by Tucker Terranova
Molloy is headed to the Super Regionals !!
Ryan Hynes fires a CG in a 3-1 victory over New Haven. The Lions will face the winner of Southern New Hampshire-Jefferson next weekend in a best-of-3 pic.twitter.com/k23j9I9WKJ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2024
In a high-stakes NCAA Division II East Regional matchup this Saturday, No. 2 Molloy faced off against No. 7 New Haven with a chance to secure the regional title. In their first matchup, Molloy secured a 6-0 victory powered by a stellar performance from ECC Pitcher of the Year Charlie Cucchiara, who delivered a complete game shutout.
A team that prides itself on its pitching staff, Molloy compiled a 3.77 team ERA, the best in the East Coast Conference and a major reason why they took home the league championship for the second time in three years.
After holding opponents scoreless through their first two regional meetings, Molloy’s senior southpaw Ryan Hynes was passed the baton on Saturday and tasked with capping off an incredible weekend for the Lions’ staff, aiming to send them to the Super-Regional.
Hynes aimed to continue the dominant pitching performances that had defined Molloy’s success in the tournament thus far, and did just that.
“All three pitchers this weekend came out and shoved,” Hynes said in a postgame interview with Axcess Baseball.
The East Setauket graduate went the distance for Molloy, surrendering one run on four hits, striking out five, and walking none over 118 pitches.
Molloy has been one of the best teams in the country at home this season, boasting a 20-3 record in front of their fans at “The Mitch”.
When asked how their home-field advantage has helped them this season, Hynes said “There’s
nothing better than playing at the Mitch. We don’t lose at the Mitch.”
Hynes and New Haven starter Michael Gatti made relatively easy work of the two offenses early on, holding the bats to a combined one hit and striking out three through the first two innings of play.
New Haven worked themselves into trouble in the top of the third, plunking JJ DeVito and allowing Aidan Larkin to reach on a throwing error, setting up Matt Yip with runners on first and second and two away.
Yip capitalized, singling to left field on Gatti’s 1-1 offering to bring home DeVito and give Molloy an early 1-0 lead.
Hynes flirted with perfection, retiring the first 10 batters he faced before Matt McIntire gave the Chargers their first baserunner of the ballgame, roping a double into the left-centerfield gap.
With a chance to knot the game at 1, Hynes bore down and made relatively easy work of the next two Chargers’ hitters, retiring them both on strikeouts to keep New Haven off the board through four innings of play.
The game was largely academic from there, as it remained 1-0 heading into the top of the eighth inning, and the crowd was treated to a good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel at the Mitch.
Molloy capitalized from more free baserunners in the top of the eighth as Yip worked a walk, Anthony Manisero was plunked, and Sean Welsh singled for Molloy’s first hit since the fifth inning.
This brought up Patrick Sanchez with the bases loaded and nobody out. Sanchez hit a dribbler back to the mound, resulting in Yip being retired at home, but a costly throwing error by Casey Cerruto scored Manisero and Welsh and allowed Sanchez to advance to second, giving Molloy a 3-0 lead with only six outs needed to secure the win.
After holding opponents off the board for the first 25.2 innings of regional play, Molloy surrendered their first run of the tournament courtesy of an RBI single from Aedan Forde.
It would be too little too late, as Molloy put the final touches on a 3-1 lead and held on to advance to the Division II Super-Regionals where they will square off with the winner of No. 1 Southern N.H. and No. 4 Jefferson beginning on May 24.
“We’re not worried about the opponent, we’re going to go out there and play our game.”
