FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2016
SNHU, Saint Rose Advance to Final Day of Championship Weekend
RINDGE, N.H. - The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights and Southern New Hampshire University Penmen advanced past Day 2 of the Northeast-10 Baseball Championship Weekend and will battle for the NE-10 title on Saturday. Southern New Hampshire opened the day with an 8-2 victory over Pace to advance out of the winner's bracket before Saint Rose defeated the Setters, 7-3, in the final game of the day.
The two squads will face off at 4 p.m. on the campus of Frankllin Pierce University. If the Penmen win the game, they will claim the crown. If Saint Rose wins that game, then the two teams will play again 30 minutes following the completion of the game to cap off the 2016 NE-10 Championship.
#2 NE Southern New Hampshire 8, #2 SW Pace 2 | BOX SCORE
Junior Manny Cruz knocked in a pair of runs and saved a handful more with his stellar defense as the eighth-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team pushed Pace University to the brink of elimination in the Northeast-10 Championship winner's bracket semifinal Friday morning at Franklin Pierce University's Pappas Field.
Southern New Hampshire collected the game's first run in the second as sophomore Matt Rabbito sent a double to the gap in right-center that scored junior Carson Helms, who led off the inning by getting hit with a pitch, all the way from first base.
Pace quickly tied it in the bottom of the frame when Garrett De Lotto hit a solo shot to right off junior starter Alex Person. SNHU went back ahead with two runs in the third when graduate student Mike Mastroberti plated one with a bases-load sacrifice fly to right and junior Zach Goldstein scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to make it 3-1.
The Penmen nudged the lead to 4-1 in the fifth with a two-out rally. Following a pair of quick outs, Cruz drew a walk and Mastroberti battled through a 10-pitch at bat before extending the inning with a single to center. Helms then came through by ripping one back up the box to plate Cruz.
John Kukura made it a two-run game with a solo home run to left-center in the bottom of the sixth, but Southern New Hampshire made it 5-2 in the seventh when Goldstein drew a leadoff walk, scampered to second on a wild pitch and scored when Cruz immediately followed with a sharp single that took a tough hop off the turf past the first baseman and into right field.
SNHU widened the gap with a pair in the eighth. Rabbito was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and sophomore Taylor Olmstead entered for him as a pinch runner. Olmstead went first-to-third on an errant pick-off throw and then slide into home head first on a wild pitch that was blocked toward the first base side of the back stop. Cruz then delivered a sac fly to deep center later in the inning to stretch the advantage to 7-2. Junior Cam Oliveira made it an 8-2 game in the ninth with a run-producing groundout to shortstop.
Person (9-0, 2.99 ERA) allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk in five-and-two-thirds innings. Sophomore Mitchell Powers earned his second save of the season with three-and-a-third shutout innings, giving up just a hit and a walk.
Cruz was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, two RBI and a run scored, while Helms (RBI) and sophomore Sean Webster (run) were both 2-for-4. Mastroberti (walk, RBI), Goldstein (walk, two runs), Rabbito (RBI) and sophomore Andrew Lalonde (walk) were all 1-for-3.
#4 SW Saint Rose 7, #2 SW Pace 3 | BOX SCORE
The College of Saint Rose advanced to its first-ever Northeast-10 Conference Championship finals after defeating Pace, 7-3, on Friday afternoon on the campus of tournament host Franklin Pierce.
In Friday's victory over Pace, senior designated hitter Nick Venier and senior center fielder Derek Reed each hit two-run home runs, while Venier finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored and Reed went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Junior shortstop Tyler Ungerland batted 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk.
The top three hitters in the Golden Knight lineup (Reed, Venier, Ungerland) went a combined 8-for-13 (.615) with six RBIs and three runs scored.
Saint Rose led 1-0 after the top of the first inning and held the lead until the Setters tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth. The Golden Knights then regained the lead in the following frame at 2-1 when Reed hustled-out an infield single to score freshman left fielder Dakota DeJordy.
Venier's two-run blast put the Golden Knights up 4-1 in the top of the eighth, but the Pace bats came alive in the home half of the inning. The Setters scored two runs to make it 4-3 after consecutive doubles and a single, and had the tying run on base with one out.
Next, junior right-hander Carmine Vricciariello came out of the bullpen throwing strikes. He got ahead 0-2 on the following two batters and forced two groundouts to preserve a 4-3 lead heading to the ninth inning.
DeJordy smacked an RBI double in the top of the ninth and Reed belted his two-run homer to put the Golden Knights up 7-3. Vriccariello then struck out the side in order in the home half of the ninth to secure the victory and his third save of the season.
"Vriccariello has been a reliable force out of the pen all season," head coach Kyle Wilkins said. "He did a great job shutting Pace down today and putting us in a position to advance."
Senior right hander Ryan McGrath picked up his third win of the year after allowing just one run on three hits over five innings of work.
"I'm very pleased with the way we have competed over the last few games against some of the top teams in the country," Wilkins said. "We didn't let adversity throw off our focus and we played extremely well late in these games. Our ability to answer the bell so consistently down the stretch has been the key to making this run. My biggest takeaway from this season has been the resiliency and toughness our guys have shown all year."
Additional information for this release provided by the athletic communications staffs at 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: #2 NE Southern New Hampshire 9, #4 SW Saint Rose 7
Game 6: #2 SW Pace 2, #1 NE Franklin Pierce 1
Game 7: #4 SW Saint Rose 6, #1 NE Franklin Pierce 4
Friday, May 13
Game 8: #2 NE Southern New Hampshire 8, #2 SW Pace 2
Game 9: #4 SW Saint Rose 7, #2 SW Pace 3
Saturday, May 14
Game 10: #2 NE Southern New Hampshire vs. #4 SW Saint Rose – 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.
