| Abel Arocho, the Hornets' leading batter, devlived a walk-off win for Shenandoah on the third day of thre 2016 ODAC tournament. Shenandoah athletics photo |
Top-seeded Shenandoah rallied for a 5-4 victory over Washington and Lee Saturday morning at the 2016 ODAC Tournament. Junior Abel Arocho was the hero for Shenandoah as he drilled a one-out single up the middle to score Joe Coleman and Tristan Baker with the tying and winning runs, respectively. There were no walk-oof for the Hornets in their second game of the day as Randoph-Macon earned a 4-2 13 inning win to play Hampden-Sydney on Sunday. In the middle elimination game, Hampden-Sydney ended Bridgewater's season with a 4-1 win.
After falling behind 6-2, No. 4 seed Babson rallied in the second half of game one of its doubleheader against No. 1 seed MIT in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals and went on to take an 11-8 victory. The Engineers came back in the nightcap to blank the Beavers, 6-0. In the second three-game series, WPI got some late-inning heroics from Alex Venditti to beat Wheaton (Mass.), 4-2. However, the second-seeded Engineers couldn't pull off a sweep of the No. 3 seed Lyons, falling by a 7-4 score in an 11-inning thriller. All four teams will be back on Sunday with the winner of the winner-take-all games headed to the NEWMAC finals next week.
At Texas Lutheran's Katt-Isbel Field, the Tigers scored four runs in the fifth and road the left arm of Michael Walker, who tossed a complete game to remain undefeated in the SCAC tournament with a 5-2 win over the Bulldogs. Walker struck out one and worked around three walks and eight hits to improve to 8-0.
Tim Ford had a walk-off single in game one and belted a two-run home run in game two as the Nichols swept its Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader from Eastern Nazarene. The wins give the Bison 22 on the season, which ties the single-season program record set back in 2004.
Robert Dembitzki scored on a walk-off wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Massachusetts Maritime to a 1-0 nightcap victory over Westfield State and a split of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with Westfield State. Dan Whigham rapped out three hits and drove in three runs in a 7-1 opening game triumph for the Owls.
Keystone earned a pair of key Colonial States Athletic Conference wins by sweeping a doubleheader from Centenary. Felix Baez struck out 15 batters in the opener before Robbie Nardelli hit a walk-off home run to give the Giants a 3-2 victory in game one. Keystone completed the sweep by overcoming a three-run deficit in the nightcap, winning 5-3.
Maine-Farmington became the first team in the 63-year history of the program to record a 20-win season. The Beavers broke the record, set by the 1988 squad, with a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader sweep over Colby-Sawyer. The Beavers set the mark in game one with a 5-2 win and then held on to win game two, 4-3.
| Birmingham-Southern athletics photo by Cari Dean |
After winning game one 4-0, No. 4 Birmingham-Southern dropped the second game, 3-1, to Rhodes in the Southern Athletic Association Championship title series, sending it to game three tomorrow. BSC won 4-0, with all four runs capitalizing on Rhodes errors. Rhodes turned the tables in game two as four Panthers errors enabled the Lynx to split.
In a must-win situation, Hilbert came ready to play. The Hawks had reachable goals on the line and they met all three challenges. With the AMCC sweep over Penn State Altoona, the 2016 baseball team set a new single season win record (11), a new AMCC single season win record (6) and became the first team in the program's 12-year AMCC membership history to qualify for post season play.
Muhlenberg celebrated Senior Day in style, sweeping nationally ranked Johns Hopkins in a pair of one-run games. Robbie Hopes had his second game-winning hit in four days in the opener, singling in the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-4 win in the opener. Sam Kasten pitched a four-hit gem in the nightcap, going all nine innings as the Mules prevailed, 2-1.
UW-La Crosse clinched at least a share of the 2016 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title with a doubleheader sweep of UW-Whitewater. The Eagles won the opener, 6-2, and the nightcap, 6-0. With the doubleheader sweep Saturday, UWL clinches at least a share of its 14th regular-season title in school history and first since 2012. The Eagles lead UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point by six games with six remaining.
Stephen Schiavone threw a complete-game shutout to lead RPI to a 4-0 victory over Vassar in game one of a Liberty League doubleheader. The Engineers dropped game one 5-1. Schiavone allowed just four hits - all singles - over 7.0 innings, picking up eight strikeouts and just two walks in 7.0 innings.
Saint John's posted another comeback win to salvage a doubleheader split at Bethel. The Johnnies dropped game one by a score of 7-4 but scored six unanswered runs to erase a 5-0 deficit in a 6-5 victory in the nightcap. The win in game two was the seventh in conference play (out of 13 wins) in which SJU was either tied or behind within the final two innings of regulation.
St. Norbert settled for a split in a Midwest Conference North Division doubleheader with Carroll, winning the opener 5-2 before dropping the nightcap 7-4 at Larry Van Alstine Field at Mel Nicks Sports Complex. The Green Knights rode starting pitcher Jake McMahon to the win in the opener. McMahon allowed just six hits and one earned run while walking only one and striking out 10 to earn the win.
