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NCAAreg23

Baseball To Host East Regional 2 of the NCAA Tournament

5/14/2023 12:00:00 AM

Goldey-Beacom's baseball team earned its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament over the last three seasons and will host East Regional 2, beginning play Thursday against Felician at 7:00 pm.
 
All games for the regional will take place at the University of Delaware in Newark.
 
Goldey-Beacom, in just its seventh season since the program's reinstatement, is the number two for the regional and Felician is seventh.  The opening game Thursday sees third-seeded Le Moyne battle No. 6 seed Queens (NY) at 3:30 pm.  The winner of the double-elimination regional plays the East 1 survivor in the East Region final with the champion going to the NCAA Division II World Series in Cary, NC.
 
GBC (34-18, 16-8 CACC) already this season has broken the school record for most victories, has four wins against nationally ranked teams and has been part of the NCAA regional rankings each of the last three seasons.
 
Goldey-Beacom's first NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2021, when the squad notched two victories over nationally ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas.  This was after the Lightning won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division title, closing with a 22-9 overall record and 19-6 in the CACC.
 
The 2022 unit also excelled, ranked 14th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll and recorded 27 wins.
 
It was the second dose of good news over the weekend with senior catcher Johnny Kampes (Colora, MD) and junior pitcher Jake Kelchner (Collegeville, PA) each named to the CACC All-Tournament Team.
 
Kampes batted .524 (11-of-21) on the week with four doubles and five RBI over five games, including three hits in three of those contests.  Kelchner went 2-0 with 16 strikeouts over 13 innings.
 
The awards season already has begun for the squad with Kampes, Kelchner and junior third baseman Kyle Walker (Wilmington, DE) tabbed first team All-CACC with sophomore center fielder Christian Petrillo (New Brunswick, NJ) picked second team.
 
Kampes has beyond solidified his claim as one of the nation's top catchers and quite simply is one of the league's most feared players.  A gifted athlete who is one of the College's elite among all sports, Kampes is a threat at all times with his incredible power, timely hitting and stupendous defense that has ended many opponents rallies.
 
One of the most exciting athletes to watch compete, Kampes is sixth in the country with a school-record 43 stolen bases (first in the CACC), 21st with a school-record 21 doubles (first in the CACC), second in the league with a school-record 53 RBI, third with 10 home runs, fifth with 68 hits and sixth with a .370 batting average.
 
Kampes also is first in school history with 50 stolen bases, fourth with 16 home runs, fourth with 86 RBI and fifth with 29 doubles.
 
Kelchner has been one of the conference's top pitchers, giving the Lightning consistently strong starts each time.  Throwing at least six innings in eight of his last 10 starts and notching at least six strikeouts six times, the southpaw is third in the league with a 3.71 ERA, third with six wins, 10th with 65 strikeouts and 31st with a .247 batting average against.
 
Among his highlights, Kelchner got a season-best nine strikeouts May 5 in helping Goldey-Beacom complete a CACC Tournament first-round sweep of Jefferson in the squads' best-of-three series.  His six wins are tied with Mitch Guerrieri (2022) for the program's single-season record and his 65 strikeouts are first in team annals.
 
Walker has been one of the program's most vital players with exceptional hitting on a consistent basis.  This was witnessed earlier this season when the 2021 second team All-CACC pick went on a school-record 26-game hitting streak, during which he batted .362 (34-of-94) with nine extra-base hits and 22 RBI.
 
Another exciting athlete to see play, Walker is third in league with 71 hits, fifth with 46 RBI and 11th with a .359 batting average.  He is first in school history with a .339 career batting average, first with 163 hits, first with 95 RBI, fourth with 27 doubles and fourth with 28 stolen bases.
 
Petrillo has been an incredible addition with his solid hitting from the leadoff spot and more than impressive coverage of center field thanks his speed that at times seems hard to fathom.  He is 24th in the country with 32 stolen bases (second in the CACC), fourth in the league with 15 doubles, seventh with 64 hits, 18th with .337 batting average and 25th with a .427 on base percentage.
 
Petrillo, who went 4-for-4 in the season opener February 10 against Chowan, is tied for second for the Lightning behind Kampes with 18 multi-hit games. 
 

2023 NCAA Tournament – East Regional 2 (all games at Bob Hannah Stadium -- Newark, DE)
 
Thursday, May 18
G1: Queens (NY) vs. Le Moyne, 3:30 pm
G2: Felician vs. Goldey-Beacom, 7:00 pm *
 
Friday, May 19
G3: Winners/Elimination Bracket, TBD
G4: Winners/Elimination Bracket, TBD *
 
Saturday, May 20
G5: Elimination Bracket, TBD
G6: Championship Round, TBD *
 
Sunday, May 21
G7: Championship Round, TBD (if necessary -- if game five winner wins game six)
 
* There will be a minimum of 50 minutes in between games.
 
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