Buzzards Bay, MA --- Worcester State College has earned the top seed in the 2009 Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference Baseball Championships, which begin with first round play on Thursday, April 30th and continue in a double elimination format on bothSaturday and Sunday, May 2nd and 3rd.

Worcester State will host fourth-seeded Westfield State College in one first round contest on Thursday afternoon at Holy Cross' Fitton Field in Worcester beginning at 4:00 PM, while second-seeded Bridgewater State College will host the third-seeded Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the other first round contest on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Park in Bridgewater, beginning at 3:00 PM.

The tournament continues on Saturday morning at Lake Park in Worcester in a double elimination format beginning at 10:00 AM, with the championship round set for Sunday afternoon beginning at 1:00 PM, as the 2009 MASCAC champion receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships.

Head Coach Dr. Dirk Baker's Lancers claimed MASCAC regular season title by winning 13 of 14 conference contests, as Worcester State brings at 26-11 overall mark into post-season play. Senior Matt Hart (North Easton, MA) leads the squad at the plate with a .420 batting average that includes 55 hits, 12 homers and 31 RBI, while junior Nick Caparell (North Attleboro, MA) follows at a .411 clip that features seven round-trippers and 38 RBI. Senior Pat Good (Hull, MA) is 5-0 with a 3.06 earned run average in 16 apprearances out of the bullpen for the Lancers to date, fanning 18 in 17-plus innings of work.

Livestats for the first round game against the Owls can be found at http://livestats.prestosports.com/wsclancers/. Check out our tournament page which will be posted later in the week for all scores, highlights and more from the semifinals and championship round of the MASCAC Baseball Tournament.