RUTHERFORD, N.J. – On paper, the Felician College baseball team enters its first NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament as a decided underdog. Felician is the No. 6 seed in the six-team, double elimination event, and holds a 3-8 record this season against the rest of the field.
Furthermore, the Golden Falcons must play their opening game against the event's host and top seed, Southern New Hampshire University. The Penmen (39-12) are ranked No. 18 in the most recent national Division II writers' poll. Felician meets SNHU in the tournament's opening game this Thursday, May 15, at 11 a.m. at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H.
But 11th-year Felician head coach Chris Langan is not buying the underdog label.
"We know that we belong here," Langan said. "We have played every other team in the field, and there won't be any surprises. There is a tremendous opportunity ahead of us."
Felician (29-18) earned the regional appearance by winning the first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title in the 15-year history of the program. The Golden Falcons captured three consecutive victories in the CACC Tournament on May 8-10, including an 8-3 victory over No. 11-ranked Wilmington (Del.) University in Saturday's championship round. Wilmington received an at-large berth into the regional tournament.
"Winning the conference was an overwhelming experience, and it's one that no one can take away from us," Langan said. "But having the chance to play in the regional keeps the fires burning for us, and we'll be ready."
The Regional tournament opens on Thursday with all six teams in action. Following the Felician-SNHU game, No. 5 seed Dowling College faces No. 2 Franklin Pierce University at 3 p.m. The first round concludes at 7 p.m. when No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas College takes on No. 3 Wilmington. The tournament homepage can be viewed at http://www.snhupenmen.com/sports/bsb/2013-14/NCAA/NCAAGameday.
With a win on Thursday, Felician would play on Friday at 3 p.m. against the STAC-Wilmington loser. Should the Golden Falcons fall, they would go up against the Dowling-Franklin Pierce loser on Friday at 11 a.m. Play continues through the championship round on Sunday. Directions to SNHU are available at http://www.snhu.edu/209.asp.
Felician split two games this season against the Penmen, both at neutral sites.
"It's been nice to see the college community rally around this," Langan said. "Any time one of us does well in a small-college community, everyone else rallies, and it's awesome. So many people have followed along and expressed how proud they are of us, and I can't thank them enough."
Ticket prices for each day of competition are $6 for adults and $4 for children, students (with ID) and senior citizens. Children age two years and under will be admitted free. SNHU will also offer an online Live Stats feed at http://livestats.prestosports.com/southernnh/ and a video stream at http://www.snhupenmen.tv/.
The winner of the 2014 NCAA Division II East Regional Championship advances to the national finals, to be hosted May 24-31 by the University of Mount Olive at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
