Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  The Massachusetts Maritime baseball team has earned its first-ever berth in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, as 41-year Head Coach Bob Corradi’s Buccaneers begin their quest for the league title with a first round single elimination contest Thursday afternoon.

Massachusetts Maritime, which notched 11 overall victories and five in league play under Corradi’s tutelage in the regular season, will travel to Westfield, Mass. on Thursday, May 2^nd to take on third-seeded Westfield State at Alumni Field beginning at 3:00 p.m. EDT.  The winner of that game will advance to Friday’s second round outing that begins the double elimination portion of this year’s tournament to take on second-seeded Framingham State at Bowditch Field in Framingham, Mass. beginning 4:00 p.m. EDT.  All remaining rounds of the MASCAC championship will be played over the weekend at Salem State’s Alumni Field.

The Buccaneers are led by sophomore shortstop Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass./North Reading), who earned first-team all-MASCAC honors and ranks second in the conference with a .398 batting average that includes 39 hits, five doubles, four triples and 20 RBI.  Senior Tyler Genereux (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury), who was tabbed as a second-team all-league utility player, follows with a .375 batting average that including 35 hits, two homers, seven doubles and 20 RBI, while junior Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) and senior co-captain Aram Mulhern (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) follow with respective batting averages of .326 and .319 while combining for 13 doubles and 19 RBI.

Sophomore T.J. Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) paces Massachusetts Maritime on the mound with a 3-1 mark and a 3.40 earned run average, as he tossed the program’s fifth no-hitter on April 14^th in a 7-0 triumph at Fitchburg State.  Junior Keith Sanchez (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) has collected a pair of wins and enters the post-season after tossing a three-hit shutout and fanning eight in a 7-0 blanking of MCLA, while freshman Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) has added two wins and three saves during his rookie campaign out of the Buccaneer bullpen.

Westfield State claimed 16 regular season victories, including an 8-6 mark in MASCAC play, under ninth year Head Coach Ray Arra this spring, and the Owls are paced at the plate by senior Andrew Medeiros, who is batting .393 with 13 extra-base hits and 25 RBI.  Sophomore Mike Molta, last year’s conference Rookie of the Year, has posted three wins and struck out 24 on the mound for Westfield State as well.

Massachusetts Maritime looks to avenge a pair of setbacks suffered to Westfield State in the regular season doubleheader between the two squads back on April 15^th at Commodore Hendy Field, as the Owls notched a pair of one-run (6-5, 4-3) triumphs.

Thursday’s game can be followed via live stats at www.mmabucs.com, where a complete summary and final box score will be available following completion of the contest.