FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2016
Golden Knights, Penmen, Ravens & Setters Advance Past First Round
After an exciting first round of the 2016 Northeast-10 Baseball Championship, Franklin Pierce, the top seed out of the Northeast Division, is set to host this year's NE-10 Championship Weekend. The Ravens will be joined by No. 2 seeds Pace and Southern New Hampshire, as well as the Southwest Division's No. 4 seed, Saint Rose.
The Golden Knights of Saint Rose opened the day by upsetting the Southwest Division's top seed, Adelphi, in a 4-0 final before Pace slipped by third-seeded Le Moyne, 4-3. In the later games, Franklin Pierce downed No. 4 NE Assumption, 6-0, while Southern New Hampshire outlasted No. 3 NE Merrimack in an 8-7 battle to the finish.
The 2016 Northeast-10 Championship Weekend will begin on Thursday, May 12 and will culminate with the finals on Saturday, May 14. The Penmen and Golden Knights will play at 12 p.m. before the Setters face off againt the host Ravens.
Game 1: #4 SW Saint Rose 4, #1 SW Adelphi 0 | BOX SCORE
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The College of Saint Rose advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend by upending host and Southwest Division top seed Adelphi, 4-0, in a first round game Tuesday. It marks the first NE-10 postseason win since 2003 for the Golden Knights, when they upended Saint Anselm 2-1 in 12 innings in an opening round encounter at Heritage Park in Colonie, N.Y.
The Golden Knights (19-18) turned three double plays this afternoon to help out senior right-hander Phillip Zdanowski who won his third straight start by scattering eight hits over the distance. Junior shortstop Tyler Ungerland and senior center fielder Derek Reed recorded their 18th and 15th respective multi-hit games of the year to spearhead the offense. Ungerland finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a walk, while Reed went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Also, sophomore designated hitter Alec Caprarella wound up 2-for-4 with two runs scored as well.
Saint Rose got off to a quick start by scoring in both the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Junior second baseman Mike Flynn drove a two-out double to right-center in the second that brought across Caprarella from first base after the latter had singled one batter earlier.
In the third, Reed and senior left fielder Nick Venier recorded back to back base hits to put runners at the corners for Ungerland who lined a single up the middle that scored the second run.
Caprarella then doubled down the right field line and came around on a base hit by sophomore right fielder Sean Maki to make it 3-0 in the sixth. An inning later, Reed reached on an infield single and scored when Ungerland slapped one through the right side.
Sophomore second baseman Steven Withers, senior right fielder Alex Zykoff and junior shortstop Michael Stack had two hits apiece to lead the Panthers, who had won eight of their previous 10 games entering this afternoon.
Game 2: #2 SW Pace 4, #3 SW Le Moyne 3 | BOX SCORE
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Junior first baseman Garrett De Lotto delivered the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to advance the Pace University baseball team onto 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend with a 4-3 victory over Le Moyne College in the First Round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships Tuesday afternoon at Peter X. Finnerty Field.
With the game tied up at three in the bottom of the eighth, sophomore left fielder Michael Gulino reached base by being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Junior right fielder Cory Capaldi then moved him over to second on a ground out to third. De Lotto then came up with the big blow, smacking a double into the left-center field gap to bring Gulino around to score and put Pace on top, 4-3.
Le Moyne got on the board first in the top of the second when third baseman Pat Wright homered over the left-field foul pole to lead off the inning. The one-run lead did not last for long, though, as an RBI double by junior designated hitter James Wynne scored Capaldi and tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Senior third baseman Nick LoBello then roped a ground-rule double over the left-field fence, bringing Wynne home to take a 2-1 lead.
Pace added to its lead in the top of the third when junior center fielder John Kukura hit a lead-off solo homer to left-center field to make it a 3-1 game in favor of the home team. Le Moyne's first two batters were unable to reach base in the top of the fourth. Wright then singled to right to keep the inning alive for the Dolphins. Designated hitter Trey West then belted a double to left-center, plating Wright all the way from first to cut the deficit down to one. Shortstop Dylan Swetman then grounded a single through the right side, allowing West to score and tie the game at 3-3.
Graduate reliever Tim Deegan picked up the win after tossing three innings in relief, allowing just one hit and no runs. Wright got a hit in all four of his at bats on Tuesday to lead Le Moyne. He scored twice and knocked in a run, including his solo homer in the second.
