The game will be played at 3 p.m. at American International College in Springfield, Mass., with tournament host and NESCAC West Division winner Amherst entertaining defending league champion Tufts in the other game Friday.

The tournament is a round-robin, double-elimination format with the winners of Friday’s games playing on Sat., May 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Amherst, and Friday’s losers facing off in an elimination game on Sat., May 10 at 10:30 a.m. at AIC. The remaining games will be played at Amherst on May 10 and May 11 with the tourney champion receiving the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

The Bantams, coached by Bill Decker, posted a 19-8 overall record and a 9-3 mark in the NESCAC East. Trinity is currently ranked No. 2 in New England and No. 22 in the nation, according to the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball polls.

Trinity boasts arguably the top pitcher in the NESCAC this spring, as junior right-hander Kevin Tidmarsh (Meriden, Conn.) is 7-0 with 48 strikeouts (3rd in NESCAC) and a 2.16 ERA in 50 innings. Sophomore righties Chris Rodday (Concord, Mass.), Mark Tremblay (Hooksett, N.H.), and Joe Westcott (Holyoke, Mass.) have combined for an 8-3 record with 70 strikeouts in 84.2 innings, while senior Craig Tredenick (Cornwall, Prince Edward Island) has been consistent in the late innings with two saves and 19 strikeouts.

The Trinity offense batted a league-best .363 (11th in nation) and has scored 10.4 runs per game (3rd in nation) as a unit during the regular season, blasting more than twice as many homeruns (49) as any other team in the league. Senior co-captain infielder Kurt Piantek (Wallingford, Conn.) is batting .537 (1st in NESCAC, 2nd in nation) with a team-high 51 hits (1st in NESCAC), 38 runs (2nd in NESCAC), seven doubles, 11 home runs (1st in NESCAC, 6th in nation), and 50 RBI (1st in NESCAC, 2nd in nation), while classmate Rob Dolliver has a .412 average (5th in NESCAC) with 40 hits, 38 RBI (3rd in NESCAC), and nine homers (2nd in NESCAC), and sophomore Jeff Natale (Hamden, Conn.) is hitting .463 (2nd in NESCAC) with a team-high 11 doubles (1st in NESCAC, 10th in nation), 36 runs (4th in NESCAC), 38 hits, nine homers (2nd in NESCAC), and 29 RBI.

Three other Trinity every day players are batting over .300 this spring, as are four others Bantams with at least 30 at-bats. Sophomore SS Bill Wise (Longmeadow, Mass.) sits at .387, senior co-captain infielder Jayme Dorr (Osterville, Mass.) is batting .357 (40 hits, team-high 42 runs, nine doubles, nine homers, 28 RBI), and sophomore catcher Andrew Fries (Dublin, Ohio) is hitting .320 (32 hits, 24 runs). Junior Erik Shattenkirk (New Rochelle, N.Y.) is hitting .359, sophomore Aaron Goldstein (Edina, Minn.) is at .333, sophomore Matt Engster (Glastonbury, Conn.) is at .324, and junior Angel Resto (Framingham, Mass.) is hitting .310.

Williams, coached by David Barnard, is 26-8 overall and finished 7-5 in the NESCAC West after closing the regular season with eight straight wins. Senior tri-captain 3B Jabe Bergeron (Chesterfield, N.H.) powers the Eph offense with a .403 batting average, 55 hits, 10 doubles, four home runs, and 40 RBI. Senior Bob Coppola (Orange, Conn.) is 4-0 on the mound with a 2.30 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched.