NCAA Baseball Tournament Preview

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- There had only been four 30-win seasons for the Bridgewater State University baseball program prior to the 2022 season.

That number was reached in 1992 (30 victories), 1996 (31 while finishing third in the nation) plus 2000 and 2012 (30 each).

Hitting the 30-win plateau has been a regular occurrence lately, however, for the Bears.

Beginning in '22, BSU has won at least 30 games in four of five seasons, going a combined 149-67.

The Bears have made it to the NCAA Division III tournament all five years, one shy of the program's best run of six straight seasons of qualifying (1996-2001).

The latest 30-win season continues Friday morning at 10 a.m. when BSU (30-8) opens another NCAA tourney against host and nationally ranked Salisbury University (32-9) at the Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium in Maryland.

The four-team double-elimination regional will also include a game between Mount Union (31-10) of Ohio against Hobart of New York (30-13) at 1:30 p.m.

It marks the fifth straight year that the Bears will start the NCAAs against a team that is nationally ranked.

BSU lost in 10 innings against No. 8 Cortland, 4-3, in 2022, defeated fourth-ranked Endicott, 4-2, at home in 2023, lost at Penn State Harrisburg, ranked No. 11, 4-2, in 2024 and fell to No. 3 Endicott at home last season.

Once again, the opening-round draw this season poses a major challenge for the Bears.

Salisbury, a member of the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference, is tied with Salve Regina at No. 5 in the D3baseball.com poll and is eighth in the American Baseball Coaches Association ranking.

The Sea Gulls have a rich tradition, winning the 2021 NCAA championship and finishing second in 2022.

Salisbury has the second-longest active streak of reaching the NCAA Division 3 tourney, going 26 years in a row. The Sea Gulls have been to the World Series eight times since 2001, including five times from 2014-23.

The Bears, who arrived in Maryland Wednesday, enter the NCAAs with momentum on their side.

BSU scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to overtake Worcester State for a 12-11 victory in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

The Bears have won five regular-season and tourney titles in a row and are 100-25 in all MASCAC games since '22.

This year's championship came after BSU lost five All-MASCAC players and had to fill key holes in the lineup and on the mound.

"I think it shows where the program is at," said coach Greg Zackrison of the Bears' continued success. "It's the old adage of, 'We don't rebuild, we just reload.' That's going to be the mission of this coming offseason, too.''

After playing limited roles last season, returning juniors Cam Beltramini (C, Hanson, Mass.) and Benjamin Sepeck (DH, Whitman, Mass.) provided a boost to the offense along with newcomer Rylan Secovich (Jr., CF, Southwick, Mass.).

Beltramini is hitting a team-best .393 with 11 doubles, four homers and 26 RBI. Secovich, a transfer from Dean College, broke the program record with 40 steals and is hitting .392 with 58 hits. Sepeck has taken full advantage of playing time, hitting .355 with 15 doubles.

The offense also features senior third baseman Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.), who is at .366 with 10 doubles, four homers and 45 RBI, senior first baseman Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.), who is batting .364 with 32 RBI, and senior right fielder DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.), who is hitting .352 with nine homers, 22 steals and 33 RBI. Sophomore left fielder Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.) came on strong the last two weeks of the season to raise his batting average to .327 with three homers, 14 stolen bases and 30 RBI.

Senior Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.) is the winningest starter with a 5-3 record and three complete games while senior lefthander Danny Jasmin (East Meadow, N.Y.) is 3-0 with 51 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA over 36 innings of work.

The bullpen is anchored by seniors Matt Kustigian (Charlton, Mass.) and CJ Hess (Providence, R.I.) as well as sophomore Chase Beach (East Orleans, Mass.). Kustigian is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 26 strikeouts and just six walks over 40 innings in 17 appearances out of the pen. Hess has three saves with 22 strikeouts and a 2.76 ERA in 11 relief outings while Beach checks in at 3-0 with three saves and 38 strikeouts over 28 innings in 13 appearances including three starts.

BSU has won 25 of its last 28 games and had a 16-game winning streak along the way, the second-best in program history.

Salisbury is second in the nation with a 2.75 ERA and second in hits allowed per game (6.7).

Junior Aidan Brinsfield (Salisbury, Md.) is the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Pitcher of the Year with eight wins, 68 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA.

Freshman outfielder Nathan Tondreault (Oakton, Va.) was selected the C2C Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year. He is hitting .396 with 10 homers and 46 RBI.

Prampin, Kustigian, Yesu, Selander and Jasmin will be making appearances in a fourth straight NCAA tourney.

"I hope we have the experience so we're not so star-struck when we get there," said Zackrison. "We want to just play well. We've been in a regional with Endicott, so we've seen what these teams are like.

"We're just hoping to compete real well and see how far we can go."

As was the case two years ago when the Bears played at Harrisburg, Pa., a long bus ride was required to get to this year's NCAA tourney.

BSU, in the NCAAs for the 19th time, should know what to expect as far as the competition and atmosphere goes after making so many trips lately.

"It's way more tense than a regular baseball game," said Kustigian. "There's going to be a whole bunch of spectators and people are going to be loud, so you've got to tone it out and focus on the hitter.

"Going four years, you can't beat it. It's a great team here. I'm just proud of the guys I've been with."

The losers of the two Friday games will play an elimination game at 8:30 a.m. Saturday while the winners meet at noon. Another elimination games is at 3:30 p.m.

The championship round takes place Sunday at 11 a.m. with an if-necessary game to follow.

The regional winner advances to a Super Regional May 22-23. The World Series is May 30-June 5 in Eastlake, Ohio.