Game 3: #1 NE Franklin Pierce 6, #4 NE Assumption 0 | BOX SCORE
RINDGE, N.H. – Senior right-hander Paul Covelle fired a four-hit shutout and senior left fielder Kurtis White clubbed a sixth-inning grand slam on Tuesday night as the No. 1/3 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team posted a 6-0 win over Assumption in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.
Junior third baseman Jay Jabs, who was named NE-10 Player of the Year for the second straight season earlier in the day, became the school's all-time leader in home runs with a solo shot in the fourth inning, the 31st of his career.
Covelle (9-1) dispatched Assumption all on his own on Tuesday night, as he needed just 110 pitches (81 strikes) to shutout the Greyhounds. He allowed just four hits, did not issue a walk, threw a pair of wild pitches and struck out nine along the way, while facing 32 batters, just five over the minimum.
The Ravens got Covelle the only run he would need in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, senior shortstop Justin Brock took a four-pitch walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out, second-pitch single back up the middle by junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna. Franklin Pierce doubled the lead to 2-0 with a run in the bottom of the fourth as Jabs drove a home run of approximately 395 feet, just to the left of straightaway right field, his team-leading 13th home run of the season.
Franklin Pierce collected four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to create the 6-0 final. With Jabs, LaVorgna and Max DiTondo filling the bases, White drove a 1-1 pitch an estimated 355 feet to straightaway right field, narrowly clearing the fence for his third home run of the season, a grand slam which all but put the game away.
Game 4: #2 NE Southern New Hampshire 8, #3 NE Merrimack 7 | BOX SCORE
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Junior Carson Helms knocked in four runs and classmate Manny Cruz drove in the eventual game-winning run in the eighth inning as the eighth-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team posted an 8-7 come-from-behind victory against Merrimack College in a Northeast-10 Championship first round matchup at Penmen Field on Tuesday evening.
Southern New Hampshire grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run double down the left field line by Helms. SNHU then doubled its lead in the third when fellow junior Derek Bauer stroked a two-run single to right to make it 4-0. Senior starter Tim Viehoff, meanwhile, cruised through the first four innings, striking out 10 Warriors before running into trouble in the fifth. Merrimack hung a six-spot as it chipped away at the deficit before a three-run double to the gap in left-center by Cam DiSarcina put the visitors up, 6-4.
The Penmen tied it up in the bottom of the frame when Helms unloaded a two-run shot that stayed just fair inside the left field foul pole. Merrimack used a long ball of its own in the sixth when Matt Brown led off the stanza with a solo jack to left-center that put the Warriors back in front, 7-6. Southern New Hampshire again pulled even in the bottom of the inning when junior Cam Oliveira led off with a single through the hole at short and tied the game when he scored as Cruz reached on a two-out error by the third baseman.
The Penmen went ahead for good in the eighth as senior Lorenzo Papa led off with a pinch hit single to center and was lifted for a pinch runner in freshman John Stanton. Stanton moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Sean Webster and scored when Cruz drove a single through the left side to make it 8-7.
Sophomore Jake Walkinshaw entered in the ninth and slammed the door to send the Penmen to Championship Weekend.
Additional information for this release provided by the athletic communications staffs at Franklin Pierce, Pace, Saint Rose and Southern New Hampshire.
2016 Northeast-10 Baseball Championship
Tuesday, May 10
First Round
Game 1: #4 SW Saint Rose 4, #1 SW Adelphi 0
Game 2: #2 SW Pace 4, #3 SW Le Moyne 3
Game 3: #1 NE Franklin Pierce 6, #4 NE Assumption 0
Game 4: #2 NE Southern New Hampshire 8, #3 NE Merrimack 7
Championship Weekend (Hosted by Franklin Pierce)
Thursday, May 12
Game 5: #4 SW Saint Rose vs. #2 NE Southern New Hampshire – 12 p.m.
Game 6: #2 SW Pace vs. #1 NE Franklin Pierce – 3:30 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser – 7 p.m.
Friday, May 13
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – 3 p.m.
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser – 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 14
Game 10: Game 9 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 4 p.m.
Game 11: If necessary game – 30 minutes following conclusion of prior game
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
