NEWARK, Del. - - The Central Atlantic Collegiate College baseball tournament started on Tuesday with a pair of play-in games, but the true tournament begins on Thursday as four teams will vie for the CACC automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship in a double-elimination format starting at Wilson Field.

The opening round games will be played at Wilson Field on Thursday, starting with No. 1 Wilmington taking on No. 5 Felician at 12 p.m., followed by #2 Dominican taking on #6 Chestnut Hill at 3 p.m.

The tournament shifts over to Frawley Stadium, home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, on Friday with three games, while the CACC Champion will be crowned on Saturday, with the right to represent the CACC in the East Regional.

Tickets into the events will be sold at the entrance way with $6.00 tickets for adults, $3.00 tickets for students with an I.D., and children. Children under the age of three will be admitted for free.

The tournament will be broadcasted LIVE via video, play-by-play and stats and the links can be found at the CACC's Tournament Homepage at http://www.caccathletics.org/sports/bsb/2012-13/releases/20130501-baseballchampionshippairings.

Scouting the No. 1 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The Wildcats enter the 2013 CACC Baseball Tournament on a 10 game winning streak, capturing the regular season title on the final day of the season, a 3-2 win over Philadelphia on May 1. Their streak started after a brief three game losing streak, first defeating Kutztown on April 18. They lost three in a row from April 13 to April 16, a doubleheader sweep to Concordia and then a nonconference loss to Philadelphia in the Bill Giles Invitational Championship.

Wilmington was again voted to the No. 8 position in the latest and final National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), its top billing in program history. The Wildcats also remain atop the NCBWA East Region poll, collecting all nine first place votes and a perfect 90 points to be in first place.

Josh Hampton leads the offense and was named the CACC Co-Player of the Week in the final Weekly Release this past Monday. For the year, Hampton leads the CACC in hits (70), doubles (24), RBI's (43), and total bases (114), while being second in slugging (.567), third in triples (4) and home runs (4), and fourth in average (.348). His 24 doubles are the most by a Wildcat in a single season in program history.

Matt Lopes is third in the CACC with 34 RBI's while hitting .304 and controlling the pitching staff from behind the plate. Brandon Payne is hitting .342 with 10 doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs, knocking in 32 RBI's while playing an outstanding corner outfield position. Jordan Johnson leads the CACC with 52 runs, 14 more than the next student-athlete. He is also 18-for-20 on the base paths this season.

On the mound, the Wildcats have a deep rotation and bullpen, aced by David Hatt and anchored by Nick Marics. Hatt is 7-0 with a 1.71 ERA on the year, making 13 starts and recording 47 strikeouts. Ray Gambone is 7-1 in 13 starts and is second in the CACC with 56 strikeouts. The sophomore is carrying a 2.50 ERA in 72 innings. Marics is tied for the CACC lead with eight saves on the year, making the second most appearances (27) and has thrown 28.2 innings. The junior has a 2.51 ERA on the year. Frank Samluk, the team's do everything player, has thrown a no-hitter this year and is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 50 innings this season. He has 35 strikeouts on the season.

Scouting the No. 5 Felician College Golden Falcons:
The Falcons (20-30, 10-10 CACC) used a three run top of the ninth inning to defeat No. 4 Philadelphia on Tuesday and advance to the double elimination portion of the CACC Tournament. In the top of Tuesday's ninth inning, Felician senior third-baseman Mike Farrell drew a one-out walk and advanced to third base on a single by Chris Ayala. Junior catcher Jay Collazo drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right field, and both runners moved up on a groundout. Freshman Scott De Jong capped the rally with a two-run single through the right side for a 6-3 Golden Falcon lead.

Prior to the opening round of the CACC Tournament, the Falcons struggled down the stretch, going 2-5 in their final seven contests, needing 10 innings to defeat Chestnut Hill in game one on Senior Day and taking down Southern New Hampshire, 14-2. Before that stretch, Felician swept Concordia and split with Bloomfield and Chestnut Hill to set itself up for the fifth seed in the playoffs.

Junior Aaron Brill, the reigning CACC Co-Player of the Week, leads the team with a .344 average on the year and is the only Falcon above .300 on the season. Farrell is tied with Brill for the team lead with 30 RBI's while hitting .278 and a team high 11 doubles. De Jong has 23 RBI's while hitting seven doubles, four triples and a home run for a .228 average. Gabriel Fellin leads the team with 36 runs scored on the season.

