Suffolk, JWU Advance to GNAC Baseball Tournament Championship Sunday
Suffolk has yet to lose in the double-elimination tournament, meaning JWU needs to win twice on Sunday to capture the GNAC Championship.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JWU earns first GNAC Championship appearance
since 2006, Suffolk seeking first league crown since 2009
NASHUA, N.H. – Third seed and host Suffolk University is in the driver's seat entering Sunday's final day of competition at the 2015 GNAC Baseball Tournament, as the Rams defeated top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine, 3-2, on Saturday at Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H. to remain unbeaten in the tournament.
Johnson & Wales University, which suffered its first loss of the double-elimination portion of the tourney on Thursday evening at home agaisnt Suffolk, earned a 7-1 win in the first of three games on Saturday to eliminate fourth-seeded Lasell College. The Wildcats followed up by beating defending GNAC champion Saint Joseph's (Maine), 4-2, to stay alive and earn the right to play on Sunday.
Johnson & Wales will need to win twice Sunday over host Suffolk to capture the GNAC Championship, while the Rams can wrap up the conference crown with a victory at 12:00 p.m. at Holman.
#2 JWU 7, #4 LASELL 1 | #2 JWU 4, #1 SAINT JOSEPH'S MAINE 2
Senior pitcher Shawn Haugh (Tampa, Fla.) scattered four hits and eight strikeouts in a complete-game effort to lead JWU to a victory in game one against Lasell.
The Wildcats were led at the plate by Andrew Hunton (Monroe, N.Y.) who hit 2-for-4 with three RBI. Junior Ty Karalis (Seekonk, Mass.) hit 3-for-3 on the day. In addition, JWU saw single hits from Rob Bocchetti (East Meadow, N.Y.), Kory Ferullo (Rochester, N.H.), and Lou Umberto (Cranston, R.I.).
After two quick scoreless innings, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. JWU loaded the bases on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, and a few pitches later, Ryan Cabral (Hope, R.I.) scored on a wild pitch.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Hunton doubled to left center to score Bocchetti and Karalis.
Lasell responded with a single score in the top of the sixth as the inning's leadoff batter reached on a throwing error and would come around to score on a double by Dan Gagnon (Pomfret Center, Conn.).
The Wildcats would break it open for good in the bottom of the sixth as they strung together four runs on three hits and an error.
Senior pitcher Greg Sherman (Marshfield, Mass.) took the loss for Lasell on the mound, giving up four earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four in 5.1 innings of work.
The Lasers end their season with a 14-17 record.
Senior Lane Compton (Freeland, Mich.) picked up his fifth win of the season in the second elimination game of the day against the Monks. Compton threw seven and two thirds innings of five hit baseball while striking out five and allowing just two runs.
Bocchetti smacked two hits and grabbed an RBI while Cabral scored twice in the victory.
Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) and Max Coomb (South Berwick, Maine)collected two hits in the nightcap while Coyne knocked in two RBI in the loss for Saint Joseph's.
After junior Tom Elkow (Morganville, N.J.) scored the game's first run on a wild pitch, sophomore Brandon Cesino (Scituate, R.I.) knocked in Cabral to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage in the fifth. Umberto then singled to right, took second on another wild pitch and scored on a double to the right center gap by Bocchetti to push the lead to 3-0 after five innings.
Compton worked into the bottom of the eighth before surrendering a single and walking a batter while picking up two outs. Sophomore Bryan Quinlan (Cumberland, R.I.) gave up a two-run double by Coyne before striking out the next Monk looking.
Quinlan forced three fly outs in the bottom of the ninth to end the game and secure the Wildcats first trip to the championship game since 2006.
#3 SUFFOLK 3, #1 SAINT JOSEPH'S MAINE 2
Senior southpaws Josh Desai (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Dan Meeken (Marshfield, Mass.) locked heads in an old-fashioned pitcher's duel, with the former leading the Rams to victory after allowing two runs (one earned) off five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in a complete-game performance. Meeken nearly equaled his counterpart, yielding three runs (two earned) off five hits with six punch-outs over nine frames, but suffered the loss and falls to 3-3 on the season.
Suffolk grabbed an early lead with two runs in the top of the first, when junior catcher John Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) plated freshman Brady Chant (Warwick, R.I.) with a single up the middle and later scored on an infield error. For Meeken, the first-inning runs snapped a 19-inning scoreless streak and were the first he had allowed since April 4th in a win over Albertus Magnus College.
The Rams tacked on another run off a pair of hits in the top of the second, when senior shortstop Adam Johnson (Georgetown, Mass.) singled to right, moved to second on a BJ Neil (Lynnfield, Mass.) sac bunt, and scored on a Chant base hit to right field.
The Monks' offense began to click in the bottom of the third, when the Royal Blue plated a run off two hits, as sophomore shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) led off with a double to left and eventually scored when junior left fielder Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine) reached on a fielder's choice to make it a 3-1 contest.
After the third, neither team would record a hit until the bottom of the seventh when St. Joe's scored a run off a pair of base knocks, cutting the deficit to 3-2 in the process. Sophomore right fielder Scott Betts (Peabody, Mass.) reached on an infield error to lead off the inning and eventually came around to score on a McCoomb two-out single to shallow left-center.
The Monks came close to tying the game when the following batter, sophomore second baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.), singled up the middle and McCoomb was sent home, where he was cut down by a nice throw from Chant, the Rams' center fielder.
As it turned out, the play at the plate proved to be huge, as Saint Joseph's failed to get a runner past first base in the final two innings.
Two Saint Joseph's hitters accounted for all five of the Monks' hits, as Black was 3-4 and McCoomb went 2-3 with a run, a double and an RBI in the losing effort. Senior third baseman Lincoln Sanborn (Standish, Maine) played outstanding defense, with a diving play in the fifth and a handful of difficult plays on choppers to his left in the narrow loss.
Chant led the Rams' offensive effort by going 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Defensively, Johnson made several plus plays in the field and Suffolk left fielder Rob Marks (Revere, Mass.) made a nice diving play on a Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) line drive in the sixth.
Game recaps Courtesy of JWU, Saint Joseph's Maine Athletics Communications.
First Round - Tuesday, April 21 (single elimination) | RECAP
Game 1: #3 Suffolk 10, #6 Albertus Magnus 5 | BOX
Game 2: #4 Lasell 1, #5 Rivier 0 | BOX
Second Round - Thursday, April 23 (double elimination begins) | RECAP
Game 3: #1 Saint Joseph's Maine 7, #4 Lasell 0 | BOX
Game 4: #3 Suffolk 7, #2 Johnson & Wales 5 | BOX
Semifinals - Saturday, April 25 (at Holman Stadium, Nashua, N.H.)
Game 5: #2 Johnson & Wales 7, #4 Lasell 1 (Lasell eliminated) | BOX
Game 6: #3 Suffolk 3, #1 Saint Joseph's Maine 2 | BOX
Game 7: #2 Johnson & Wales 4, #1 Saint Joseph's Maine v2 (Saint Joseph's eliminated) | BOX
Championship - Sunday, April 26 (at Holman Stadium, Nashua, N.H.)
Game 8: #2 Johnson & Wales vs. #3 Suffolk - 12:00 p.m.
Game 9: #2 Johnson & Wales vs. #3 Suffolk (if necessary) - 3:30 p.m.
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