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ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley's Baseball team will compete in its first MAC Commonwealth Championship since 2002 beginning on Saturday when the Flying Dutchmen travel to York (Pa.) for a doubleheader with the Spartans in a best-of-three series. Two 9-inning contests will take place at York starting at noon with the if-necessary game set to take place in Annville on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
How They Got Here
After finishing the regular season with a 17-9 overall record and a 16-6 conference record, LVC swept Stevenson 2-0 in the quarterfinal round two weeks ago. Then, last weekend, in the semifinal round, the Dutchmen defeated Alvernia in game one 5-2 before dropping a 7-2 decision to set up a winner-take-all matchup in Reading. A big double from Nico Santoro in the bottom of the seventh propelled LVC to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory to place the Dutchmen in the championship series.
 
MAC Commonwealth Quarterfinals Recap
MAC Commonwealth Semifinals Recap (Day 1)
MAC Commonwealth Semifinals Recap (Day 2)
 
History vs. York
The Spartans hold a 20-7 overall mark over the Dutchmen, including three straight wins. The two teams first met in 1984 and LVC's last victory came in 2007.
 
Last Time We Faced York
LVC and the Spartans faced each other in each teams' first two contests of the 2021 season back on March 9 and 10. The Dutchmen started 17 different players in the two games and used nearly all of their pitchers.
 
Eight Dutchmen Named All-Conference
Announced earlier this morning, LVC put a program-record eight Dutchmen on the All-MAC Commonwealth Team. Tanner Rock, Chris DeClerico, and Mike Bulgia each earned First-Team honors and Kyle Kingsbury was tabbed a Second-Team honoree. Hunter Tipton, Luke Blair, and Bryan Towers each garnered Honorable Mention.
 
LVC Notables
The Dutchmen go into the Championship Series having won eight of their last nine games. Bulgia leads the Dutchmen with a .366 batting average, while Leri and Towers are tied for the team lead in its with 36. LVC has five players that have nine doubles on the season, including Leri, Towers, Bulgia, DeClerico, and Conor Smith.
 
On the mound, the Dutchmen boast a 4.04 team ERA, led by Kingsbury, who has allowed just 2.40 earned runs per game and has struck out a team-best 57 batters. Tanner Rock has a 2.60 ERA in 45 innings, while Brendan Ward sits at a 3.03 ERA. Bullpen specialist Tipton rocks a 0.96 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched with four saves and 14 K's.
 
York Notables
The Spartans' offense has been at the top of the conference for much of the season. Austin Denlinger has a .400 batting average and 54 hits, including 17 home runs and 15 doubles, while Jack Berry leads the team with a .421 average and has amassed 16 home runs.
 
Brandon Haggerty is York's ace after going 9-0 in in 53.1 innings pitched. He currently sits with a 2.19 ERA and has struck out 68 hitters.
 
What's at Stake
The winner of the MAC Commonwealth will receive an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Baseball Championship Regionals.
 
Tournament Bracket