Montclair, NJ- The #12/#13 Montclair State University baseball team hosts its first regional round at Yogi Berra Stadium since 2000, welcoming in RV Whitworth, #11 Endicott, and Husson this weekend.
GAME INFO
Endicott will face off with Husson at 11:00 a.m., followed by the Montclair-Whitworth matchup around 2:30 p.m. Live coverage of the games, a tournament schedule, and additional information can be found at montclairathletics.com
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair faced off in the NJAC Semifinals on April 30, where they fell to William Paterson, 9-2. The Red Hawks (30-9) put the first two batters on to begin the home half of the first as
JARED LEVIS was hit by a pitch and
ZACH STEARNS singled through the left side. After
BILLY TIGAR moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt,
MATT KALISKE plated Levis from third on a sacrifice fly to break the scoring open. After
CHRIS MATESIC induced a double play in the top of the second, the Red Hawks put a runner on second with a leadoff hit from
JOHN TOMSHO and sacrifice bunt from
MICHAEL WANSAW JR. Montclair threatened again with two runners in scoring position later in the frame, but the Pioneers would escape on a flyout. William Paterson put two of the first three batters on in the third on a pair of singles, with a groundout moving them into scoring position. A single to center field during the next at-bat brought both runners in to push the visitors in front. William Paterson added to their lead in the fourth, putting runners on the corners with two singles and a flyout. A triple to center field in the ensuing at-bat wiped the bases, plating two more tallies to push the difference to three. The Pioneers singled to right field to drive in the runner from third, making the score 5-1 after three and a half. In the top of the fifth, they searched for more with a leadoff double, but
CHRISTIAN ADDOTTA worked around the runner in scoring position by setting down the next three batters. Montclair cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth, as
LUKAS EGENHAUSER homered down the left field line. William Paterson was able to escape the rally attempt with a throwdown to second on a steal attempt and groundout. The visitors pushed another pair of markers home in the top of the sixth, putting runners on the corners with two outs. A hit batter loaded the bases, with a single up the middle during the resulting at-bat driving in both tallies. William Paterson retired six of the next seven batters to go into the eighth up five, where they would add to the advantage again. An error put runners on the corners with one out, with a safety squeeze bringing in the runner from third. A single through the right side plated the final run of the day during the next at-bat. Montclair loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth on singles from Stearns, Kaliske, and
DANNY O'BRIEN. The Pioneers escaped with the final two outs of the stanza and sealed the victory in the bottom of the ninth to advance.
MONTCLAIR STATE (30-8):
2026 Statistics
WHITWORTH (28-14): 2026 Statistics
ENDICOTT (35-9): 2026 Statistics
HUSSON (24-16): 2026 Statistics
SCOUTING WHITWORTH
The Pirates enter the NCAA regional round as an automatic qualifier from the Northwest Conference. They sport a 28-14 overall record and won their conference with wins against Puget Sound (6-0) and Linfield (9-7). Last season, they finished 29-18 and 15-9 in NWC play. In the conference tournament, they suffered a first-round loss to Puget Sound in 11 innings played, but turned it around and won out, including a 7-1 win against Pacific to earn their NWC crown. In the NCAA regionals last season, they saw an early exit with losses against Pomona-Pitzer (11-9) and La Verne (5-1).
SCOUTING ENDICOTT
The Gulls enter this regional as the top team in the pod at 35-9. This season, they won their fifth-straight College of New England Conference title with a win of 3-1 win over Western New England in the championship game. Last season, Endicott went 45-6 and was a perfect 16-0 in CNE play. They swept their way to a conference crown and dominated their regional opponents, Bridgewater State and Concordia (TX), and Super Regional foe Claremont Mudd-Scripps. In the Division III Championship series, they bested Kean twice (6-4 & 5-4), but lost twice to Messiah (9-5 & 8-2).
SCOUTING HUSSON
The Eagles enter the Montclair regional as the automatic qualifier from the North Atlantic Conference. With a 24-16 overall record and a 19-5 NAC record, they defeated Vermont State Lyndon, SUNY Cobleskill, and Thomas to earn their seventh-straight conference title. Last season, following a 24-14 record entering the regional round, they were ousted with losses to Kean (4-2) and Cortland (17-7).
SERIES HISTORY
Montclair faces Whitworth and would face Endicott for the first time. The Red Hawks have faced Husson twice before, winning both encounters.
LAST MEETING
In their last meeting against Husson, back on March 10, 2016, the Red Hawks defeated the Eagles, 7-6.
UP NEXT
The winner of the regional pod will face the winner of the pod containing Marymount, Salve Regina, DeSales, and Ramapo in a best-of-three series next weekend. The Super Regional round times, dates, and location will be determined after the conclusion of the regional round.
