Marc Marizzaldi is not interested in where his program has been.
Despite leading Seton Hill to the brink of an NCAA Division II College World Series berth each of the past two seasons, the longtime Griffins coach said he does not find it helpful to reflect upon what has led to one of the most successful runs by a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division team in recent history.
“I don’t think we look back at the last two years,” Marizzaldi said. “Other people do, but this is a different team. This is not the same team that lost last year. It’s not the same team who won 48 games two years ago. They’re kind of running their own race.”
Marizzaldi is hoping the finish line will be slightly further away this time around.
Seton Hill (40-16) will travel to face East Stroudsburg (38-14) in the NCAA Atlantic Super Regional at Creekview Park in Stroudsburg with a chance to advance to the College World Series in Cary, N.C., on the line.
The best-of-three-game series is scheduled to begin with Game 1 at 1 p.m. Thursday and Game 2 set for 1 p.m. Friday. A third game, if necessary, is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.
It will be a third consecutive Atlantic Super Regional appearance for the Griffins, who were swept by Millersville in 2023 before falling in three games to Indiana University of Pennsylvania a season ago.
East Stroudbsurg last advanced to the Atlantic Super Regional in 2022.
“We feel that what we’ve done up until this point, what we’ve gone through with some tough losses and some great wins, that we’re prepared for this moment,” said Seton Hill sophomore shortstop Owen Henne, a 2023 Pine-Richland graduate. “Hopefully, we all like to think, that this will be the year that we get over the hump and we make it all the way to Cary because ultimately that is where we want to be.”
The Griffins are looking to make their third College World Series appearance in school history with berths in 2014 and 2021 to their credit.
“It’s good to live in the present and not have to look back, but we have [been there] before,” said Griffins graduate student pitcher Jon McCullough, who is a 2020 Seneca Valley product. “Mazz always said this postseason, ‘We have a lot of scars from losing in years past, that we’ve been there. We know what to do.’”
And there is plenty of recent history between Seton Hill and East Stroudsburg.
Although the teams did not play this season, the Warriors defeated the Griffins in the first round of the PSAC tournament a year ago before winning the second postseason matchup between the teams in the Atlantic Regional.
Seton Hill would ultimately get the last laugh, though, winning two straight games over East Stroudsburg to close out the Atlantic Regional and advance to the 2024 Atlantic Super Regional series.
“They’re actually almost a mirror of us,” said Marizzaldi, now in his 21st season coaching the Griffins. “When you look at the statistics, we are neck and neck in everything. They play a very similar style of baseball. They pitch it really well, defend at a high level, run the bases aggressively, so I think they’re extremely balanced. When you look at an opponent you’re trying to find some weaknesses and they don’t have too many.”
The one advantage Seton Hill will undoubtedly have is with its pitching staff.
The Griffins have a 2.85 team ERA, 1.14 WHIP and have allowed just 7.69 hits per game, which are all the lowest in the nation. The Seton Hill pitching staff’s nine shutouts are second most in the NCAA, while its 2.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio is third best in the country.
“We always kind of believed that we were set up pretty well for tournament baseball, which tests the depth of your pitching staff and also your bullpen,” Marizzaldi said. “At the same time, having two outstanding starters and then two other really good ones, we just think we have enough depth to get through a series and even be pretty competitive throughout the World Series in Cary if we get there.”
Redshirt junior right-hander Ian Korn has racked up an 11-1 record with a 1.51 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, .182 opponent’s batting average, 76 strikeouts and just 17 walks over 77⅓ innings.
McCullough, a right-hander in his fifth season with Seton Hill, is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 61 strikeouts and just 15 walks.
“It’s just making sure when someone gets on that they stay there and don’t try and steal a base,” said McCullough, who is slated to get the ball for Game 2 of the Super Regional with Korn on the mound for the first game.
Right-handers Julian Minaya and Matthew Blanchard have also been strong for the Griffins this season. Minaya is 6-3 in 10 starts with a 2.68 ERA, while Blanchard is 2-2 in 14 starts with a 2.72 ERA.
Sophomore reliever Zach Herb, a Shenango product, has also thrown strong innings out of the Seton Hill bullpen along with junior Mt. Lebanon product Evan Rossi and South Side Beaver product Luke McCoy.
Herb has a 0.56 ERA in 17 relief appearances, while Rossi has a 2.45 ERA in 16 appearances and McCoy has a 2.63 ERA in 13⅔ innings out of the bullpen.
“It’s pretty remarkable that you can go out every single game and know that if you give your pitchers three, maybe even four, runs that you have a chance to win every single game,” Henne said. “That’s something that you can fall back on, and it’s a really nice way to be able to play a baseball game.”
And it has been Henne who has provided plenty of that run support this season.
In a breakout sophomore season, Henne has hit a team-best .368 with a 1.000 OPS and a .579 slugging percentage. He has collected 52 RBIs with 13 doubles, 8 home runs and 23 steals.
“I grew late and didn’t really have many other opportunities,” Henne said. “They kind of took a chance on me, and I was very fortunate to get that chance and ended up here. I think that’s what they do. They kind of go out, and they see the value in guys, and they know how they can develop them into this great culture that we have. Once people buy into that, I think that’s kind of what takes us where we want to be.”
Freshman Brady McGuire, a Shaler product, has also had a breakout season with a .330 batting average, team-high 16 doubles, 28 RBIs and 24 steals.
Junior outfielder Jack Whalen, a Norwin graduate, has also had a strong season at the plate with a .321 batting average, while junior Colin Ahr is hitting .313.
Sophomore Jakob Haynes, a Penn-Trafford graduate, has hit a team-high 12 home runs with a .574 slugging percentage.
Brothers and Upper St. Clair products Owen and Max Mandler have also been productive for the Griffins.
Owen, a sophomore, is hitting .318, while Max, a senior, is hitting .317.
“It’s been a year where there have been a couple of staples that have been consistent, like Whalen and Henne at the top,” Marizzaldi said. “Then the rest of the season, it has kind of been different stints where different guys step up.”
With as dominant as Seton Hill’s pitching staff has been, McCullough said run support has never been a problem.
“I have a lot of faith in our lineup,” he said. “We will definitely get some runs on the board and with our pitching staff, even scoring five or six runs in a game, it feels like we have a pretty good shot to win.”
And that’s exactly what McCullough plans to do.
“I feel like this is the year,” he said. “Getting back [to the postseason] every single year and this year feels a little bit different.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.