Castleton, VT - Husson baseball will begin their 2013 North Atlantic Conference playoff run at Castleton State College this afternoon. Castleton cruised through their conference schedule this season, notching a 22-2 conference record, earning the top seed and the right to host this weekend's North Atlantic Conference Tournament, beginning Friday, May 3 and continuing through Sunday, May 5.

The top-seeded Spartans will be joined by the second-seeded Husson Eagles, three seed Colby-Sawyer, and fourth seed Thomas College. Castleton and Thomas will square off in the first game of the tournament on Friday, beginning at 11 a.m. Game two will pit Husson against Colby-Sawyer at 2:30 p.m. The double-elimination tournament will continue with three games on Saturday, May 4, and the championship on Sunday, May 5.

Castleton went 11-1 against the tournament field during the regular season, including four-game season sweeps of Thomas and Colby-Sawyer. Castleton defeated the Terriers 9-1, 11-6, 5-3, and 1-0. The Spartans dominated the Chargers as well, taking two games at home 4-1 and 3-1, before traveling to New London, N.H. to beat the squad 9-6 and 14-0. The Spartans suffered one of their two conference losses against Husson this season, dropping the final game of their four-game series 4-2. Before that, the Spartans had defeated the Eagles 6-2, 5-3, and 7-4, with two of those contests going to extra innings.

The Spartan squad has batted .301 as a team, the high-water mark for the conference. Castleton has 10 hitters batting above .300 on the year, led by third baseman Connor Hoagland, batting .357 with 45 hits, seven doubles and a home run. Matt McNamee is batting .333 on the year and leads the squad with 30 RBI on the season. Joe Borowski has slugged a team-high three home runs, including two bombs against Wentworth on Apr. 30. Ryan Zielinski has the squad's most extra base hits, ripping 11 doubles this season.

The Castleton pitching staff has posted impressive numbers this year, notching a 3.66 ERA as a staff.Patrick Riley has tossed a team-high 64.2 innings, going 6-4 with seven complete games in 10 starts, posting a 2.51 ERA. Adam Greenlese leads the squad with seven wins and has yet to take a loss from the mound. The junior hurler has allowed just 14 earned runs in 58 innings for a 2.17 ERA. Freshman Conner Johnson is 3-0 and has posted a team-low 1.20 ERA on the year.

Second seed Husson went 7-5 against the tournament field during the regular season, taking three of four against their first round opponent Colby-Sawyer as well as fourth seed Thomas, and losing three of four to top-seeded Castleton. The Eagles fell to the Chargers 1-0 in their first meeting, before ripping off three consecutive wins 8-5, 3-0, and 2-1. Against Thomas, the Eagles fell 4-2 before taking game two 6-4 in extra innings. Husson swept their second meeting with the Terriers, taking both games 8-0 and 2-1. Against Castleton, the Eagles dropped three in a row, 6-2, 5-3, and 7-4, before beating the Spartans 4-2 in the fourth game of the series.

The Eagles have improved their team batting average from last season, jumping from .258 in 2012 to .296 in 2013. Shawn Smith owns the regular season NAC batting title, raking for a .422 season average. The senior cranked seven doubles, eight triples, and four home runs on the season, driving in 41 RBI. Pat Thibodeau has been the team's sparkplug, notching a .388 average, and team highs in stolen bases (24) and runs scored (39).

The Husson pitching staff combined for a conference-best 3.62 team ERA, improving from a 5.14 staff ERA last season. Freshman Dan Whitney has appeared in 10 games, making four starts. The first year has notched a 3-0 record, and come in from the bullpen for one save in six relief appearances. Whitney has posted a 1.35 ERA over 33.1 innings pitched.

Third seed Colby-Sawyer has posted a 3-9 record against opponents in the tournament. The Chargers were swept in the season series by Castleton, falling 4-1, 3-1, 9-6, and 14-0. Against Husson, the squad won one of four, beating the Eagles 1-0 before falling in three straight, 8-5, 3-0, and 2-1. Against Thomas, the Chargers split a four game series. Colby-Sawyer took games one and two 1-0 and 7-3 before falling in games three and four 2-1 and 8-2. The Chargers defeated the

Colby-Sawyer has batted just .258 as a team, with three players breaching the .300 mark. Andy Lapple has gone 44-for-118 on the year, posting a .373 average. He leads the team in doubles (8), total bases (54), and runs scored (20). Cameron Knight has batted .330, leading the Chargers with 18 RBI. Tyler Stotz hit at a .320 clip this year, good for third on the squad.

The Chargers' pitching staff was led by Kevin Keith. The hurler tossed a conference-best eight wins in 11 appearances, throwing four shutouts and six complete games. He threw 56.2 innings this season, earning a conference-best 0.95 ERA on the year. His league-leading 57 strikeouts helped the Chargers' pitcher to hold opponents to a .229 average.

Fourth-seeded Thomas College has posted a 3-9 record against the opponents within the tournament field. The Terriers were sweept by the Castleton Spartans, dropped three of four against Husson, and split a four-game series with the Chargers. Overall, the Terriers held a 13-11 conference record, going 15-23 overall.

Cody Vigue has led the Terriers with a .412 batting average, ripping a team-high 12 extra base hits, including eight doubles, three triples, and a home run. Jeff Richardson led this year's squad with 42 hits, 27 runs scored, and nine stolen bases. Freshman Dillon Emerson topped the team with 24 RBI on the year.

The Terriers pitching staff notched the second-highest ERA in the conference this season, combining for a 6.86 ERA. Jake Chamblee started a team-high nine games, throwing 44.1 innings on the year. The senior went 4-4 with a 7.31 ERA. Senior Thomas Cameron has been an effective closer for the Terriers, throwing 4.2 innings without allowing an earned run and notching two saves this year.

Players to Watch

Cody Vigue - Sr. - Thomas

Vigue has been the Terriers' driving force on offense, batting .412 on the year. The outfielder went 4-for-12 in four games against Castleton with a double and a triple. The All-Conference First Teamer posted a 10-game hitting streak earlier this season, but has run cold of late, going just 3-for-19 in his last six games. He'll need to bust out of that slump if Thomas has intentions of pulling an upset.

Kevin Keith - Sr. - Colby-Sawyer

Kevin Keith has been stellar on the mound this season for the Chargers. The senior has posted a conference-best 0.95 ERA and has an 8-1 record this season. Keith has not pitched since Apr. 27 when he tossed a complete game four-hitter, leading the Chargers to a 1-0 win over Thomas College. The Chargers will likely turn to the NAC Pitcher of the Year again in game one against Husson.

Shawn Smith - Sr. - Husson

Shawn Smith has hit a conference-best .422 this season, stroking 57 hits on the year. The senior leads the conference in batting average, RBI (41), home runs (4), and triples (8). He was named NAC Player of the Year, and has been the keystone to the Eagles offense, going 10-for-20 in his past six games and must continue to do so if the squad has intentions of knocking off top-seeded Castleton.

Joe Borowski - Jr. - Castleton

Joe Borowski has hit his stride at just the right time for the Spartans, coming into the weekend with a seven-game hit streak. The junior has gone 10-for-22 with nine RBI during that span, including four RBI and two home runs in the Spartans last game against Wentworth on Apr. 30. Borowski will likely bat in the three spot for the hosting Castleton squad this weekend, and will look to continue his production as the Spartans seek their second consecutive conference crown.