Salem State clinched their fourth straight, and second outright Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship on Saturday with a 13-6 game one victory over Fitchburg State. The Falcons avoided the sweep, defeating the Vikings 7-2 in game two of the twin-bill. Salem State, the defending postseason champion will host the MASCAC Tournament beginning Friday. Fitchburg State has clinched the three-seed in the upcoming MASCAC tournament.
| Keene State'[s win over Southern Maine was their first since defeating the Huskies 9-3 win in the LEC tournament on May 3, 2011. Keene State athletics photo |
Jake Glauser singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to snap an 8-8 tie and No. 18 Southern Maine went on to defeat Keene State 11-8 in the nightcap of a Little East Conference doubleheader. The Owls came from behind in the first game to take a 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Huskies on rookie Devin Springfield's bases-loaded single.
SUNY Maritime swept a pair of Skyline Conference contest from the Farmingdale Rams. The Privateers took game one by a 5-2 score, before taking game two by a 4-2 margin. The wins give Maritime 11 conference victories on the season, which is two more than the previous record of nine conference victories set back two seasons ago. The 11 conference wins also clinches the third seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament, the highest the Privateers have ever finished in a regular season. With the team's nine runs on the afternoon, they set the single-season mark with 227 runs scored in a campaign.
Thiel downed the Grove City Wolverines in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader to sweep the season series. After Thiel fell behind in the first inning, they came back to take the first game 7-5.
Endicott swept Wentworth by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 to maintain a two-game cushion in the conference standings over its foes. JJ Branch stymied Wentworth in game one as the senior right-hander scattered three hits, walked one, and struck out four over seven shutout innings to move into a first-place tie with Mike Nich on the all-time wins list. Nich went 24-9 during his career for the Gulls, while Branch currently stands at 24-7. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Gulls rallied for two runs on three hits and one error to complete the sweep over the Leopards.
Dylan Pingitore hurled a complete game in the opener as Rhode Island College split a doubleheader with Western Connecticut in Little East Conference action. In between games, Rhode Island College seniors Pingitore, shortstop Gian Abbruzzese, left fielder Andrew Berlinsky and pitcher Kory Lawrence, along with their families, were recognized as part of Senior Day.
Manhattanville split a doubleheader matchup with Eastern, taking game one 8-2 before falling to the Eagles in the rubber match 7-3. The Valiants have secured the three seed for the MAC Freedom playoffs beginning next weekend at Owls Field in West Lawn, Pa. Manhattanville will square off with two seed DeSales Friday in the opening game of the double elimination tournament.
Alvernia split a doubleheader at Arcadia to close the regular season and will enter the MAC Commonwealth Championships as the top seed next Thursday at PEOPLESBank Park in York.
The Crusaders scored twice in the seventh inning in game one and had the potential game-tying run stranded at third base in a 3-2 loss, then scored four runs in the eighth inning of game two for a 9-5 win.
| Brian Luebcke finished off the run-rule victory with a 1-2-3 seventh, improving to 6-1 with his fifth complete game of the season. St. Joseph (Brooklyn) athletics photo |
Brian Luebcke set multiple single-season program batting records and tossed a complete-game three-hitter as St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) belted out 14 hits and plated 11 runs in an 11-1 run-rule victory over Mount Saint Mary that clinched a Skyline Championship berth and their fourth-straight 20-win campaign. The Knights jumped ahead early in game two to also clinch a tournament berth, as the Bears seventh-inning rally would come up short with the tying run at the plate. Old Westbury, with 18-0 and 15-4 wins overMount Saint Vincent secures the No. 2 seed.
Freshman closer Manny Garcia set the single season record for saves, as the lefty recorded his 6th and 7th of the campaign to lead UMass-Boston to a pair of come-from-behind victories as the Beacons swept Plymouth State by the final of 8-6 and 9-7 in a Little East Conference doubleheader.
Alma split a home doubleheader with visiting Kalamazoo at Klenk Park as the Scots and Hornets opened up a four-game weekend series. Both Alma and Kalamazoo are fighting for a spot in the MIAA Tournament, which begins in two weeks. The Scots held the Hornets to just one hit in the series opening game, but faltered late in game 2, surrendering a five-run lead in the top of the ninth inning. Alma won game one 2-0 and lost game two 9-6.
Husson swept New England College 6-1, 5-2 on day one of two in their final North Atlantic Conference four game series at the John W. Winkin Complex. Robert Graff was credited with the game one win pitching 5.2 innings allowing eight hits, one earned run, walked two batters and struck out three. Ben Walls earned the game two win as he pitched six innings, allowed five hits, two runs, and struck out six batters.
King's split a Saturday afternoon doubleheader with FDU-Florham to win the season series over the Devils after winning Friday's opening game. The Devils were able to overcome a 7-1 deficit to win the opener 8-7 on a walk off hit in the eighth inning before the Monarchs won the nightcap 8-2.
Castleton won the opening game against Lyndon 8-4, but then had its 21-game win streak snapped in the nightcap, as the Hornets earned the 4-0 shutout at Skip Pound Field. The Spartans had ten hits in the opener while scoring eight runs, but managed just a single from Taylor Vile in the second game to avoid the no-hitter. The spit ends the program-record winning streak at 21 games.
Baruch split a CUNYAC doubleheader at the College of Staten Island. The Bearcats took the first game, 5-4, behind a solid complete game performance from Matthew Fazio. They dropped the second game, 7-1. With the results, the Bearcats clinch second place in the CUNYAC regular season standings and the second seed. They will host a 4 p.m. playoff on Thursday at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York.
William Paterson punched its ticket for the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament with a 13-5, 10-3 sweep at New Jersey City. Sixth-seeded William Paterson will play at top-seeded Kean in the first round of the double-elimination tourney Tuesday.