Wed
|
| Baruch swept Staten Island in the three game CUNYAC tournament, finishing off the series with a 5-3 win to go 2-0 in the weekend set. This is the first title for the Bearcats since 2012 who now play the winner of the North Atlantic Conference next weekend for a pass into the 2019 NCAA Playoffs. Baruch athletics photo |
SUNY Oneonta and Oswego State won opening Saturday games in the SUNTAC double elimination conference tourney at Cortland's Wallace Field. Oneonta upsets top seed Cortland 3-2 before second seed Oswego comes from behind to clip Fredonia 5-2. An elimination game between Cortland and Fredonia completed Saturday slate. Oneonta and Oswego will open the Sunday agenda with the winner advancing to the title game. Matt Valin tied a school single-game record and set a SUNYAC Tournament single-game mark with 17 strikeouts and Steven Salisbury drove in the winning run with a two-out, pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 10th inning as top-seeded Cortland edged third-seeded Fredonia, 1-0, in an elimination game.
|
| A complete game performance from Daniel O'Donnell Jr. helped Lesley claim a 8-2 win over Becker in NECC Tournament first round game, on Tuesday afternoon at New England Baseball Complex. Lesley athletics photo |
Despite the rain this weekend, both bracket finals are set with Concordia (Texas) set to play East Texas Baptist in the Red bracket and Louisiana College versus Letourneau in the Blue Bracket. Concordia (Texas) and LeTourneau enter the Sunday games undefeated. The final game of the day featured Lousiana College and Texas-Dallas who traded leads with shutdown innings inspersed with big inings only to see the Wild Cats walk off on a wild pitch.
Doug Smith doubled and drove in two runs in the eight inning to give Mount Aloysius a 14-13 win over Alfred State, forcing a winner-take-all game on Sunday. Alfred state was a 5-1 winner in the early game. The other AMCC contest involved Pitt-Greensburg and Penn State-Altoona. The Lions prevailed in a pair of one run contests, 3-4 and 7-8 in ten innings, to take the series and advance to next weeks AMCC double elimination tournament. "Two hard-fought victories," said Penn State Altoona head coach RJ Barnard. "We trailed in both games, but like always, we battled back."
Gwynedd Mercy advanced to the championship series of the 2019 Atlantic East Tournament with their 19-9 win over Marymount. The Griffins come out of Pod B and will meet Cabrini next weekend to determine the inaugural Atlantic East Champion. A game that saw 33 hits, 28 runs, 17 pitchers and lasted just short of four hours was well worth it for the Griffins, who had to win once on Saturday (after going 2-0 on Friday) to advance to the championship series starting on Friday. The Saints, however, did not go down without a fight. Tied at 9-9 entering the bottom half of the seventh, Gwynedd turned it on, scoring 10 runs in the frame to grab the lead for good. Cabrini won ther bracket with a 9-5 win over Immaculata.
Penn State-Harrisburg and Christopher Newport will play for the CAC tournament title. CNU defeated Mary Washington 11-4 in a game that saw Jordan Mason set the program record for hits in a career. It took two tries for PSH to earn their trip. Salisbury had 22 hits in a 26-9 win in the opening game of the bracket title round. The Sea Gulls could not muster a second win, losing to the Lions 10-5. A favorite for an at-large bid, Salisbury will learn their fate on Sunday May 12 when at-large bids are announced.
Behind a complete-game shutout performance by Jesse Colford, the top-seeded Husson Eagles (25-14) defeated the second-seeded Northern Vermont-Lyndon Hornets (22-20), 6-0, Saturday afternoon in Game Four of the 2019 North Atlantic Conference Tournament on The Harold Alfond Diamond at the Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex. Husson will advance to the program's 11th NAC Baseball Tournament final round in the last 15 years. NV-Lyndon's season ended in a 3-2 loss to Thomas. It is Thomas who will face Husson to deteremine the conference champion. The will will face Baruch for a NCAA PLayoff bid next weekend.
Johns Hopkins will be playing for the 11th Centennial Conference Tournament title in program history on Sunday, as the Blue Jays advanced to the championship round with an 8-1 victory over Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon. Haverford bookended the Hopkins game with wins over Muhlenber,g 4-2, and Franklin and Marshall, 8-5. They will need two wins on Sunday to deny the Blue Jays a title and a ticket to the NCAA Playoffs.
Ninth-ranked Texas Lutheran advanced to the championship round of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship for a second consecutive season with a 2-0 victory Saturday over fourth-ranked Trinity (Texas). At The Depot at Cleburne Stadium, TLU freshman left-hander Matthew Hickey tossed eight innings of shutout baseball, and Drew Waller entered the game with two runners on base in the ninth and registered three outs on nine pitches to notch his sixth save. Trinity will get a rematch with Texas Lutheran after their 4-2 win over Southwestern.
|
| Saint Joseph's (Maine) advanced to the conference champ- ionship game and will face third seeded Johnson & Wales Sunday. As the lone undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination GNAC Tournament, the Monks will have a second chance to claim the crown if they should fall in the opening game. St. Joseph's (Maine) athletics photo. |
No. 2 seed Roger Williams secured its spot in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Series with an extra-inning win over No. 3 seed Endicott. Meanwhile, No. 4 seed Salve Regina forced an "if necessary" game on Sunday with a two-win day on Saturday. After dropping their opening game two days ago, Salve Regina has put together three straight wins with one more win for reach the Championship series. Salve Regina will play Western New England for the final spot on Sunday.
