TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

SALEM, Mass. - The No. 2-seeded Salem State baseball team (20-15, 16-8 MASCAC) will host the winner of No. 3-seeded Worcester State (18-18, 16-8 MASCAC) vs. No. 6-seeded Mass. Maritime (20-18, 12-12 MASCAC) Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.

Five Things to Know

• Salem enters the postseason as the two seed and will look to capture its sixth Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tournament championship. 
• The Vikings finished the year with 20 wins, the most since 2023. The squad's 16 MASCAC wins are the most conference wins in program history.
• Salem's offense ranked fourth in the conference, scoring 220 runs, and had scored 10 or more runs in seven contests this year. 
• The nine home wins this season are the most since 2023 (11). 
• Salem has won both its series against the Lancers and Buccaneers earlier this season, taking two out of three in each.

Who to Watch For

• Salem's rotation features the MASCAC Pitcher of the Year, Nolan Currier (Maynard, Mass.). Currier ended the regular season first in the MASCAC with a 1.02 ERA, second with six wins, a .95 WHIP, only allowing five earned runs, 49 strikeouts, and four games without a single earned run. He is currently third in DIII so far this season in regards to ERA and is the only MASCAC pitcher to be ranked in the top-10. Twice this season, Currier earned Pitcher of the Week honors, including the week of 4/21 when he threw a complete game seven-inning shutout, only allowing two hits, with 11 strikeouts, one walk, a 0.00 ERA, and .43 WHIP in the Vikings' 3-0 win over the AMCATS.
• The Vikings offense features six hitters who have a batting average above .300 (min. 50 at-bats). Owen Duggan (Billerica, Mass.) leads the squad in hits (46) and batting average (.357). He is also just one of two batters to have 30 or more RBIs this season (31). Towards the end of the year, he posted a hitting streak of six games, which featured a 2-5 day at the plate, where he also drove in three runs to reach 100 career RBIs. In the conference, he ranks within the top-10 in hits (sixth). The five other Viking hitters who had a batting average over .300 included Currier, Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.), Ethan Stepputtis (Prospect, Conn.), Aidan Lynch (North Andover, Mass.), and Lucas Rincon (Revere, Mass.) at .338, .328, .320, .312, and .310, respectively. 
• Mass. Maritime's offense features MASCAC Player of the Year, Nate Kaczynski. He led the MASCAC in batting average at .480, slugging percentage at .764, and on-base percentage at .566. Over his 37 games, he collected 61 hits, eight doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 33 RBI, 41 runs scored, 23 walks, and four stolen bases. His batting average is currently fifth in DIII. The Bucs rotation will feature innings leader Sean Hallissey. In the year, he tossed 50.2 IP while striking out 55, with an ERA of 5.15 and a 3-3 record.
• For Worcester State, the Lancers will be led by Kevin Doyle, who led the team with a .449 batting average while being tied for second in RBIs (24). Towards the end of the regular season, he posted a seven-game hitting streak where five of those contests were multi-hit games. In the conference, he is top-five in batting average and third in home runs (seven). The Lancers rotation will be led by Gavin Price, who posted a 2.21 ERA in 40.2 IP while fanning 47. He finished the year with a 2-3 record. 

What's Next

The winner of Thursday's quarterfinals game will then head to Bridgewater State to take on the winner of No. 1 seed Bridgewater State vs. No. 4 seed Anna Maria / No. 5 seed Westfield State on Friday, May 8, at 3:00 p.m. However, the loser of Thursday's contest will then take on the loser of No. 1 seed Bridgewater State vs. No. 4 seed Anna Maria / No. 5 seed Westfield State on Friday, May 8 at noon. All contests will be double elimination.