Auburn, NY – Junior second baseman Esteban Meletiche (Philadelphia, PA/Frankford) scored the game's opening run on a leadoff homer to left centerfield in the bottom of the first inning and accounted for the eventual game winner when senior left fielder Roberto Santana (Orlando, FL/Lake Howell) singled through the right side to score him from second base to break a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning to help third-seeded Keystone College score an 8-5 victory over sixth-seeded Ramapo College (NJ) in the third game of the 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Auburn (NY) Regional at Falcon Park, co-hosted by SUNY Cortland and the Auburn Doubledays.
The Giants (33-10), the Colonial States Athletic Conference Champion making their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance (all since 2008), will take on the winner of tonight's final game between Farmingdale State College and Clarkson University on Thursday, May 19 at 7:45 p.m. The Roadrunners (30-13), a "Pool C" at-large entry into the tournament, plays the Farmingdale-Clarkson loser in an elimination game tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.
Meletiche, who keyed a three-run, five-hit eighth for Keystone with a leadoff single, finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a walk and was one of six players tallying multiple hits for the Giants, which pounded out 18 hits for the game. Senior catcher Brian Henry (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington) and senior third baseman Gabe Torres (East Orange, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) each went 3-for-5, with Henry scoring a run, while junior first baseman Fernando Perez (Reading, PA/El Nuevo Liceo), senior shortstop Lance Rachford (Oneonta, NY), and senior designated hitter Andy Vega (Glen Head, NY/Benjamin N. Cardozo) had two hits apiece, with Perez scoring twice and Rachford scoring a run.
Junior Adam Krebs (Commack, NY) picked up the victory in relief for the Giants, tossing a one-hitter with a pair of walks and a strikeout in pitching the seventh and eighth innings. Junior Derek Alex (Sunbury, PA/Shikellamy) pitched the final inning, walking one while striking out two, in getting his ninth save of the season. Junior starter Rob Rogers (Islip, NY) pitched six inning, yielding seven hits, five runs (two earned) and six walks while striking out two in facing 34 batters.
There were five lead changes (Keystone 3, Ramapo 2) and three ties in the contest, with the final deadlock coming in the top of the sixth as Ramapo junior first baseman Dan Moreno (Cranford, NJ) doubled to left field to score shortstop Rob Dimperio (Jackson, NJ) from third with two outs. The Roadrunners stranded 15 runners on base, with the third, sixth, and eighth innings ending with the bases loaded.
Moreno was one of three Ramapo players with two hits apiece, finishing 2-for-4 with a walk. Sophomore catcher Matt Hancock (Old Lyme, CT/Xavier) went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, and right fielder Dan Mauriello (Monroe, NY/Monroe Woodbury) was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
Junior right hander Matt Jenisch (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock) earned the loss in relief for Ramapo, facing 13 batters in pitching two and two-third innings, yielding five hits and all three eighth-inning runs with a strikeout. Sophomore right hander Travis Zilg (Green Rock, NJ/Watchung Hills) started the game, tossing four and two-third innings in giving up 11 hits, five runs (four earned) and two walks while striking out two in facing 27 batters.