Yesterday was an incredible day of college baseball action. There was three local Division-II programs competing in the NCAA East Regional, four Division-Is playing for their postseason lives, one Division-III team in the NCAA Regional and a Junior College team hosting the Super Regionals. From 9am until 10pm, there was important games going on. This doesn’t even factor in the high school baseball going on. For purposes of brevity, we will focus on the college action.
We covered the NYIT game at 9am in which their offense supplied the power to send them to Saturday’s Championship against Wilmington needing just one win to punch their ticket to next weekend’s Super Regional. The other big news of the day was LIU Post who squared off against perennial powerhouse Southern New Hampshire, the No. 2 seed in the tournament and No. 17 nationally-ranked team.
They trailed 1-0 for much of the day with southpaw Noah Lorenzo on the mound. He allowed an early solo shot to put the Penmen ahead, but the Pioneers did not waiver. In the top of the seventh inning with two outs and nobody on, leadoff man Giovanni Ciaccio drew a walk to bring up SS Chris Wasson. The Penmen went to the bullpen, but the Massapequa sent one deep to left and over the fence for the clutch, go-ahead two-run shot.
Equally as important, the Pioneers added two insurance runs in the ninth on consecutive RBI hits by Wasson and Dave Brehm to give themselves some breathing room. It was immensely clutch, as Mike Lazos yielded a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. The Penmen threatened for more as Tom Blandini and Dakota Mulcay singled to put the tying run in scoring position but Lazos coaxed a ground out of Joshua Zbierski.
With the victory, the Pioneers punched their ticket to the final while the Penmen were forced to play another game which they were able to do. The two teams will square off today at 2pm at Southern New Hampshire. LIU Post will send freshman stud Joshua Loeschorn to the hill needing just one win to advance to the Super Regionals. If they lose, they will have another opportunity 30 minutes after the last out to win again.
Adelphi had their season end in disappointing fashion against No. 5 Wilmington. They held a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning after a two-run HR by second baseman Brett Malm and an RBI single by Lucas Terwilliger but the wheels came flying off in the bottom of the fifth when the Wilmington bats put up a seven-spot, sending 11 batters to the plate. The first three batters reach base against starting pitcher Danny Taggart, who was relieved by Nic Luc. Things got messy, as a walk, a throwing error and a hit by pitch called for another pitching change. Max Steele came on and hit a batter with the bases loaded, walked the next and allowed a sac fly to open up a 10-5 lead. They added two more in the seventh and two in the eighth to break it open.
The Panthers had runners in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but couldn’t cash in. It was not the ending they had in mind. After peaking as the No. 5 Division-II team in the nation, they lost three consecutive playoff games–all at home–with their ace on the mound for two of them. They had opportunities in each game. Regardless, the Panthers end their 2019 campaign with a record of 34-9-1, the only Division-II team in the nation with single-digit losses.
Farmingdale saw a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning disappear against Johns Hopkins.
They had gotten out to 1-0 lead on a solo shot by Skyline Conference Player of the Year, Vinny Rice, and Mike Amandola extended the lead to 2-0 scoring on a throwing error.
With Steven Burke on the mound, the Rams had to feel good about their chances, and he brought a shutout into the sixth inning. He retired the first two batters of the sixth inning, but a single and back-to-back doubles tied the game, followed by a walk which ended his day. Ryan Mallon came on in relief who allowed a three-run shot to give Johns Hopkins the 5-2 lead.
In the top of the seventh, the Rams had first & second with nobody out but they were unable to scratch a run across.
They also got a walk and a single in the eighth inning but a double play cut that rally short. In the ninth, they went down 1-2-3 to end it. They will now play to extend their season against TCNJ at 11am.
Suffolk fell in Game 1 of the Super Regionals to Rhode Island, 9-3. They had ace Joe Valentino on the hill and he struck out eight through three shutout innings, but the Sharks offense couldn’t break through. In the fourth, the Rhode Island bats put up a four-spot to break it open. They added two in the sixth inning to make it 6-0.
The Sharks tried to chip away, putting up one in the seventh and two in the eighth but it wasn’t enough. They will play Game 2 of the series today at noon at Medford, with their season on the line as well.
Division-I:
Stony Brook captured the America East regular season title for the fifth time in program history and first time since 2015. They overcame a 7-5 deficit, winning on a walk-off sac fly by sophomore John Tuccillo. They will host their Senior Day on Saturday before opening up the America East tournament on Thursday in Vestal, NY.
St. John’s scored four in the ninth to pull off the comeback victory over Seton Hall, 7-6. The walk-off runs came on a two-run single by Ryan Hogan. They are now one win away from securing a berth in the Big East tournament. If they win today, they would secure the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Fordham scored a run in the eighth and a run in the ninth to pull off a comeback victory over Dayton to punch their ticket to the Atlantic-10 conference tournament, which they will host this weekend. Kyle Martin recorded his fifth victory of the season in relief. They will close out their regular season today against Dayton at noon. They are currently 33-22 on the season.
Hofstra split with William & Mary in a double header, setting up a must-win situation for them on Saturday. The series finale will begin at noon, which is also their Senior Day in which they will honor their eight seniors. If they win, they are in the CAA Tournament.