Misericordia is one win from a conference title. Misericordia defeated DeSales, 10-2, to advance to the final day of the MAC Freedom Championships, Saturday afternoon at Owls Field. Tom Jacob earned the win for the Cougars, allowing just two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work. Kyle Melahn tossed one scoreless inning while Zach Mason held the Bulldogs scoreless for two innings. Tyler Holzapfel and Brady Madden led the Cougars with three RBI. Holzapfel had a two-run home run, two walks and two runs scored while Madden had two hits and two runs scored. DeSales battled back from their loss in the morning game and a 5-3 and 6-5 deficit in the second game to defeat Manhattanville 9-6 and advance to the championship game on Sunday.
Ramapo advanced to championship Sunday with a come from behind 6-5 win over top seeded Rowan. The #3 Roadrunners move to 25-13 overall while the Profs drop to 30-10 on the season. Greg Westhelle entered the game in the seventh and surrendered just two hits earning his sixth save of the season. Rowan put the game-tying and game-winning runs on in the bottom of the ninth before Westhelle induced a strikeout and ground out to end the game, 6-5. Ramapo will play undefeated TCNJ on Monday.
Joey Norton pitched a complete game and Stephen DeBellis delivered a two-strike, eighth inning grand slam as Widener forced a winner-take-all game in the MAC Commonwealth Championship with a 5-2 victory against the Alvernia Golden Wolves on Saturday afternoon. Both teams will comeback on Sunday for the tournament finale. Norton went the distance, throwing exactly 100 pitches, scattering nine hits, allowing two runs, walking one and striking out two. His only punchouts of the game were the final two batters of the contest. He recorded 13 ground ball outs. DeBellis drove in all five runs for Widener and now has six homers and 31 RBI in his postseason career, spanning 16 games.
Ithaca wrapped up its regular season with a convincing 13-1 Empire 8 Conference victory over Utica on Saturday at Freeman Field as part of Senior Day. With the win, Ithaca is now 28-7 and 16-2 in the Empire 8 and runs its winning streak to nine straight games. Utica is 14-21 overall and 8-8 in the conference. Senior Jake Binder started the game and went two scoreless innings with a strikeout. Senior Emmett Dunn then came on to fan a pair of batters over the next two innings before giving way to graduate student Tyler Hill, who struck out four batters in two innings of work. Bailey tossed a scoreless seventh and then senior Christian LaLomia pitched a perfect eighth inning on eight pitches to earn the win. Webb Little closed out the game in the ninth with a strikeout.
Tre Thomas was dominant over the early part of the game, tossing perfect innings in the first, second, and third innings. Bethany struck for a run in the fourth inning. Thomas came back and sent Bethany down in order in the fifth. The Redhawks offense backed him with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Jay Novak reached on an error and Brandon Nania sent a double to the left field gap to to score Novak. Thomas continued to dominate with perfect sixth and seventh innings. He kept them off the board in the eighth but a bunt and error allowed Bethany to take the lead in the ninth. Relief pitcher Mike Nuzzo limited the damage leaving runners on second and third base. The Redhawks left a runner on in the bottom of the ninth and Bethany held on. Thomas went 8 innings and allowed just one run on one hit.
The fourth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan eliminated Ferrum, 8-5, Satrurday afternoon in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship. With the victory the Marlins improve to 21-15 on the year and will continue on its journey in the ODAC Championship. They join Randolph-Macon as the two teams who have qualified for the four-team double elimination tournament. Shenandoah and Roanoke both lead their respective series and will play Sunday afternoon with a second game to follow if needed.
|
| Wrapping up the season series with Wheaton (Ill.), North Central College split Saturday's doubleheader to take two of the three games in the series, cruising to a 11-1 win in the opener before suffering a 7-2 defeat in the nightcap at Zimmerman Stadium, while the Cardinals were presented with the CCIW Championship trophy in front of the home crowd. North Central athletics photo by Emiliy Zadny |
Oberlin College ended its conference slate with a split against the Hiram College Terriers, dropping game one 13-10 before bouncing back with a 9-5 win in the nightcap. Game two opened with a double from senior Brendan Mapes, giving him 42 career two-base hits as he passed Eric Knight's'13 mark of 41. The Yeomen had 26 hits on the day led by freshman Ian Ashby and sophomore Alexis Castillo as they each had five hits and combined for 12 RBIs.
