Baseball CCC Tournament Faces Elimination Thursday at Western New England

SUFFOLK at WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
Date Time Venue Video Stats Series Last Meeting   Last Suffolk Win Streak	Thursday, May 12 3:00 PM Trelease Park Springfield, Mass. Boxcast.tv GoSuffolkRams.com 20-18 April 23, 2022, W, 16-2 (7) Same W1

BOSTON – Suffolk baseball aims to escape elimination from the CCC Tournament as the sixth-seeded Rams battle at fifth-seed Western New England Thursday in a win-or-go-home game at 3 p.m.

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2022 CCC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Play-In Game – Monday, May 9
#6 Suffolk defeated #7 Gordon, 9-3 – Box Score 

Double-Elimination – Wednesday, May 11 
Hosted by higher seeds
Game 1: #1 Salve Regina defeated #6 Suffolk, 7-0 – Box Score
Game 2: #2 Endicott defeated #5 Western New England, 10-7 – Box Score
Game 3: #3 Roger Williams defeated #4 Nichols, 9-6 – Box Score

Double-Elimination – Thursday, May 12
Game 4: #6 Suffolk at #5 Western New England – 3 PM – Live Stats | Live Video
Game 5: #4 Nichols at #1 Salve Regina – 3 PM – Live Stats | Live Video
Game 6: #3 Roger Williams at #2 Endicott – 3:30 PM – Live Stats | Live Video

Double-Elimination – Friday, May 13

If four teams remain after Game 6
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Game 8: Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 

If five teams remain after Game 6
Game 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 9: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 6 

Double-Elimination – Saturday, May 14

If two teams remain after Game 9
Game 10 – Two remaining teams
Game 11 – If Necessary  

If three teams remain after Game 9
Game 10 – Loser of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 8
Game 11 – Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 

SUFFOLK IN THE CCC TOURNAMENT

• The Rams are in the midst of its second trip and second in as many years in the CCC Tournament. 
• Suffolk secured its first CCC postseason win in Monday's Play-In contest, a 9-3 win over Gordon. 
• Suffolk and Western New England will face off in the CCC tournament for the first time.
• The Rams are in the hunt for their first road win in the CCC playoffs. 

LAST TIME OUT
A pair of Seahawks pitchers proved to be too much for the Rams as the sixth-seed Suffolk baseball team was kept off the scoreboard by top-ranked Salve Regina, 7-0, in game one of the double elimination bracket of the 2022 CCC Tournament Wednesday after Reynolds Field. 

MORE READING: Baseball Stumped at Salve Regina in CCC Postseason

RAMS RUNDOWN
Suffolk moved to 23-19 on the season after its 7-0 setback to Salve Regina yesterday.  

The Rams offense was limited to just single-digit hits for the first time in six games. Overall, the blue-and-gold's offense has been productive with 343 runs. Individually, the trio of Harry Painter (53 H, 46 RBI, 40 R), Joe Ward (52 H, 45 RBI, 42 R) and Luke Harder (58 H, 43 RBI, 33 R, 16 SB) have been the largest contributors.  

Nick Reiser will likely earn the nod Thursday. The freshman right-handed pitcher owns a 4.29 ERA in 50.1 innings of work scattered over 14 games, including five starts, with 44 Ks.

GET TO KNOW THE GOLDEN BEARS
Western New England (18-19-1), who edged out Suffolk for the fifth spot in the tournament's field, could not complete its comeback at second-seeded Endicott yesterday, and fell, 10-7, to land in the elimination game.  

CJ Willis is the biggest threat at the plate. The first-year infield has team-leading numbers in hits (62), RBI 44) and runs scored (40) on a .395/.439/.713 slash line. Ben Harrison (42 H, 35 RBI, 21 R), Paul Villecco (25 H, 20 RBI, 25 R) and Cody Waterbury (28 H, 20 RBI, 26 R) round out the Golden Bears top hitters.

WNE is likely to be called upon its ace Kevin Hummer to take the hill. In nine appearances, eight starts, he has assembled a 2.57 ERA with 48 strikeouts. 

WE MEET AGAIN
Suffolk and Western New England splits its regular-season double feature. The Golden Bears took game one, 6-5, while the Rams ran past WNE in seven innings in the nightcap, 16-2.  

MORE READING: Western New England Sneaks by Baseball in Game One, 6-5 | Baseball Run Rules Western New England in Game 2, 16-2

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk holds a 20-18 all-time series lead over Western New England. 
• Suffolk is 2-6 in the Anthony Del Prete era against WNE.  
• The Rams and Golden Bears are no strangers in conference postseason play as the opponents faced off in the GNAC from 2000-07.
• Suffolk is 4-5 when playing WNE in a league playoff game. 
• The two last met in the postseason in 2007 GNAC Championship contest, which WNE won, 11-2.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The victor of Thursday's tilt stays alive and advances in the CCC Tournament, which continues tomorrow, Friday, May 13.