By Justin Zackal
Washington & Jefferson hosting the PAC Championship Baseball Tournament is nothing new. That could be a good thing or a bad thing for the Presidents (29-11, 21-3 PAC), who are again hosting the league’s four-team, double-elimination tournament, May 9-11, at Ross Memorial Park.
W&J is seeking its 12th PAC title (its eighth since 2004), and the Presidents have qualified for the league tournament 11 straight years including three consecutive seasons as hosts.
“There’s nothing we haven’t been through in postseason play,” said Jeff Mountain, W&J’s 17th-year head coach who has 15 seniors on this year’s squad. “We’ve been in every situation: we’ve lost the first game and come back through; we’ve ripped through it; we’ve lost the second game and come back through; we had things go our way and things not go our way. There are a lot of things we can point to and say, ‘Hey, we’ve done this before; let’s do it again.’ That’s not necessarily the case for the other teams. That’s the biggest difference.”
However, W&J’s experience also means there will be a certain routineness that could also work against the Presidents, especially early in the tournament. Bethany and Waynesburg haven’t played in the PAC tournament since 2014 and 2015, respectively. Grove City is coming off a one-year hiatus.
“The general excitement for these teams just to be here, especially early on in the tournament, concerns me,” Mountain said. “Not that we won’t be excited; but our senior class has played in 24 postseason games in three years and Bethany and Waynesburg haven’t played in any. That’s a big advantage for us, but only if we are still there later in the tournament with our pitching depth and overall experience.”
Senior Garrett Harstine (6-1, 2.62 ERA) and junior Ben Marsico (9-1, 3.73) are a combined 15-2 in 18 starts, but Mountain said he has faith in his entire pitching staff. His top two hitters are seniors Josh Crummer (.383) and Dante Dalesandro (.382), but Mountain tabbed senior Mullen Socha (.357) as the team’s most feared and consistent hitter.
Additionally, Mountain credits senior shortstop Spencer Howell as being a difference-maker defensively, playing with “routineness” that leaves little interpretation compared to the way Mountain assessed the pros and cons of tournament experience.
Here’s a look at the other three teams:
#2 GROVE CITY (26-13, 16-7 PAC) is seeking its third PAC title and its first since 2008. The Wolverines posted a 5-4 record against the three other teams that qualified for the tournament including an 8-5 victory over W&J at Ross Memorial Park, April 29. Freshman Lake Pry (7-1, 2.73 ERA) is the Wolverines’ top pitcher statistically, but senior John Bini pitcher (6-3, 3.33) pitched a complete-game nine innings for the win over W&J, with 11 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.
“(Grove City) throws strikes, they defend and they are really well-coached,” Mountain said of the Wolverines, who are coached by Matt Royer. “That’s a formula for success when you get into the postseason.”
#3 WAYNESBURG (21-17, 15-9) has the longest championship drought among the four teams, as the Yellow Jackets last won the PAC in 1998. They’ll rely on the best pitcher in the league in junior Mason Miller (8-2, 1.46).
“He’s a difference-maker and he’s had a terrific year,” Mountain said. “The numbers don’t lie with him.”
#4 BETHANY (25-14, 14-10) leads the PAC in team ERA (3.87) and is second in team batting average (.303), led by senior Neil Woods (.415, 7 HRs). The Bison have 10 seniors but none of them have played in the PAC tournament and Bethany and hasn’t won the title since 2000.
“(Bethany) has a big senior class that has really stepped up,” Mountain said. “You can tell they are more confident in themselves. Those guys deserve a lot of credit for the year they put together.”
The PAC tournament starts with W&J-Bethany Thursday at 1 p.m., followed by Waynesburg-Grove City at 4 p.m. Three games are scheduled for Friday beginning at noon and the finals are Saturday at 1 p.m. and, if necessary, 4 p.m. The winner will secure the league’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Teams and regional site selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced May 13 and play will begin May 17.