Ripon will enter the final day of the Midwest Conference regular season still alive for a spot in next week's MWC Tournament. They split a doubleheader against Lawrence Saturday afternoon, winning the first 5-3 in comeback fashion, before another comeback bid was thwarted in game two, which Lawrence won 5-4. That means Ripon can clinch a spot in the conference tournament by winning both games against Lawrence on Sunday.
Home runs from Thomas Allison and Andrew Krause helped push No. 4 MIT past No. 2 WPI 10-0 Saturday afternoon in game five of the NEWMAC Tournament at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton College campus. MIT (21-16-1) will now compete for the NEWMAC Championship on Sunday, May 5. MIT will face the winner of No. 2 WPI (23-15)/No. 3 Babson who will play prior to the championship game on Sunday. Sunday's contests will be hosted by at the New England Baseball Complex in Northboro.
RIT (21-14, 15-5 Liberty League) earned a crucial doubleheader sweep on the road at Liberty League foe Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (17-17, 13-9 Liberty League) on Saturday. RIT won game one, 5-1 and took game two, 11-2. The two wins ensure that RIT can finish no worse than second in the Liberty League standings. RIT reached the 20-win plateau for the 11th time in program history, all in the last 21 years. RIT maintains its lead in the Liberty League standings over Rochester. The Tigers have now won eight straight games in league play. "We are playing our best baseball at the end of the year which is what you want," said head coach Rob Grow. "Our pitching, fielding and hitting are all clicking right now we just have to keep it rolling."
Top-seeded Mitchell and second-seeded New England College advanced to the title round of the 2019 New England Collegiate Conference Baseball Championship on Saturday. The Pilgrims clipped the Mariners 5-0 in the second game of the day to earn the first spot in the finals. Mitchell then outlasted fourth-seeded Eastern Nazarene College by a 4-3 final to advance through the loser's bracket. Earlier in the day, ENC eliminated third-seeded Lesley University by a 14-5 final. Mitchell (34-7 overall) will play in the title round for the seventh straight year and will need a pair of victories to claim the conference crown. NEC (24-15 overall), making its first finals appearance in its debut season in the league, needs only one win to earn the title. Due to inclement weather predicted for Sunday, the two teams will meet to decide the champion on Monday.
|
| Scranton clinched a berth in the Landmark Conference playoffs by splitting a doubleheader at Moravian on Saturday. The Royals (15-20, 9-9 Landmark) won the opener 7-3 before dropping an 8-4 decision to the Greyhounds (20-19-1, 12-6 Landmark) in the nightcap, despite turning a triple play in the bottom of the first inning. Scranton athletics photo by Timothy R. Dougherty |
Bates outscored Bowdoin 17-1 over the course of two games, sweeping the Polar Bears and earning a spot in the four-team NESCAC Championships. Bates (19-14, 9-3 NESCAC East) defeated Bowdoin (6-23-2, 3-9 NESCAC East) in game one 6-0 and the Bobcats cruised to an 11-1 victory in game two. With the pair of victories, the Bobcats complete their best regular season in program history within the NESCAC East, sporting a record of 9-3 heading into next weekend's NESCAC Championships. Bates baseball's rise in recent years within the conference has been impressive. The NESCAC Championships were established in 2001 and in 2014 the Bobcats finished 7-5 in conference play, qualifying for the tournament for the first time. They also finished 7-5 and qualified for the tournament in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Their 9-3 record this year is a new high watermark for the program within the division. In addition, the Bobcats' record of 19-14 assures them a winning season overall for the first time since 2013. Bates has now qualified for the NESCAC Championships in each of head coach Jon Martin's three years at the helm.
Keuka set a new program record in wins as the Wolves swept a North Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader against Cazenoiva at Kuhl Field on Saturday. Keuka College (24-14, 14-3 NEAC) won the opener 4-1. The Wolves then completed the sweep, defeating Cazenovia 12-1 in game two.Brooks Vertoske hit his sixth home run of the season, tying for third most in program history in the opener. He drove in three runs and scored two himself. The story of game two was on the mound. K.C. Howe went the distance for the Wolves. Howe took a perfect game into the sixth inning. He pitched all nine innings and struck out 10 batters, both career-bests.
Sophomore Evan Faxon worked into the ninth inning in his top collegiate outing, and junior Nick Strausbaugh's one-out, third-inning dinger held as the game's lone run, as 10th-ranked College of Wooster topped host Kenyon on Saturday afternoon at McCloskey Field in Gambier, Ohio. Wooster (24-9, 13-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) and Kenyon (20-16, 7-10 NCAC) were originally slated to play two games on Saturday, but due to inclement weather, game two has been pushed back to Sunday. Faxon (5-1) hit his spots all day long, and coupled with Kenyon's eagerness at the dish, needed just 87 pitches to get through 8 1/3 shutout innings. The southpaw retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced with eight of the outs coming on three pitches or less.