May 21, 2023

Championship Sunday

Rain shuffled things a little on Saturday but on Sunday the skies were bright for New England based regionals that saw game from Saturday pushed into Sunday. With the play on the field, both the Bridgewater State and Mitchell Regionals will determine their champions on Monday.

Sophomore first baseman Bo Yaworski went 4-5 with three doubles and six RBI, powering the third-seeded Mitchell past top-seeded Wheaton (Mass.), 7-4, in the NCAA New London Regional at Alumni Field. Yaworski hit his second double of the day to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh and followed that up with a three-run double the next inning, giving Mitchell an edge they would not relinquish. The three doubles are a single game best for Yaworski and matches the school record, while his five hits are a personal best in a nine inning game.

Top-seeded Wheaton (Mass.) scored twice in the top of the 13th inning to come away with a 3-1 victory and stave off elimination against fourth-seeded Husson at Alumni Field on the campus of host Mitchell College in New London, Conn. Wheaton advances to play third-seeded Mitchell tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. to mark the eighth time in school history that the Lyons will play in the Regional Final. Mitchell defeated Wheaton earlier so the Lyons will have to beat the Mariners twice to advance to the Super Regional round. The game marked the longest played by Wheaton in the NCAA Tournament since a 7-6 win over 16 innings against Curry College to open the 2007 NCAA Regional. Earlier, Husson lived to play another game as they defeated Tufts, 5-2, in a NCAA regional elimination game on Sunday morning at Alumni Field on the campus of Mitchell College. With the victory, the Eagles recorded an NCAA regional victory in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.

Sophomore Xavier Botelho went 2-for-4 with three RBI to propel Johnson & Wales to a 10-0 win over Bridgewater State. Combined with an earlier win over Middlebury on Friday, the Wildcats advance to the regional championship game for the first time in program history on Monday. JWU – which broke the single-season record for wins with 30 – need one to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend; the Endicott Gulls would need to defeat the Wildcats twice to eliminate them. Sophomore Trevor Juan went 3-for-6 with a solo home run while junior Jack Magane had a pair of hits and an RBI single for the Wildcats, who saw eight of the nine starters collect at least one hit. On the bump, junior Ryan Schultz tossed seven shutout innings to improve to 6-0 on the season. He scattered eight hits, walked one, and struck out two.

Johnson & Wales will meet Endicott who emerged from the elimination rounds. The Gulls, also celebration a program record for wins in a season, defeated Bridgewater State, 6-0 to book their ticket to Monday's championship game. In their shutout win, the Gulls were efficient on offense scoring three runs via sac flies (2nd, 5th, 8th), two on singles (6th, 8th), and one on a double in the fifth. Kyan Bagshaw played a pivotal role in the victory by tossing 1 1/3 scoreless frames out of the pen. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Bagshaw stymied a potential Bridgewater State rally when he stranded runners at first and second via a lineout to third base.