Seton Hill baseball team looks for World Series title

Will the third time be the charm for Seton Hill baseball coach Marc Marizzaldi?

He sure hopes so.

Seton Hill qualified for the College World Series for the third time, the second time in NCAA Division II, by winning the Atlantic Regional on May 30. The Griffins made the NAIA World Series in 2006 and went 0-2. They went 1-2 in the Division II World Series in 2014.

Marizzaldi said he learned a lot about what to expect at the World Series.

“The first year we got barbequed in two games,” Marizzaldi said. “We were overwhelmed by the travel.

“When we came here (Cary, N.C.), I learned after a few games that we actually belonged here. That’s the message we are conveying to them. No matter who we’re playing, you must remember you belong.”

Seton Hill (38-6), seeded No. 2, opens the World Series 6 p.m. Sunday against East Regional champion Southern New Hampshire (28-7).

Both teams are ranked high in team ERA. The Griffins are No. 1 with a 3.01 ERA, and Southern New Hampshire is No. 5 at 3.38.

The Griffins have a deep pitching staff led by Jared Kollar, Jon McCullough, Caiden Wood, Kevin Vaupel and Ben Vicini.

“We have eight to 10 pitchers we’re comfortable with,” Marizzaldi said. “There are teams here that have a couple guys with more than 80 innings pitched and 100 strikeouts. We don’t have that. We’re not afraid to put anyone on the mound.”

Marizzaldi said he and his staff are searching the Internet to find out more about the seven other teams in the tournament.

“We played Tampa in 2020, but we don’t know much,” Marizzaldi said. “I know if you get here, you have to be good.”

After losing to Bloomsburg in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship, the Griffins bounced back to win the regional, which included a victory against Bloomsburg.

The Griffins pounded the Bloomsburg pitcher who beat them in the title game. They had him out early.

“When he played Bloomsburg the week before, they played their best game and we played our worst,” Marizzaldi said. “We learned a lot from that disappointment. We were better prepared and took it to them.

“They wanted revenge. We had a better approach. Baseball is crazy.”

Marizzaldi feels his team has what it takes to win the tournament.

“The two things you need to win are: first you have to pitch well, play outstanding defense and get timely hitting, and secondly, you have to play clean. A lot of times it comes down to who makes less mistakes.”

Offensively, the Griffins are solid one through nine. They are led by center fielder Derek Orndorff, left fielder Tommy Pellis, shortstop Owen Sabol, right fielder Jordan Fiedor, second baseman Isaiah DiAndreth and third baseman Jack Oberdorf.

Also contributing timely hits were catcher Vincenzo Rauso and first baseman Tyler Peterson.

Fiedor had five RBIs in the 8-5 victory against Millersville on Sunday, and Pellis had two.

Orndorff leads the team with 15 home runs and is tied with Pellis with 42 RBIs. Pellis has 14 home runs. DiAndreth, who started the season slowly, has driven in 41.

The Griffins arrived in Cary on Wednesday. They practiced Thursday at the University of North Carolina ahead of heavy rain that drenched the Raleigh area.

Not only do the players want to win the World Series for the school and Coach Marizzaldi, they have dedicated the season to the memory of Maclean “Mac” Maund, who died in a car crash before the 2020 campaign.