2023 NEC Baseball Champion Set to be Crowned at Dutchess Stadium

The Northeast Conference (NEC) will crown its 2023 baseball champion in Wappingers Falls, NY. For the first time ever, the home of the Hudson Valley Renegades will double as the home of the NEC Baseball Tournament. It also marks the first time that the league's postseason tournament will be held in the Empire State, as the event has previously been held in New Jersey 16 times and in Connecticut on 13 occasions.

The Conference's six-team double-elimination postseason tournament will unfold from May 24-28, 2023 at Dutchess Stadium. The 4,494-seat ballpark, which houses the High A affiliate of the New York Yankees, opened on June 18, 1994. 

The event marks the first NCAA Division I conference tournament held at Dutchess Stadium since 2016.

"We are thrilled to partner with the Hudson Valley Renegades organization and bring the NEC Baseball Championship to Dutchess Stadium," said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. "Located at the center of our geographic footprint in a picturesque setting, we look forward to providing a memorable experience for our student-athletes and fans in a first-class facility."

Last summer, the NEC bolstered its membership in a trio of sports (baseball, men's golf, women's golf) thanks to a unique partnership with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The collaboration between the two conferences expanded NEC baseball's membership to 11 institutions with the addition of Coppin State, Delaware State, UMES and Norfolk State. 

With the expanded membership comes a shift in the format of the league's postseason tournament. For the first time since the inception of the NEC Baseball Tournament in 1993, the field will include the top six finishers in the league standings at the conclusion of the conference's regular season schedule. The 2023 NEC Baseball Championship will feature a double-elimination format, playing three games on Wednesday and Thursday, and two on Friday and Saturday. The top two seeds will receive byes to Thursday. 

"We are extremely happy to partner with the Northeast Conference to bring this great event to the Hudson Valley," said Tyson Jeffers, General Manager of the Renegades. "We look forward to providing student-athletes and fans with a magical experience, and we are thrilled to provide our community with high-quality college baseball for them to enjoy."

With the NEC's new policy in place, which permits reclassifying institutions to participate in the NEC postseason championships in years three and four of the four-year process, Merrimack becomes postseason eligible this season, while Stonehill will be eligible to compete in the 2025 tournament.

The tournament champion will receive the NEC's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship Field of 64. If Merrimack was to win the NEC Tournament, the runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC's automatic qualifier.

LIU, which entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed after claiming the regular season championship, defeated Bryant in game seven to win the 2022 NEC Tournament title. It marked the Sharks' second league crown in program history, and their first since 2018. 

The NEC Baseball Tournament is expected to bring in excess of 500 student-athletes, coaches, school officials, conference officials, umpires and fans from outside of Dutchess County to the area. The estimated economic impact of the event on the county is in excess of $100,000 factoring in hotel nights, food and drink, and wages paid to workers.

More information on tickets will be released closer to the event. Renegades' season ticket members will receive a free pass to attend all games.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

- Central Connecticut, Coppin State, Delaware State, FDU, LIU, Maryland Eastern Shore, Merrimack, Norfolk State, Sacred Heart, Stonehill and Wagner comprise the NEC's baseball membership for the 2023 season

- 2023 will mark the 30th year of the NEC Baseball Tournament

- The 2023 NEC Baseball Tournament will be played in New York for the first time in the history of the championship

- Claiming three of the past five NEC Championships, Central Connecticut has won the title a league-best seven times

- Dutchess Stadium's outfield dimensions: LF - 325 feet, CF - 400 feet, RF - 325 feet

ABOUT THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Now in its 42nd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.