2018 Northeast Conference baseball tournament
The 2018 Northeast Conference baseball tournament began on May 24 and ended on May 27 at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut. The league's top four teams finishers competed in the double elimination tournament. LIU Brooklyn won their first tournament championship and earned the Northeast Conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[1][2][3]
| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Format | Double-elimination tournament |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | LIU Brooklyn (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Dan Pirillo (1st title) |
| MVP | Gregory Vaughn (LIU Brooklyn) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryant † | 21 | – | 7 | – | 0 | .750 | 32 | – | 23 | – | 1 | .580 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wagner † | 21 | – | 7 | – | 0 | .750 | 38 | – | 18 | – | 0 | .679 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LIU Brooklyn ‡y | 16 | – | 12 | – | 0 | .571 | 31 | – | 26 | – | 0 | .544 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 15 | – | 13 | – | 0 | .536 | 21 | – | 33 | – | 0 | .389 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacred Heart | 12 | – | 16 | – | 0 | .429 | 17 | – | 35 | – | 0 | .327 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Connecticut | 11 | – | 16 | – | 0 | .407 | 18 | – | 28 | – | 0 | .391 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | – | 26 | – | 0 | .037 | 10 | – | 37 | – | 0 | .213 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Entering the event, Central Connecticut had won the most tournament championships among current members, while Fairleigh Dickinson and LIU Brooklyn had never won a championship.
Seeding and format
The top four finishers were seeded one through four based on conference regular season winning percentage. They then played a double-elimination tournament.
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant | 21 | 7 | .750 | — | 1 |
| Wagner | 21 | 7 | .750 | — | 2 |
| LIU Brooklyn | 16 | 12 | .571 | 5 | 3 |
| Mount St Mary's | 15 | 13 | .536 | 6 | 4 |
| Sacred Heart | 12 | 16 | .429 | 9 | — |
| Central Connecticut | 11 | 16 | .407 | 9.5 | — |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 1 | 26 | .037 | 19.5 | — |
Bracket
| First round | Semi-finals | Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Bryant | 21 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Mount St Mary's | 6 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Bryant | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | LIU Brooklyn | 13 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Wagner | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | LIU Brooklyn | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | LIU Brooklyn | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Wagner | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Wagner | 6 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Mount St. Mary's | 1 | 1 | Bryant | 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | Wagner | 3 | |||||||||||
All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[3]
| Name | Team |
|---|---|
| Neil Abbatiello | Wagner |
| James Ciliento | Bryant |
| Patrick Clyne | LIU Brooklyn |
| Rob Griswold | LIU Brooklyn |
| Eric Ligda | Wagner |
| Joe Mercadante | LIU Brooklyn |
| Andrew Turner | LIU Brooklyn |
| Gregory Vaughn Jr. | LIU Brooklyn |
| Ryan Ward | Bryant |
Most Valuable Player
Gregory Vaughn Jr. earned the Tournament Most Valuable Player award. Vaughn was a junior outfielder for LIU Brooklyn, who recorded 5 RBI and 3 stolen bases in the Tournament.[3]
References
- "2017-18 NEC Championship Dates". Northeast Conference. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
- "2018 Northeast Conference Baseball Championship". Northeast Conference. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- "LIU Brooklyn Defeats NYC Rival for Program's First NEC Tournament Crown". Northeast Conference. May 26, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.