Ravens have duties as NCAA Regional home team ‘down pat'

Published: Saturday, May 16, 2009
KEN MURPHY

RINDGE - The name of the NCAA East Regional may change, but throughout some of its various incarnations, there has been one constant - at least in recent years. In each of the past four seasons, Franklin Pierce has hosted the tournament in addition to being a participant.

FPU hosted when it was called the Northeast Regional. The Ravens have hosted before lights went up at Pappas Field. FPU has hosted since the university was a college.

There's no truth to the rumor that this regional quarterfinal may soon be known as the "Franklin Pierce Regional," but for all intents and purposes, save for perhaps the official NCAA program, it already is.

"I could have told you April 1 they were going to host," Dominican Coach Rick Giannetti said from the home dugout shortly after his top-seeded Chargers fell to No. 6 Wilmington (Del.) 10-1 in Thursday's tournament opener. "They might not have known it at the time, because they were struggling then a bit, but I told my team at the beginning of the season."

And, despite the fact that Dominican, as the top seed, had the option to secure facilities, the 20-year head coach was fine with crossing the nearby Tappen Zee Bridge for the four-hour drive to the shores of Pearly Pond.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Giannetti said. "Without question Franklin Pierce has the best facilities around. Unless you find a minor league park near us, it's not even close. They do a great job."

Dominican is ineligible to host the regional because its home facilities - the Chargers play at two different venues - lack lights. In the six-team field, that leaves all but Franklin Pierce and Wilmington ineligible to host the tournament. The rule, according to FPU athletic director Bruce Kirsh, was instituted last season.

Pappas Field, which replaced Crystal Field prior to the 2005 season, installed lights in 2007 - the second year of FPU's four-year run.

FPU Coach Jayson King said that even though the host site wasn't officially announced until the NCAA tournament field had been set late Sunday, the Ravens knew about two weeks earlier that they would be the host team.

"Us and (UMass) Lowell were the only teams to put in for it," King said of the official applications to host, which are due three weeks prior to selection.

Once UMass-Lowell scuffled down the stretch, the picture became clear: FPU would once again remain at home, where the No. 2 Ravens went 20-3 this season. (Games the Ravens play at Pappas Field as an away team, which they do at tournaments, count toward the home-game record).

"There's a lot that goes into (home field) that makes it an advantage to us," King said. "It makes a difference when you have delays, or play two games in a day. The bottom line is that home field has always been good to us."

The home-field advantage didn't help in Thursday's first round, however, with the Ravens falling 4-3 to Assumption in the double-elimination tournament.

Still, winning the first three times the team hosted - FPU is the three-time defending champion - certainly backs King's claim.

As far as the logistics of what goes into hosting a successful tournament, Kirsh said there are some things the team and university can control, and some things it can't.

"Each year it gets a little easier," he said. "Year one is a feeling out process and each year you evaluate how the previous year went and make some adjustments. I think by now we have it down pat. The most difficult problem in the past has been weather. They give you a timeline to get the tournament in (Monday, which is reserved as a rain date) and all you need is one day or a portion of one day to throw everything out of synch.

"Weather is certainly the biggest consideration and issue. I don't know if I can prioritize (what's most important) after that."

In 2006, the first year FPU hosted, a four-hour rain delay on the second day of the tournament pushed everything back, which then postponed games because of darkness. The tournament concluded on the Monday rain date.

Thursday, the third game between Dowling and Adelphi was postponed until today at 10 a.m. Sunny skies, though, are in the forecast for the rest of the tournament.