For Immediate Release
May 17, 2012
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Information provided by SNHU Athletics Communications
Southern New Hampshire and Franklin Pierce both
record 3-0 shutouts in NCAA East Regional action at Manchester
Manchester, N.H. – Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year Tim Flight (pictured) fanned 13 batters in eight innings and allowed just three hits as top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University blanked No. 6 seed Dowling College 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship East Regional Thursday at Penmen Field.
So. New Hampshire advances to face fourth-seeded Saint Anselm College Friday at 3:00 p.m. in the second round of the double-elimination tournament. The Penmen also improve to 39-12, while the Golden Lions are now 31-18 on the season.
In the second game of the afternoon, second-seeded Le Moyne College fell to fifth-seeded Wilmington (Del.) University, 1-0, in 10 innings. Dolphins starting pitcher Mark Kuzma was the tough-luck loser despite allowing just one run in 10 innings of work.
Le Moyne, which drops to 40-14-1 on the year, will now take on Dowling on Friday at 11:00 a.m. at Penmen Field in an East Regional elimination contest, while Wilmington improves to 33-16.
In the third and final game of the day, third-seeded Franklin Pierce defeated Saint Anselm, 3-0, behind a complete game three-hitter from lefthander Jack Crawford, who struck out eight without walking a batter.
Franklin Pierce improves to 37-17-1 and will now take on Wilmington on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Hawks fall to 28-24-2.
Flight, the NBCWA and Daktronics East Region Pitcher of the Year, worked himself out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the first by recording back-to-back strikeouts and from there allowed just two runners into scoring position the rest of the afternoon. Flight struck out the side in the first and fourth innings.
Southern New Hampshire staked itself to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Brendan O'Brien led off the inning with a bunt single and scored on a single up the middle by Andy Lalli.
Lalli scored the second run after standing at second and Jon Minucci at first. The duo attempted a double steal with a 3-1 count on Greg Pezzuto, who drew ball four. Dowling catcher Taylor Bargiacci threw down to third, and Golden Lion third baseman Ian Schneider tagged Lalli. Thinking it was the third out, he rolled the ball to the pitcher's mound, but an alert Lalli took off for home and scored before Schneider could recover the ball and throw him out.
So. New Hampshire scored its other run in the seventh. With two outs, Bryan Toland singled and stole second. He would score on O'Brien's single to the gap in left-center.
Alex Powers struck out the side in the top of the ninth for So. New Hampshire to pick up his sixth save of the season. Dowling hurler Marc Rutledge allowed just six hits in eight innings and two earned runs while striking out two.
In Le Moyne's extra-inning loss, Wilmington's Brendan Fallers delivered the game-winning RBI single in the 10th inning off Kuzma to lift the Wildcats to victory.
Kuzma struck out three and walked none in his 10 innings of work, while Wilmington starting pitcher Jamie Treml allowed no runs on four hits with six strikeouts in eight innings. Jordan Oncay got the victory after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of relief for the Wildcats.
The Dolphins, who claimed the Northeast-10 Championship last weekend, managed just four hits on the afternoon, two of which came off the bat of Ryan Mahoney.
As for Franklin Pierce, the team plated runs in the first, second and fourth innings, all with the aid of a Saint Anselm error.
The Ravens began the scoring in the first when Zach Mathieu reached on an error by Hawks first baseman Robert Kelly, allowing Dan Hennigan, who had singled earlier in the inning, to score. Franklin Pierce plated another in the second on a throwing error by shortstop Tito Lluberes, which allowed Isaac Wenrich to score.
In the fourth, Nick LaCroix scored on a fielding error by Healy, with Wenrich recording an RBI on the play.
Saint Anselm starting pitcher John Healy allowed three runs – one earned – on seven hits over eight innings. He had seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that are 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 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. 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.
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