If Marc Marizzaldi ever decides to risk losing focus on his team’s ultimate goal — reaching the Division II College World Series — he might know how many games he has won in 18 seasons at Seton Hill.

But he’s not counting.

Marizzaldi has more important duties as the only baseball coach Seton Hill has known since the program’s inception in 2004. In the event he’s reading this, though, Marizzaldi recorded victory No. 688 among 1,034 total games Thursday afternoon when Seton Hill defeated Shippensburg, 14-6, in a first-round NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional game in Greensburg.

Seton Hill will play Mercyhurst (29-15) in the tournament’s second round at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

The games mark the first time Seton Hill has served as host to an NCAA Regional tournament since advancing beyond the NAIA in 2009. Earning the host duties in the double-elimination tournament this weekend brought back memories for Marizzaldi, a graduate of Baldwin and Duquesne.

“Back when we hosted a regional game in the NAIA, we didn’t have bleachers. We didn’t have dugouts. We didn’t even have an outfield fence,” he said.

Today, the SHU Baseball Complex has all those things, plus an electronic scoreboard beyond the right-field fence.

“We’ve come a long way in those last 14 years. To take a moment and look around and see what an incredible opportunity to showcase our program and our university, it was really special.

“Truth be told, this is something I and our assistant coaches and our players have been working for for two decades: to host an NCAA Tournament here.”

No team was more deserving than the 2023 Griffins, who have won 45 of 55 games, one victory short of the school record.

How did the smallest school in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference pull it off this year?

Many reasons, Marizzaldi said.

“The first is great assistant coaches,” he said of Tyler Sullivan and Clay Martin, among others over the years. “I’ve been pretty fortunate to hire some young, passionate guys who have just invested their lives into developing our players.

“It’s important that we recruit the kids who are the right fit for us, finding guys who want to win. It’s really important to them to win. They have to be willing to work really, really hard. I think that’s something we’re up front with in the recruiting process. They’re bought in to competing at the highest level possible.”

Marizzaldi has done most of his recent recruiting close to home, with eight of the nine players in his starting lineup Thursday coming from area schools, including Norwin, Hempfield, Central Catholic, Greensburg Salem, Montour and Upper St. Clair.

Winning is nothing new at Seton Hill. The team has averaged 35 victories under Marizzaldi. Is this season a bit different with 45?

“I could upset some alumni if I say they’re the best team ever,” Marizzaldi said. “Every team’s different.”

Yet the numbers don’t lie. “It says a lot about the commitment of our players, 45 wins now,” he said. “That’s not easy to do in our league.”

The most recent victory didn’t begin well.

Shippensburg (27-25) scored four runs in the top of the first inning against starter Brandon Bergert, but Seton Hill seized the lead before the first batter was retired in the bottom of the first. The Griffins finished the inning with seven runs, including a two-run homer by Jack Oberdorf, the 14th this season for the Greensburg Salem graduate.

“You play baseball long enough, you’re going to be in situations like that where you’re down,” Oberdorf said. “Our main goal was to punch right back. It was nice to get those first three, but to follow with four more that inning was pretty awesome.”

Seton Hill scored all 14 runs in the first four innings and never was threatened after the first. Shippensburg outhit the Griffins, 14-11, but Seton Hill took advantage of 12 walks, three hit batsmen, four errors and a run-scoring balk.

“I was really proud of our guys. We didn’t blink,” Marizzaldi said. “Bergert wasn’t really sharp. I think he had to make some adjustments as that game went on when they were jumping on his fastball early, and he did that.

“You can see how we responded with a touchdown in the bottom of the first inning.”

Seton Hill players with two hits were Oberdorf, Vincenzo Rauso (Central Catholic), Jack Whalen (Norwin) and Logan Vietmeier (Montour).

The victory was Seton Hill’s fifth in a row while scoring double-digit runs (seventh overall), but Marizzaldi said his players were toughened by several close encounters, including two victories this month against Mercyhurst (6-3, 4-2). The team enjoyed 17- and 14-game winning streaks during the season.

“This is pretty cool to get all these 10-run victories, eight-run victories,” he said. “But I feel like we’ve earned it. We’ve been on the other side where we had to scratch and claw and win some one-run games late.”

A Seton Hill victory Friday against Mercyhurst will tie the school record, but more importantly push the Griffins one step closer to the Super Regional next weekend and the Division II College World Series, starting June 3 in Cary, N.C.

“It would be special to break the school record for wins, but that’s not what this team is interested in,” Marizzaldi said. “They’re interested in getting to the World Series, whether that’s 30 or 50 wins. That’s our ultimate goal.”

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