Haverhill, MA (May 9th 2018) – The six-time defending Region XXI champion Northern Essex Community College baseball team will host this weekend's NJCAA regional tournament Friday through Sunday (complete tournament schedule below) for the first time since 2016.
The tournament will be a four-team double elimination format featuring the top seeded Knights, who will be joined in the tournament by second seeded Massasoit Community College, third seed Quinsigamond College and the fourth seed Holyoke Community College.
The Knights enter the tournament with an overall record of 21-13 and a Region XXI division record of 13-2. Against teams in the tournament field NECC stands at 7-2. NECC swept the season series from Holyoke, while going 2-1 against both Quinsigamond and Massasoit. Several members of the squad are among the regions leaders and also rank among near the top of the national stat leaders.
From the catching position Riley Magee (Windham, NH) has been leading the offense as he tops the region in in batting average, hits, RBI's and home runs at .463, 57, 44 and seven respectively. Ben Irvine (Peabody, MA) has 35 steals on the season which ranks tops in the region and second nationally. The Knights lineup features six of the top eight batting averages in the region.
On the mound, Corey Imbriano (Wakefield, MA) is atop the national leaderboard with an ERA sitting at 0.75. Richard Reidy (Amesbury, MA) has joined Imbriano on the mound to provide strength at the top of the rotation.
The winner of this weekend's regional tournament will host the winner of the Region XV tournament May 18-20 in a best two out of three series with the winner advancing to the NJCAA World Series at Pioneer Park in Greenville, TN May 26-31
Tournament Schedule (Admission to all games is free throughout the tournament)
Friday May 11th Both Games Played at Trinity Stadium, Haverhill
Game 1: 4:00pm #1 Northern Essex vs. #4 Holyoke
Game 2: 7:30pm #2 Massasoit vs. #3 Quinsigamond
Saturday May 12th
Game 3: 1:00pm NECC/Holyoke Loser vs Massasoit/Quinsigamond Loser - Eaton Field, Newburyport
Game 4: 2:00pm NECC/Holyoke Winner vs Massasoit/Quinsigamond Winner – Trinity Stadium
Game 5: 6:00pm Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – Trinity Stadium
Sunday May 13th
Game 6: 2:00pm Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5 – Trinity Stadium
Game 7: 40 minutes following the conclusion of Game 6 (If Necessary) – Trinity Stadium
Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors eight varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's basketball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (http://athletics.necc.mass.edu).