W&J confident ahead of PAC baseball tournament
Coach Jeff Mountain’s Washington & Jefferson baseball team opens the PAC tournament today (1 p.m.) against Westminster at Ross Memorial Park.
Handicapping the Presidents’ Athletic Conference baseball championship tournament could be problematic and confusing.
Any one of the four teams – Washington & Jefferson, Grove City, St. Vincent and Westminster are capable of capturing the PAC title. The double-elimination tournament starts at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Presidents’ Ross Memorial Park.
No. 1 seed W&J will play No. 4 Westminster in the opening game while No. 2 seed Grove City will play No. 3 St. Vincent at 4 p.m.
W&J (17-3, 28-12) won the regular-season title, thus earning the right to host the tournament.
“We knew it would be an uphill battle to beat Allegheny twice last weekend and to get help,” W&J coach Jeff Mountain said. “Our players persevered, played our best weekend of baseball when it mattered most.”
“People probably aren’t accustomed to us struggling. We had a tough strength of schedule. We struggled. At least we know who we are going to rely on pitching. Legitimately, any one of the four teams can win this. The league has improved. Westminster and St. Vincent are more than capable and Grove City is really good.”
This is W&J’s sixth consecutive year serving as the league’s tournament host. The Presidents are making their 14th-straight tournament appearance. W&J won its 14th PAC title in 2022 with a 10-2 victory in the title game over Westminster. Coach Mountain earned his 600th career win following W&J’s sweep of Allegheny Saturday.
The PAC winner will earn the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Selections for the Division III Championship will be announced Monday with regional preliminary round play slated for Friday-Monday, May 19-21.
Regional champions will compete in the May 26th-28th Super Regionals, a best-of-three series, to determine the eight participants in this year’s Division III College World Series, June 2-8. The Division III College World Series will be held at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Presidents have played a most difficult schedule and have been hampered by numerous injuries to their pitching staff. W&J has been hurt by allowing some big innings and has not hit particularly well with runners on base.
W&J, however, knows how to win.
“We’re confident being uncomfortable,” Mountain said. “We have been in so many close games this year and been in postseason games. We may not win but we will be confident no matter the circumstances.”
Grove City (16-4, 29-9) set a school record in wins. The Wolverines are more than capable and held first place in the PAC most of the season. A couple of untimely losses late in the year ultimately cost them the top seed.
W&J and Grove City split their series.
St. Vincent (13-7, 20-16) is the hottest team right now. The Bearcats clinched the third seed on the final day of the season by sweeping Thiel. They won five of their last six and 13 of 16.
Westminster (13-7, 20-18) is dangerous. The Titans have scored at least 10 runs in more than 10 games. The drawback is they were swept by the Wolverines and Bearcats. However, they pounded W&J in the first game of their series before losing in extra innings to the Presidents, 5-3.
W&J relies heavily on the pitching, hitting and base-running abilities of senior Tyler Horvat.
Other Presidents to watch for are senior outfielder Evan Sante, sophomore shortstop Jacob LaDuca, sophomore outfielder Scout Zaus, senior catcher Dan Beistel. Other important contributors have been junior first baseman-designated hitter Nolan Lutz, senior outfielder Trevor Dean, junior Joe Lehner, junior pitcher Ethan Boring, senior pitcher Mason Kolbe and sophomore pitcher-outfielder Dante DiMatteo.
Grove City is led by strong pitching. The Wolverines have received a strong freshman season from Peters Township graduate Nick Sampson, a center fielder and table-setter for their potent offense.