NCAA Regionals: Seahawks, Wildcats meet on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

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HARTFORD, Conn. (Updated Sat., May 28 @ 11:15 a.m.) - Salve Regina University baseball plays Johnson & Wales in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. on the FieldTurf of Murren Family Field/DiBenedetto Stadium.

This will be the 36th all-time meeting on the diamond for the Seahawks and Wildcats; Salve Regina owns a 25-8-2 mark in the series which includes the 2004 ECAC Championship in Quincy, Mass.

The Seahawks (15-6-1) survived their first elimination game in the NCAA Championships Hartford Regional on Friday afternoon when they dealt top-seeded and nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine (#11) a 5-4 defeat to help setup today's matchups. The Wildcats, who lost on Thursday to the Huskies, 17-2, won their first elimination game as well when they ousted Husson University from the regional with an 8-5 final on Friday. The Seahawks-Wildcats winner advances to Sunday to take on either the tournament's only remaining unbeaten team (Wheaton, if it wins Saturday night) or the survivor of the Southern Maine versus Oswego State matchup.

The Huskies-Lakers first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday and the winner returns to DiBenedetto Stadium for a 9 p.m. meeting with Wheaton.

Salve Regina makes its sixth overall appearance in an NCAA regional, and fourth in the last five completed seasons (leaving out 2020). The Seahawks made their first trip in 2001 under then head coach Steve Cirella who followed that with a return four years later to Harwich, Mass. Playing for his dad in 2005 and earning CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine® Baseball Academic All-America of the Year, current head coach Eric Cirella has guided the Seahawks since taking over the reins following the 2013 campaign. He has appeared in post-season competition (beyond the conference tournament) six out of his seven full seasons, and has compiled a .650 winning percentage over eight years at the helm (185-99-3).

Regional Host Site: https://bantamsports.com/feature/NCAAregional

NCAA Digital Program: https://www.ncaa.com/DIIIBaseball

The 2021 DIII baseball championship is June 4-9 at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Chapman is the defending national champion.

Below is the complete championship schedule

• Friday, June 4 | Finals | 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com 
• Saturday, June 5 | Finals | 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com
• Sunday, June 6 | Finals | 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com
• Monday, June 7 | Finals | 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com
• Tuesday, June 8 | Finals | 12 p.m. ET on NCAA.com
• Wednesday, June 9 | Finals | 12 p.m. ET on NCAA.com (if necessary)

AGAINST THE FIELD

Salve Regina has played on the FieldTurf at Murren Family Field/DiBenedetto Stadium a total of five times since 2018 including the most recent trip to the NCAA Regionals in 2019. Salve Regina has lost four times to Trinity College including the first and elimination games of the regional hosted by the Bantams two years ago. Before they were eliminated, the Seahawks eliminated Keystone College, 13-1, in a sunshine-drenched afternoon with winning pitcher, Will Ginsburg, getting home run support from then freshman Sean O'Malley.

Among the six teams in the Hartford Regional, Salve Regina's 2019 appearance in the NCAAs hosted by Trinity College is the most recent of any on the Murren Family Field/DiBenedetto Stadium.

The Seahawks were scheduled for two trips to Hartford, Conn., in 2020, and another last March 24 against the Bantams, but the pandemic cancelled all of those meetings. Trinity has played elsewhere, or cancelled, matchups with Johnson & Wales, Oswego, and Southern Maine over the last two seasons.

Overall, Salve Regina has a mark of 33 wins, 19 losses, and two ties (a .629 winning percentage) against the field with the following breakdowns by opponent:

• versus Husson (2-2; .500), last played a doubleheader in 2009 in Winter Haven, Fla.
• versus Johnson & Wales (25-8-2; .743), last played to an 8-8 draw on Reynolds Field in 2020 in Newport, R.I.
• versus Oswego St. (2-1; .667), last played on neutral turf in 2020 in Philadelphia, Pa.
• versus Southern Maine (1-3; .250), last played twice in 2018 on sites 1,425 miles apart from Gorham, Maine to Auburndale, Fla.
• versus Wheaton (5-3; .625), last played on April 4, 2019, with Salve Regina winning its fifth straight in the series, 8-6, in Newport, R.I.