MANSFIELD, Conn. – A bubble team after failing to gain the Little East Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament last weekend, there was cause for celebration when the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team was selected Monday to host an NCAA regional tournament game for the first time in eight years at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
After the first day of the tournament, however, it was third-seeded SUNY New Paltz (31-14) that was in a celebratory mood after sophomores Xavier Zykoff and Jeff Lundstedt combined on a four-hitter (three of them singles) in a 4-1 victory over the second-seeded Warriors (29-14) that vaulted the Hawks into a winners' bracket game against No. 1 nationally-ranked and No. 1 seed Endicott College (42-2) Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Endicott spotted fourth-seeded Husson University (23-11) an early run, but broke open a tight game with three runs in the eighth en route to its 19th straight win, 6-2 over fourth-seeded Husson University in Friday second game.
The survivor of the Eastern-Husson elimination game Saturday at 11 a.m. returns to play again in Game 5 at 6 p.m. against the loser of the 2:30 p.m. Endicott-New Paltz. The Endicott-New Paltz winner advances to the championship round Sunday at 11 a.m., getting two chances to win one game to advance to next weekend's Super Regional. Eastern needs four wins in two days to win the title.
The win was New Paltz' tenth in its last 11 games while Eastern, which had surged to a 20-game winning streak through early April, has dropped five straight home games after winning its first 11 (the losing streak starting with a pair of losses to Endicott April 20). It was also Eastern's fifth straight setback at home in regional tournament play dating back to 2010. The Hawks were coming off their first SUNYAC tournament title ever after beating heavily-favored and No. 1 seed and host SUNY Cortland last weekend.
Eastern junior lefty Dan Driscoll (Waterford) and Zykoff (5-1) both opened with three hitless innings before New Paltz scored all the runs it would need in the fourth when it parlayed three hits, a walk and inning-opening hit-by-pitch into the only three runs it would need. Three consecutive batters drove in runs in the inning, one riding home on Dillon Ristano's double down the left field line. Graduate player Michael Boccarossa's soft single to left with one out opened the scoring and graduate player Justin Harvey's infield ground ball made it 3-0
Zykoff, who entered the game with a 6.03 ERA and allowing well over a hit an inning, handcuffed the Warriors all day before giving way to Lundstedt. Zykoff scattered four hits while fanning five and walking two. Lundsedt did not allow a hit or walk and struck out two in earning his first save.
Trailing 3-0, No. 22-ranked Eastern, pushed across its only run in the fourth on senior second baseman Preston Irby's (Bridgeport) two-out double off the glove of sophomore third baseman Fabian Apicella that carried into the left field corner. The drive scored junior centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) all the way from first. Leonzi had reached Zykoff for the first hit he allowed one batter after New Paltz leftfielder Nick Harvey – one of five graduate players on the team – made a miraculous catch on junior catcher Hank Penders' (Newington) sinking line drive.