Saint Joseph's ready for another run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament

Fritz Hamburg has Saint Joseph's in a fourth consecutive A10 Tournament. | PHOTO: Saint Joseph's Athletics

Saint Joseph's is preparing for its fourth consecutive postseason appearance, having secured the seventh seed for the 2024 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship. The tournament will open on Tuesday at Capital One Park in Tysons, Virginia. 

 

The Hawks (26-24, 13-11) concluded the regular season in a four-way tie for fourth place alongside George Washington, UMass, and Richmond. Due to the teams not playing each other, the initial tiebreaker relied on their records against common conference opponents, with all four teams posting a 6-3 record against George Mason, Rhode Island, and St. Bonaventure. 

 

The subsequent tiebreaker was the best record against the highest-ranking common opponent, favoring George Washington and Richmond, each holding a 2-1 record against Rhode Island. Consequently, Saint Joseph's was seeded seventh, following UMass, who secured the higher seed by winning the season series against the Hawks. 

 

Saint Louis claimed the regular season championship and a first-round bye in the tournament; the Billikens will meet the winner of Tuesday's contest between Richmond and George Washington on Wednesday. 

 

The Hawks enter the championship with considerable momentum, having won eight of their last nine games. They will face second-seeded VCU at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner advances to face either third-seeded Dayton or sixth-seeded UMass on Wednesday. The loser will compete in an elimination game scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday. 

 

Saint Joseph's boasts the longest active postseason streak in the conference, marking their fourth consecutive appearance since 2021. 

 

The Hawks and VCU did not meet this year in the regular season. The two clubs met last year though, with the Hawks taking two-of-three in a series at Smithson Field. 

 

Ryan Weingartner led the offense during the regular season with a 1.001 OPS and a team-high 14 homers. He tied with Owen Petrich for the team lead with 53 RBIs. Petrich also had a fantastic season, hitting .317 with ten homers. Conlan Wall also pieced together a stellar year, hitting .328 with 18 stolen bases. 

 

As for pitching, the Hawks relied heavily on the trio of Ryan DeSanto, Domenic Picone, and Will McCausland. DeSanto posted a 4.10 ERA over eight conference starts while limiting opponents to a .200 batting average. He also collected 51 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings. McCausland led the staff with 83 strikeouts in the regular season while carrying a 4.92 ERA. Picone limited opponents to a .212 batting average while posting 73 strikeouts over 62 1/3 innings.