The Fighting Saints make their USCAA National Tournament – also dubbed the Small College World Series – debut Wednesday, May 13 against Tennessee Temple University at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, Va.
College of St. Joseph enters the double elimination tournament as the sixth seed, and will play until they lose twice or win the championship title Saturday, May 16.
The Crusaders won’t be an easy win for the Saints, as the team comes to the plate with a handful of solid veterans and an even larger group of able rookies. Tennessee Temple brings with them a 20-10 record, while the Saints enter 36-31.
The Saints will rely on the strong skills of USCAA Players of the Week Brett Patterson, Ryan Cummings and Bill Brancatella. You can expect CSJ’s Alan Madsen and Jayson Osborne to show up to win as well, as he leads the USCAA in home runs and tops the leaderboard in other areas. The Saints are no strangers to tough competition after taking home the Yankee Small College Conference Championship May 2.
Madsen will get the start for the Saints in the first game of the tournament.
The Crusaders have held the No. 1 spot on the USCAA Coaches Poll and dominated the Power Rankings for several weeks, and freshmen shortstop and pitcher Micah Wyatt will likely be a roadblock for the Saints team, as he leads the USCAA in pitching wins, batting about .370 and winning eight games from the mound. The Crusaders will also rely on senior second basemen Caden Shadrick, who hits in the .400 range.
While the game will be the first national tournament appearance for the Saints following the program’s return in fall after a seven-year hiatus, the tournament will be the last for Tennessee Temple, as the university has closed it’s doors in a merger with Piedmont International University.
The tournament begins May 12, and will continue through Saturday, May 16. The games will be streamed live by the USCAA.
Schedule: 2015 USCAA Small College World Series
Wednesday, May 13
Game 1: #8-seed Penn State Beaver (19-16) vs. #9-seed St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn (21-16), 8:30 am
Game 2: #7-seed University of Cincinnati-Clermont (19-14) vs. #10-seed Penn State Schuylkill (16-11), 11 am
Game 5: #3-seed Tennessee Temple University (19-9) vs. #6-seed College of St. Joseph (VT/36-31), 1:30 pm
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. #1-seed Illinois Tech (21-9), 4 pm
Game 3: #4-seed Rochester College (MI/18-14) vs. #5-seed Apprentice School (22-13), 6:30 pm
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #2-seed Penn State Greater Allegheny (30-7), 9 pm
Thursday, May 14
Game 7: Loser Game 1 v. Loser Game 3, 8:30 am
Game 8: Loser Game 2 v. Loser Game 5, 11 am
Game 9: Winner Game 4 v. Winner Game 3, 1:30 pm
Game 10: Winner Game 5 v. Winner Game 6, 4 pm
Game 11: Winner Game 7 v. Loser Game 4, 6:30 pm
Game 12: Winner Game 8 v. Loser Game 6, 9 pm
Friday, May 15
Game 13: Winner Game 11 v. Loser Game 10, 9 am
Game 14: Winner Game 12 v. Loser Game 9, 11:30 am
Game 15: Winner Game 9 v. Winner Game 10, 2 pm
Game 16: Winner Game 13 v. Winner Game 14, 4:30 pm
Saturday, May 16
Game 17: Winner Game 16 v. Loser Game 15, 11 am
Game 18: Winner Game 17 v. Winner Game 15, 2:30 pm
Game 19: if necessary, 30 minutes after