Felician used four pitchers on Tuesday, including number one starter Vic Monteagudo who went four innings with three walks before turning it over to the bullpen. Matthew Facendo tossed 2.2 innings before Jack Fowler earned the win with 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball. Brett Hauber picked up his third save of the year in pitching the ninth.

Monteagudo is 3-4 in 14 appearances, making 11 starts while tossing 73.1 innings. The senior has a 2.09 earned run average while tallying a team's second best 55 strikeouts. Jerry Vasto has also made 11 starts for Felician, going 2-1 in 58.0 innings while collecting 51 strikeouts. He has a 3.10 ERA on the year. Facendo and Chris Falcone have each made seven starts on the mound for the Falcons, with Facendo going 5-3 with a 2.33 ERA in 54 innings. Falcone is 0-6 with an 8.91 ERA in 32.1 innings. Hauber carries a 3.68 ERA in 15 appearances, recording three saves in 14.2 innings. John Holland leads the team with four saves and a 2.08 ERA.

All-Time Series Record against Felician:
2005: at – L 0-5; vs. L 6-11, W 4-1
2006: @ - W 9-4; vs. W 7-2, W 3-1
2007: vs. – W 10-7, L 11-12; vs. – W 14-11*
2008: @ - L 3-8, W 3-1; vs. – L 4-13
2009: @ - W 3-2; vs. – W 2-0, L 2-8 (8 inn.)
2010: @ - W 2-1, W 5-2; N – W 4-0*
2011: vs. – W 6-0, W 3-2
2012: @ - L 1-3, L 2-4; N – W 4-2*; N – W 1-0*
2013: vs. – W 1-0, W 6-2
* - CACC Tournament

Overall: 18-8 (4-0 CACC Tournament)

All-Time Record at the CACC Tournament:
2005: #4 Wilmington def. #1 NJIT 7-1; #2 Dominican def. #4 Wilmington 6-1; #1 NJIT def. #4 Wilmington 6-3
2006: #3 Bloomfield def. #2 Wilmington 6-2; #1 Dominican def. #2 Wilmington 2-1
2007: #2 Wilmington def. #3 Felician 14-11; #2 Wilmington def. #4 Dominican 1-0; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Caldwell 10-7 (Championship)
2008: DNP
2009: #3 Wilmington def. #2 Bloomfield 12-7; #3 Wilmington def. #4 Nyack 6-3; #3 Wilmington def. #1 Dominican 5-4 (Championship)
2010: #5 Post def. #1 Wilmington 4-2; #1 Wilmington def. #3 Felician; #5 Post def. #1 Wilmington 8-4
2011: #2 Wilmington def. #3 Post 9-0; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Dominican 3-0; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Dominican 10-3
2012: #2 Wilmington def. # 3 Dominican 1-0; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Felician 4-2; #2 Wilmington def. #1 Felician 1-0

Overall: 14-6

Season Series and All-Time Series vs. CACC Tournament Participants:
#1 Wilmington University Wildcats:
#2 Dominican College Chargers: 2013 – 1-1 (5-6 and 13-0); All-Time – 12-18 (5-2 in CACC Tournament)
#3 Concordia College Clippers: Eliminated
#4 Philadelphia University Rams: Eliminated
#5 Felician College Golden Falcons: 2013 – 2-0 (1-0 and 6-2); All-Time – 18-8 (4-0 in CACC Tournament)
#6 Chestnut Hill College Griffins: 2013 – 2-0 (16-2 and 6-2); All-Time – 14-2 (0-0 in CACC Tournament)

2013 CACC Baseball Tournament Game Schedule:
Tuesday, May 7 on campus sites - Single elimination
#6 Chestnut Hill def. #3 Concordia, 8-6
#5 Felician def. #4 Philadelphia, 6-4

Thursday, May 9 @ Wilson Field (New Castle, Del.) - Double elimination
Game 1- 12:00 p.m. - #1 Wilmington vs. #5 Felician
Game 2- 3:00 p.m. - #2 Dominican vs. #6 Chestnut Hill

Friday, May 10 @ Frawley Stadium (Blue Rocks, Wilmington, Del.)
Game 3- 12:00 p.m. loser of game 1 vs. loser of game 2
Game 4- 3:00 p.m. winner of game 1 vs. winner of game 2
Game 5- 6:00 p.m. winner of game 3 vs. loser of game 4

Saturday, May 11 @ Frawley Stadium (Blue Rocks, Wilmington, Del.)
Game 6- 11:00 a.m. winner of game 4 vs. winner of game 5
Game 7- 2:00 p.m. (If Needed)

Sunday, May 12 @ Frawley Stadium (Blue Rocks, Wilmington, Del.)-Rainout Date