SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The No. 6 seeded Roger Williams baseball team is set to battle No. 3 seeded Hartford on Wednesday afternoon at Conaty Park on the Campus of Bryant University, hosted by No. 2 Nichols  

Roger Williams finished their regular season 14-21 overall, and 6-10 in Conference of New England (CNE) play, securing the number six seed in the upcoming playoff tournament. It will be the Hawks fifth appearance in the conference playoff in five years under head coach Kevin Kelley. 

The Hawks wrapped up their season this past Saturday, May 3rd, where they split a doubleheader series with Western New England to punch their ticket into the playoffs. Their 8-7 win in game one against the Golden Bears came via some late game heroics, as the squad put up a five run eighth inning to overcome a four-run deficit.  

As for Hartford, they will come into the matchup having finished their regular season at 18-20, and 9-7 in CNE play. They finished up the season this past Saturday, splitting a doubleheader with Suffolk to secure the number three seed, and home field advantage for Wednesday afternoon's battle.  

Due to the potential for weather to hit the New England area and provide the best opportunity for teams to play out the conference tournament, the CNE shifted the tournament schedule to accommodate.  

The two teams met earlier in the year on April 14th as a part of a doubleheader series, which saw Roger Williams take game one 6-3, before falling to Hartford 4-1 in game two. Game one saw five home runs leave the park, headlined by Will Florio's two solo shots alongside Dennis Folan's two run blast. In game two, it was Hartford's Ryan Knight who provided the fireworks with a grand slam homerun that would prove to be all of the offense they would need.  

One pitcher to keep an eye on for the Hawks is junior Louie Mosca. Recently returning from injury, Mosca was second among Hawk starters last season with a 3.74 ERA, while leading the team in strikeouts with 51. Relief pitcher Ryan Camp is another name to look out for, as has anchored the Hawks this season. Camp has pitched to a 2.52 ERA, striking out 25 batters in 21.1 innings on the season.  

Some hitters to keep an eye on for the Hawks would be Ty Cali, Owen Hibbard, and Will Florio. Recently moved into the leadoff spot, Cali leads the team in batting average, and is 6-6 on stolen base attempts. Hibbard, currently batting .290, leads the squad in stolen bases with nine, and currently holds an impressive 13:11 K:BB ratio. The last time the Hawks visited Fiondella Field, Florio popped two home runs in route to a win, he also he leads the team with five home runs.  

For the opponent, Jake Santiago is a name to look out for, as he paces Hartford in batting average (.414), OPS (1.110), total bases (92), and doubles (11), and home runs (7), while adding nine stolen bases on the base paths. JJ Romatzick has also been a force at the plate, batting .388 with a .930 OPS, leading the squad in total hits and RBIs with 62 and 35 respectively. Romatzick also leads the team in stolen bases, tallying 11 on 15 attempts. Lastly, Jackson Ciccone comes in with a .333 mark, having racked up 81 total bases, good for second on the team. Ciccone holds an impressive 11:10 K:BB mark in over 150 plate appearances, good for best on the team.  

The winner of the opener will take on No. 2 Nichols who has played to a 14-16, 11-5 CNE record on the year. The Hawks closed out CNE play on Friday, May 2 against Curry, defeating the Colonels 25-3 and 12-2 in seven innings. They las played Sunday, May 4 hosting Wheaton in a 4-3 loss.  

The Bison rank third as a team in batting average, hitting .314 on the year through 39 games. They have also totaled 23 home runs, sitting fourth in the league. Ben Jerome ranks fourth in the league individually, hitting .390 while having 154 at bats, with 61 hits, seven going for extra bases, and 22 RBIs. Liam Flynn hit .368 on the year with 37 RBIS to lead the team and six home runs to lead the squad.   

On the bump, John Steed leads the way with a 3.84 ERA in 61.0 innings of work, while tossing a pair of complete games while Allen Hinckley has posted a 5.64 ERA in 13 appearances working 44.2 innings with 41 strikeouts. 

Roger Williams and Hartford will lead the way on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to take on Nichols.