UConn Avery Point's baseball team faces two familiar and formidable foes in the NJCAA Division II East District Championship tournament today.

The Pointers open play at 9:30 am. against powerhouse Westchester Community College (43-4), which is ranked fourth in the nation, at Washington Park in Groton.

Then the Pointers will take on 20th-ranked Monroe Community College (31-16) later in the afternoon.

Avery Point (31-10) is hosting the three-team, double-elimination tournament.

"We're ready to go," coach Roger Bidwell said.

Bidwell will turn to ace left-hander Doug Domnarski (8-1, 1.41 earned run average) to pitch the first game.

Domnarski, who threw a no-hitter in his last start against Community College of Rhode Island in the New England tournament, suffered his only loss (3-0) against Westchester on March 16 in Vero Beach, Fla.

He pitched well, allowing just three hits and one run in 7.1 innings, striking out seven and walking two. Avery Point is only one of six teams this season to hold Westchester to under four runs.

"I'm comfortable with him," Bidwell said. "Anybody can have a day off. We trust him. I feel good having him out there. He pitched pretty well in the last time out. He has to continue to do that."

Westchester features a potent lineup that's averaging 8.9 runs per game. Mark Shkrelja and Steven Figuero have driven in 67 and 65 runs, respectively. On the mound, Anthony Shkrelja (8-0) is the team's ace, owning the fifth-best ERA (1.33) in the country.

Avery Point also is familiar with the Monroe program. The two teams met in the 2013 district championship, with the Pointers advancing to the NJCAA World Series.

"They're always a good team," Bidwell said.

Every team plays each other today, with the survivors moving on to Sunday's championship round beginning at 11 a.m.

The tournament format will test Avery Point's pitching depth. The Pointers will be without starter Bryant Morander, who suffered an elbow injury in Saturday's New England tournament championship-clinching win over CCRI.

"It hurts," Bidwell said about losing Morander. "He's one of our top guys."

Andrew Hinckley (5-2, 1.90) and Chris Gonnelli (5-4, 3.26) are likely the next two pitchers in line for starts after Domnarski. Hinckley (.384, a team-high 27 RBI), Kyle Hart (.408, 22 RBI), Nick Perrelli (.324, 23 RBI) and Garrett DeLotto (.304, 26 RBI) headline a balanced attack.

The Pointers will be attempting to win their sixth East District championship. Beating Westchester in the opener would be a good first step.

"On paper, they blow us away statistically," Bidwell said. "If we play the game on paper, we don't have much of a chance. But we play on the field, we'll see what happens."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe