Wappingers Falls, NY - The Wagner baseball team enters the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament as the 4-seed and will take on 5-seed Delaware State in the opening round. It will be seeking its second-ever NEC Championship and its first since 2000.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and NEC Front Row.

Back-to-Back Appearances

The Seahawks earned their second consecutive berth to the NEC Tournament after missing the previous two. It is the second NEC Tournament appearance for the program under third-year head coach Craig Noto.

After earning the 2-seed and a first round bye in 2023, the Green & White will look to become the first 4-seed to win the double-elimination tournament since Monmouth won in 2009.

The Seahawks endured a relentless non-conference schedule, starting 0-11. But since its loss to Rutgers on March 5, they have rattled off a 25-17 record. In conference, the Seahawks began with an 8-0 mark, the best record in program history to begin NEC play.

Three Seahawks Earn All-NEC Honors

All three All-NEC recipients for the Seahawks became first time honorees as graduate student Alec Burnett was named to the first team and freshman Diego Tavarez and sophomore Ryan Bilka earned second team honors.

Burnett led the Seahawks in ERA (2.22) and WHIP (1.20) while also placing second on the NEC leaderboard for saves with seven on the season. He has been the de facto closer for the team and has produced seven straight scoreless outings.

Tavarez batted to the tune of a .288 batting average while collecting 27 RBIs. He was named NEC Rookie of the Week on April 9 after a 6-for-8 weekend against Norfolk State, which included a pinch-hit walk-off home run.

Bilka led the conference in ERA (2.86) and ranked third in opponent batting average (.211). He transitioned to a starting role in the early portion of the season and has racked up the strikeouts, leading the Seahawks with 59 punchouts over 63 innings.

Last Time Against Delaware State

The Hornets were swept by the Seahawks back in early March in Dover, DE, contributing three of the program record eight wins to start conference play. 

Wagner earned its first win of the season against Delaware State in a 9-2 victory on March 8. A 12-1 win in the second game of the doubleheader paved the way for the sweep two days later. Freshman Josiah Ross drove in the game-winning run in a 4-3 extra inning victory.

Senior Chris Conniff and junior Connor Hayden were named NEC Prime Performers for their respective performances against the Hornets.

About the NEC Tournament

The double-elimination format will feature six teams (in seed order): Sacred Heart, LIU, Merrimack, Wagner, Delaware State and FDU.

Sacred Heart and LIU earned first round byes and will await the winners from day one of the tournament. In Wagner's case, a win and Merrimack win would line the Seahawks up with the Pioneers on Thursday. An FDU win against Merrimack plus a Wagner win would pit the Seahawks against the Sharks in the winner's bracket.

If the Seahawks lose to Delaware State, they will play at 7:00 pm on Wednesday in an elimination game.