To make the NCAA baseball and softball postseason, teams have to win conference titles.
Some get at-large bids, but spots are guaranteed only for those that finish first in their league tournaments.
For teams to win conferences, they need talent across the ballpark.
Several have advanced in the national postseason, and local players are contributing in significant ways at all three NCAA levels.
Seton Hill baseball (41-10) was stunned early in the PSAC Tournament, but the Griffins snagged an at-large invite to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The Griffins feature the PSAC West player (sophomore Brady McGuire), pitcher (junior Marc Wechtenhiser) and coach (Marc Marizzaldi) of the year as they embark on their 15th NCAA appearance.
They will take on Charleston (25-29) at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Atlantic Regional at Millersville.
Marizzaldi is eager to see how his team responds to a 16-4 loss to Millersville in the PSAC opener.
“We got our (butts) kicked,” Marizzaldi said. “Good. It’s an opportunity to learn and respond. We lost the chance to host a regional. Good. We get to hit the road and win another regional the same place we did last year.
“There’s been a lot of chapters to this year’s team’s journey. I’m excited they get to write this next chapter.”
Several local players are making the trip to nationals with Seton Hill. They are grad student Christian Zilli (Hempfield), seniors Jack Whalen (Norwin) and Joe Fiedor (Hempfield), juniors Gage Wheaton (Hempfield) and Jakob Haynes (Penn-Trafford) and freshmen Brady Stone (Penn-Trafford) and Nate Silberman (Norwin).
Two other local baseball players will play in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Thomas Nicely, a Franklin Regional alum, will suit up for Penn State Behrend, and sophomore shortstop Keegan Carr, a Norwin graduate, will join Washington & Jefferson in D-III baseball’s “big dance.”
Nicely, a senior catcher, and the Lions (31-10), fresh off winning the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title, will play Lynchburg (36-6-1) at 11 a.m. Friday at Bank of the James Stadium in Lynchburg (Va.).
“The mindset is that it’s not going to be easy, but we have guys who have been here before and have had success,” Nicely said. “Any team playing this time of the year is legit, and we have to play our best baseball now to move onto the next round.”
Nicely is hitting .356 with 11 doubles, two homers and 14 RBIs in 37 games.
W&J (32-11), the PAC champion for a 17th time, also will play in a D-III regional, hosting Chicago (27-13) at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Ross Memorial Park in Washington.
Carr, the leadoff man for the Presidents, has a .365 batting average with five doubles, 24 RBIs and 48 runs. He has started 40 of 41 games.
“We are very excited going into the regional and hosting it makes it even better,” Carr said. “We have been playing really well at home all season, and we are hoping to continue that this weekend. My mindset going in is to treat it like a normal baseball game and keep playing with confidence.”
W&J is 18-4 at home this season.
Two area softball players also will play in NCAA tournaments.
Freshman Toryn Fulton, a Franklin Regional alum, who has made fast progress as a starter at South Florida, will play in the NCAA Division I Tournament with the Bulls.
South Florida (41-15), the American Conference champion, will open against Washington at 8 p.m. Friday in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional in Fayetteville, Ark.
Fulton, a home run-hitting sensation in the WPIAL, has started all 55 games and is hitting .321 with the second-most RBIs (33) and home runs (7) on the team (33). She has 30 runs scored.
Sophomore pitcher Cheyenne Piper, a Ligonier Valley alum, was named the PAC Pitcher of the Year and the PAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row. She and teammate Kylie Anthony, a freshman from Penn-Trafford who was named the PAC Newcomer of the Year, will play in the NCAA Division III Tournament beginning noon Thursday against Behaven (37-9) in Jackson, Miss.
Westminster, the three-time defending PAC champion, is 30-9.
Piper is 18-3 with a 1.73 ERA, 180 strikeouts and 19 walks in 141 2/3 innings for the Titans.
Anthony, a third baseman who hits second in the order, has a .394 average with eight triples, 13 doubles, 23 RBIs and 37 runs.
“We have to take it one game at a time and give it our all,” Piper said. “Not overthinking it and just showing out will keep us ready.”