MidAtlanticDad posted:mmm1531 posted:I watched the first MU- Tampa game. Mercyhurst pitcher ( drafted in 19th rnd.) dominated them through 7. He ran out of gas in 8th and ended up losing 4-2.
Mercyhurst has been on a great run, 3 WS appearances in last 5 years, back to back appearances with a final four finish this year. Two losses to Tampa this year.
How does Merceyhurst attract top D2 talent to Erie PA? Their roster looks like mostly PA, NY and OH kids. Just a winning culture?
Mid, my son will attend Mercyhurst next year and will play baseball. Yes, their roster is almost entirely PA, NY and Ohio players. We are new to the program, but I think Coach Spano is just known as having a winning program and being a great coach. So I suspect it is mostly due to the winning culture as you suggest. It seems he has connections that feed him a lot of DI tweener type players who missed out on DI offers - although I suppose just about every DII program could say that! Another factor is that there are not a lot of DI baseball programs in Western PA or NY, so perhaps some of the student athletes who prefer to stay somewhat closer to home are naturally drawn to the program as it is an upper level DII program? Can't say for sure but that has been my belief. They certainly do not enroll for the weather LOL!
Our son chose MU because it was the best academic and athletic fit, he received reasonable academic and athletic aid, and it is reasonably close to home (2 hours from Ctown!). He's very excited about the opportunity.
Mercyhurst also gets a few JUCO and DI transfers - although nowhere near the number that Tampa has!!
FWIW, Hurst had two (2) pitchers drafted this year - Garbee (19th Round, Reds) and Minnick (23rd Round, Yankees).