CORTLAND, N.Y. – As the first catcher in Eastern Connecticut State University baseball history to steal as many as 20 bases in a season, senior Matt Malcom's (East Lyme) considerable speed has been on display throughout the season. Saturday in an elimination game of the 2023 NCAA Division III Cortland, NY Regional Tournament at Wallace Field, the pre-season All-America's footspeed kept the defending national champion Warriors alive.
Hoping to avoid losing its first two games in a regional tournament for the fourth time in its last five appearances , Eastern (35-11) tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and walked off with a 5-4 victory in the ninth when Malcom beat by a step the throw from St. Joseph's University's (L.I.) Ryan Decoursey from the shortstop hole, sending in senior No. 9 hitter Noah Plantamuro (Bristol) from third with two outs that kept the No. 24-ranked Warriors afloat.
Coming off an opening 11-2 loss to second-seeded Ithaca College Friday, Eastern will now await the loser of Saturday's noon winners' bracket game between Ithaca and top-seeded SUNY Cortland in a second elimination game Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Eastern, now 9-1 this year when playing at a neutral site, trailed 2-0 after one inning and 4-2 after six but tied the game for the second time in the game in the seventh on the second home run of the game by first-team All-Little East Conference junior rightfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) – a two-run shot to right that plated Plantamuro (who scored twice in the game without the aid of a hit). Plantamuro had reached on a fielder's choice after senior third baseman Brent Cosculluela (Miami, FL) had opened the inning with a single to center.
With one out in the ninth, Plantamuro (who contributed six assists in the field) reached second base when his routine ground ball was thrown away by John Thatcher – a late-inning defensive replacement for sophomore James Maggio at third base. Claiborn, who had hit his first career home run leading off the third inning that tied the game at 2-all, was walked intentionally, before sophomore centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) moved Plantamuro to third with a ground ball to second, avoiding an inning-ending double play by legging out the relay to first from Decoursey. Facing senior righty Michael Manzolillo (3-2) – who had come in to get the final out of the eighth – Malcom ground a 1-2 pitch to Decoursey's backhand and beat the throw by a step to send in Plantamuro with the winning run.
Malcom was 0-for-3 with a walk prior to his final at-bat, grounding into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play that stranded two runners in the fifth. He was also walked with two out and the game tied in the seventh when facing new St. Josephs' pitcher Dante Morabito.
In relief of sophomore righty Matthew Wootton (Milford) – who was made his staff-leading 12th start of the year -- senior righty Nathan Furino (East Haven) gained the win for the fourth time in his last four appearances (first time in relief in those four appearances). Making his 13th appearance of the year, Furino (7-2) began the seventh inning with Eastern trailing, 4-2, and pitched the final three innings of one-hit shutout baseball. Furino did not walk a batter, fanning one and throwing 19 of his 29 pitches for strikes. He set down the first seven batters he faced without allowing the ball out of the infield, and after centerfielder hitter Paul Gugliuzzo doubled with one out in the ninth inning of a tie game, got No. 3 hitter Jake Giannico on a first-pitch ground ball to Plantamuro at second, and ended the threat by getting cleanup hitter Decoursey on a second-pitch fly ball to junior Josh Cofrancesco (Southington) in left.
Wootton allowed four runs on eight hits over the first six innings, strikeout out five and walking only one without a decision.
Eastern collected 11 hits off St. Joseph's junior righty starter Peter Manger (30-11), finally driving him from the box in scoring its two tying runs in the seventh.
Claiborn, Leonzi (batting 1-2 in the order) and Cofrancesco each had three hits in Eastern's 12-hit attack off three St. Joseph's pitchers. Leonzi's first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 22. Claiborn has now reached safely in 19 straight games, recording his team-leading 20th multi-hit game in the process and improving his team-leading batting average to .369.
Senior DH John Lynch had three hits and drove in two runs for St. Joseph's, whose top seven hitters are batting well over .300 and averaging .345. Lynch doubled in the Golden Eagles' second run in the first inning and gave his team a 4-2 lead in the fifth when he plated Decoursey, who had doubled to left with one out.