The show will go on for the College of Staten Island baseball and softball teams, as both programs received great news in the form of ECAC Metro NY/NJ Postseason Tournament berths. What’s more is that CSI will host opening quarterfinal games on Wednesday, May 12. The CSI men (31-10) received the field’s No. 3 seed. The Dolphins women (24-16), meanwhile, have earned the No. 4 seed in the eight-team field that kicks off on the same day.
Still in the hunt for a NCAA Division III National Tournament berth, the CSI men’s baseball unit can make a quality statement in that push for an at-large bid with a strong showing in the ECAC tournament, which is a straight-up, single-elimination tourney.
The Dolphins will be pitted against No. 6 Richard Stockton College (19-19). Start time will be 6:00pm at the CSI Baseball Complex. Should CSI advance, they would play the winner of No. 2 Rutgers-Newark (22-20) vs. No. 7 Rutgers-Camden (20-18) on Saturday, May 15. The other quarterfinal games pit No.1 FDU-Florham (31-10) against No. 8 Ramapo College (19-17), and No. 4 Stevens Tech (20-18) against No. 5 SUNY-Old Westbury (22-21). The Championship game will be played on Sunday, May 16, at the highest remaining seed with a time yet to be determined.
This is CSI baseball’s 9th entry into the ECAC postseason, their last having come in 2003. The team hasn’t won an ECAC postseason game since 2000, when they defeated FDU-Florham, 9-3, to capture their second of two ECAC Championships (the other was in 1990).
CSI baseball is 1-0 all-time against Stockton, with the teams having last met in 1998, a 7-5 win by the Dolphins in Staten Island.
Over on the women’s side, the 24-16 Dolphins captured the No. 4 seed, and will be pitted up against the No. 5 seeded Rutgers-Camden (21-14) in quarterfinal play. Play begins on Wednesday at 3:30pm at the CSI Softball Complex.
The ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament for Softball differs from baseball in that the quarterfinal round is a single-elimination round. The top four teams that advance to the semifinals then play a double-elimination tournament on the weekend (Saturday & Sunday, May 15 & 16) at the highest remaining seed, leaving open the opportunity for CSI to host those rounds as well.
The other softball quarterfinal matchups are No. 1 Ramapo College (27-15) vs. No. 8 Brooklyn College (16-16-1), No. 2 Richard Stockton College (25-15) vs. No. 7 SUNY-Old Westbury (18-18), and No. 3 Farmingdale State College (30-11) vs. No. 6 Hunter College (17-16). Should CSI advance to the semis, they would face the winner of the Ramapo-Brooklyn matchup.
The Dolphins are 1-3 all-time against the Rutgers-Camden, with their last meeting coming in 2007, a doubleheader split in Camden, NJ. Wednesday will mark the first time the teams meet in Staten Island.