138) with 29 runs, 10 doubles, two homers and a team-best 36 RBI. Senior third baseman Wade Hauser (Palo Alto, Calif.) leads the team with 38 runs scored and is second on the squad with 35 RBI while hitting .279 (41-147) and being hit by pitch 18 times, a total that ranks among the nation's leaders.

Attitude reflects leadership:

Saint Joseph's Head Coach Will Sanborn '86, currently in his 22nd season as the Monks' skipper, has led his Monks to 16 titles during his coaching tenure. He is the winningest head coach in SJC Athletics history and, with an 8-7 win over Bates College on May 7th, became the first-ever to reach the 600-victory plateau. Now 601-322-5 (.651) over the course of his career, Sanborn is just the 44th individual to accumulate 600 or more wins in the history of the NCAA DIII Baseball.

John Casey, in his 31st season as the leader of the Jumbos' baseball program, became the 43rd member of the NCAA DIII Baseball 600-victory club earlier this season and is one of the most respected head coaches in the region. Coach Casey guided Tufts to consecutive NESCAC Championships, and  #1 seeds in the NCAA New England Regional, in 2010 and 2011.

The last time we met:

The two teams last met in a losers' bracket contest in the 2011 New England Regional Tournament, when the Monks tipped the Jumbos, 4-3, in 11 innings. Trailing 3-2 with runners on first and third and two out in the bottom of the 11th, catcher Ian Lee '11 battled through an eight-pitch at bat and delivered a walk-off, two-run double to deep right-center to provide the Monks with one of the most memorable victories in program history.

Several current SJC team members played important roles in the 2011 victory, as Gruntkosky picked up the victory after allowing a run off three hits in 2.1 innings and Markakis went 1-3 while hitting sixth as the Monks' designated hitter that afternoon.

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.