BIDDEFORD, Maine – Suffolk baseball earned the sixth seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament, which gets underway Monday afternoon.
The Rams enter the seven-team field as the sixth seed after compiling a 6-10 league ledger and 22-18 overall record in their first full CCC campaign. Suffolk will host seventh-seed Gordon (9-26, 5-11 CCC) in the play-in game on Monday, May 9 at East Boston Memorial Park at 3 p.m.
Both Suffolk and Gordon earned their respective seeds due to the tiebreaker procedure.
Suffolk fell to the sixth seed after WNE edged the Rams in a tiebreaker. Both squads finished 6-10 against conference competition and split its regular-season meeting. When looking at results in rank order, neither team had a win over any of the top three seeds, but the Golden Bears swept No. 4 Nichols, while Suffolk lost two to the Bison to give Western New England the fifth spot.
The other tie featured Suffolk's opponent, Gordon. The Fighting Scots had an identical conference record with Curry at 5-11. Gordon earned the No. 7 seed after besting the Colonels in both of their head-to-head games.
Suffolk and Gordon are prepared to tangle in the postseason for the first time. In the regular-season, the Rams swept the Fighting Scots with the blue-and-gold outscoring Gordon, 30-10. Over the last three games, Suffolk has outscored 50-15 to take a 5-4 edge in the all-time series. The Rams have never been taken down by the Fighting Scots on their home field.
The winner of the Suffolk, Gordon showdown will enter the double-elimination phase. The top three seeds – Salve Regina, Endicott and Roger Williams – will all host games on the first day of the tournament, Wednesday, May 11. Top-seeded Seahawks will host the victor of Suffolk, Gordon. The second-seed Gulls entertain fifth seed Western New England with the third-seeded Hawks slated to tangle with the fourth seed Nichols.
The tournament will be played through Saturday with the final team standing in the double-elimination bracket will be named 2022 CCC Baseball Tournament Champion and earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
Suffolk makes it seconds-ever trip and second in as many years to the CCC postseason. The Rams have yet to find the win column when playing in the CCC tournament. The blue-and-gold looks to hoist a conference crown for the first time since 2018 when it grabbed its fourth straight, eighth overall GNAC Crown. Half of Suffolk's conference titles have come under Anthony Del Prete's tenure with four of the program's eighth NCAA Tournament Trips also coming with Del Prete on the bench.
2022 CCC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Play-In Game – Monday, May 9
#7 Gordon at #6 Suffolk – 3 p.m.
Double-Elimination – Wednesday, May 11
Hosted by higher seeds
Game 1: #6/#7 Winner at #1 Salve Regina
Game 2: #5 Western New England at #2 Endicott
Game 3: #4 Nichols at #3 Roger Williams
Double-Elimination – Thursday, May 12
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3
Double-Elimination – Friday, May 13
If four teams remain after Game 6
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Game 8: Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
If five teams remain after Game 6
Game 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 9: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 6
Double-Elimination – Saturday, May 14
If two teams remain after Game 9
Game 10 – Two remaining teams
Game 11 – If Necessary
If three teams remain after Game 9
Game 10 – Loser of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 8
Game 11 – Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10