Baseball

NESCAC Baseball Championship Field is Set; Quarterfinals Begin Saturday

HADLEY, Mass. – Colby and Middlebury finished as the divisional leaders in the NESCAC Baseball standings and are the top seeds out of the East and West, respectively, for the second straight tournament.

The top four teams in each division qualify for the NESCAC Championship based on the standings from the round-robin divisional play. The eight teams will play a cross-divisional quarterfinal best-of-three series (all 9-inning games) on the campus of the higher seeds on May 2 and 3. The winners from the quarterfinal weekend will advance to the championship weekend, May 9-11, at Bowdoin College. The NESCAC Champion will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
2024 Championship Recap
Middlebury topped Tufts in the NESCAC Championship series to claim the program's third conference title and second in the last three seasons. The Panthers dropped the opening contest on Sunday, 7-4, but secured a 9-2 victory in the winner-take-all Game 7.

Championship History
Six programs have won a NESCAC Baseball title since 2001. Tufts leads the way with seven championships (last: 2023). Amherst has claimed five conference crowns, its last in 2021 and Trinity owns four titles (last: 2012). Middlebury won its third title in 2024 while Wesleyan (last: 2015) and Williams (last: 2007) have won two titles each.
 
Tiebreakers: Colby and Bowdoin finished with identical divisional records of 7-5. In head-to-head competition, Colby won 2 of 3 games against Bowdoin in the three-game series on April 18-19 to earn the No. 1 seed in the East. Trinity and Tufts finished with identical divisional records of 6-6. In head-to-head competition, Trinity won 2 of 3 games against Tufts in the series on April 18-19 to earn the No. 3 seed in the East. Wesleyan and Hamilton finished with identical divisional records of 2-10. In head-to-head competition, Wesleyan won 2 of 3 games against Hamilton in the series played on March 28-29 to earn the No. 4 seed in the West. 

W4 Wesleyan Cardinals (2-10 NESCAC) at E1 Colby Mules (7-5 NESCAC)
  • Colby is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Championship and secured the top seed in the East for the second straight season and second time in program history with an 11-1 victory over Bates in the regular season finale.
  • Colby will host West No. 4 seed Wesleyan in the quarterfinal series for the third time in the Mules’ four appearances in the tournament and the second year in a row.
  • Colby swept the Cardinals in the 2024 and 2002 quarterfinals.
  • Wesleyan has qualified for the NESCAC Championship for the fourth consecutive season and 13th time overall.
  • An upset by the Cardinals would propel them into Championship Weekend for the first time since 2018.
W3 Williams Ephs (7-5 NESCAC) at E2 Bowdoin Polar Bears (7-5 NESCAC)
  • Bowdoin is the No. 2 seed in the East for the first time since 2013 and is making its fourth straight appearance in the NESCAC Tournament and its 11th appearance overall. The Polar Bears host a quarterfinal series for the first time since 2022, the first year of the current tournament format.
  • Bowdoin faces the West No. 3 seed Williams. The teams have played each other seven times in the NESCAC postseason, but the last meeting was in 2012 in Game 5 of the Championship Weekend. The Polar Bears posted a 2-1 win and own a 4-3 record against the Ephs.
  • Bowdoin looks to advance to Championship Weekend for the second time in three tournaments, and the Polar Bears would play in their home park, which is serving as a predetermined host of the final weekend of the NESCAC Championship.
  • Williams has qualified for its first NESCAC Championship since 2019 and is the West No. 3 seed for the first time in program history. 
  • Williams looks to get back to the NESCAC Championship Weekend for the first time since 2019
  • The Ephs’ seven conference wins are the most since 2021.
E3 Trinity Bantams (6-6 NESCAC) at W2 Amherst (9-3 NESCAC)
  • Amherst is the No. 2 seed in the West for the second consecutive tournament and 11th time in program history. The Mammoths have qualified for the NESCAC postseason for the fifth year in a row and are looking to make back-to-back trips to Championship Weekend.
  • Amherst and Trinity have played each other 12 times in the NESCAC postseason series and the record is even at 6-6. The most recent contest was Game 3 of the 2016 championship with Trinity posting a 13-6 victory.
  • Trinity earned a 7-5 victory over Amherst on April 23 in Hartford, Conn. in a non-divisional matchup.
  • Trinity is the No. 3 seed in the East for the second time in program history (last: 2022).
  • The Bantams look to advance to the championship weekend for the first time since 2016.
E4 Tufts Jumbos (6-6 NESCAC) at W1 Middlebury (10-2 NESCAC)
  • Middlebury, the defending NESCAC Champion, has qualified for the NESCAC Championship for the fourth straight year and is the No. 1 seed in the West for the second year in a row and fifth time in program history.
  • The Panthers will host a quarterfinal series for the fourth consecutive season when they face Tufts, the No. 4 seed in the East, in a rematch of the 2024 NESCAC Championship Series, where the Panthers defeated the Jumbos, 9-2, in Game 7 at Sol Gittleman Park in Medford, Mass.
  • Tufts, the 2024 NESCAC Runners-Up, is the No. 4 seed in the East for the first time since 2022.
  • The Jumbos are making their 10th consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Tournament and 20th overall.
  • Tufts owns a 9-8 edge in the NESCAC postseason series.