LEICESTER, Mass. – The Becker Hawks baseball program is headed to the New England Collegiate Conference Postseason as the No. 4 seed in this season's tournament, joining the No. 1 Mitchell Mariners, the No. 2 New England Pilgrims, and No. 3 Elms Blazers in the bracket.
Becker finished 6-10 in conference play this season, including 3-9 against the other three teams in the postseason. Mitchell locked up the top seed after a 14-2 NECC season. The Pilgrims were a game back of the Mariners, finishing the conference season at 13-3. The Blazers come in at 8-12 against the NECC this season.
Hawks sophomore Ethan Perry (Dartmouth, Mass.) led the Hawks at the plate this season among qualified batters, hitting .339 with 21 hits, including eight doubles. Sophomore Niko Mokanos (Montvale, N.J.) finished the season batting .321 matching Perry with eight doubles. Senior Coby Hussey (Claremont, N.H.) batted .278 but held the team lead with 19 hits and three home runs.
Junior Tevon Johnson (New Bedford, Mass.) and freshman Russell Dunlap (North Attleboro, Mass.) anchor the starting rotation for the Hawks. Johnson had a team-best 5.01 ERA among Hawks with at least three appearances while Dunlap finished the season 3-3 with a 6.35 ERA.
The Mariners led the NECC in runs scored with their high-powered offense, averaging 12.7 runs per game against conference foes.
Sophomore Lelo Martinez (New London, Conn.) and junior Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) were two of three players in the conference to bat at least .400 this season. Martinez led the NECC in batting average after hitting .408 while DelaCruz was not far behind, hitting .404, including an NECC-most 36 hits. DelaCruz also matched the conference-high in home runs with seven.
Senior pitcher Ronald Thivierge (Portland, Conn.) was a perfect 6-0 this season with a 3.35 ERA and a conference-high 46 strikeouts. Sophomore Camren Varney (Manchester, N.H.) was third in the Mariners rotation but still 3-0 this season with the NECC's lowest ERA at 2.73.
The Pilgrims come into the postseason winners of eight of their last 10, including a four-game sweep of the Hawks last weekend.
Freshman Garrett Langis (Rochester, N.Y.) was one of the NECC's best first-year athletes this season after a season batting .363 with 33 hits, 28 RBI, and seven home runs, all of which were team-highs. Sophomore Michael Ciccotelli (Rochester, N.H.) batted .315 on the season with 28 hits and a team-best eight doubles.
On the mound, senior Shaun Cormier (Rochester, N.Y.) finished 3-1 this season pitching a team-high 40 innings with the lowest ERA on the Pilgrims at 3.15. Sophomore Tim Krol (East Longmeadow, Mass.) went 2-1 on the mound with a 3.63 ERA.
A trio of first-year players for the Blazers has helped them reach the postseason in 2021.
Among qualified players, freshman AJ Cook (Mendon, Mass.) led the Blazers with a .344 average while classmates Kyle Sebastyanski (Auburn, Mass.) and Justin Miller (Prospect, Conn.) batted .333 and .327, respectively.
Junior pitcher Damon Wesley (Springfield, Mass.) had the best ERA on the team among players that pitched at least 10 innings, finishing the season with a 4.15 ERA and a record of 1-4. Sebastyanski finished 2-2 on the mound with a 5.33 ERA.
The NECC Tournament gets underway on May 7 with the No. 1 Mariners and No. 4 Hawks playing at 9:30 a.m. while the No. 2 Pilgrims and No. 3 Blazers open their postseason with a 12:30 p.m. game on May 7.
The tournament will conclude on May 9 as Mitchell College is set to host the 2021 NECC Baseball Postseason.
