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Sacred Heart battled back to defeat Wagner, 5-4, in an elimination game Saturday, but fourth-seeded Monmouth quickly stole that moniker of "Comeback Kids" away from the Pioneers only hours later. The Hawks overcame an early 7-0 deficit to defeat Sacred Heart, 14-8, and capture their fourth-ever NEC title. Monmouth claims the Conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Field of 64. The Hawks will now await the NCAA Selection Show, which will air on ESPN at 12:30 pm EST on May 25, to find out their NCAA Regional destination.
2009 Northeast Conference All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP: 2B Chris Collazo, Monmouth
OF Brett Holland, Monmouth
3B Ryan Terry, Monmouth
RHP Matt Goitz, Monmouth
1B Jeff Hanson, Sacred Heart
C Jeff Heppner, Sacred Heart
2B Steve Tedesco, Sacred Heart
SS Brian Martutartus, Wagner
OF Richie Tri, Central Conn. St.
Game Six: #4 Monmouth 14, #2 Sacred Heart 8
Monmouth stormed back from seven runs down to shock Sacred Heart and claim the 2009 Northeast Conference Baseball crown. The Hawks fell in an early 7-0 hole, but scored nine runs in the middle innings on their way to a 14-8 victory over the second-seeded Pioneers in the Championship Round of the 2009 NEC Baseball Championship presented by Akadema at New Britain Stadium.
The championship gives Monmouth the NEC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Field of 64. The Hawks will now await the NCAA Selection Show, which will air on ESPN at 12:30 pm EST on May 25, to find out their NCAA Regional destination.
The Hawks are the second straight No. 4 seed to win the NEC title. Last year, it was top-seeded Monmouth who entered the championship round of the Tournament undefeated before losing twice to fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary’s.
Holding a lower seed this time around, Monmouth again opened the four-team, double-elimination Tournament by winning two straight games and would not let this one slip away.
The top four hitters in the Hawks’ lineup went a combined 13-for-22 and scored eight runs to lift Monmouth to their fourth-ever NEC crown.
Batting cleanup, Tournament MVP Chris Collazo (Wall, NJ/Wall) went for 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI in the title-clinching game. The all-NEC second baseman hit .600 (9-for-15) and drove in six runs over the three-game span.
Feeding off of its dramatic 5-4 victory over Wagner in an elimination game earlier in the afternoon, Sacred Heart had other ideas early on. The Pioneers jumped all over the Hawks, chasing two pitchers from the game and scoring seven runs all in the first two and one-half innings.
The top three batters in Sacred Heart’s order, who went a combined 9-for-15, drove in five of the early runs.
Sacred Heart’s No. 3 hitter Jeff Hanson (Woodstock, NY/Onteora), who earned All-Tournament Team honors, opened the game’s scoring by lacing a two-run double to centerfield. The senior first baseman went 3-for-5 at the plate in his final game of a phenomenal season. Hanson claimed first team all-NEC honors and won the Conference’s batting title (.425).
Monmouth began battling back in the bottom half of the third inning when freshman David Jacob (Sussex, NJ/Vernon) cut the deficit to 7-1 by delivering a sacrifice fly.
The Hawks plated five more runs in the fourth frame, which began with a leadoff single from catcher Bobby Dombroski (Denville, NJ/Seton Hall Prep). Jacob did more damage later in the inning, which saw Monmouth bat around, when he laced an RBI double to pull the Hawks within 7-6.
Meanwhile, Matt Goitz (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne) stepped up and provided the top pitching performance of the entire six-game Tournament. The freshman right-hander came on in relief and tossed 4.1 masterful innings, allowing only one unearned, to earn the win. His first appearance since May 16 was more than enough to secure a spot on the nine-man All-Tournament Team.
With Goitz holding the Pioneers’ bats at bay, Jacob struck again in the sixth inning. The freshman blasted an RBI triple into the right-field corner that put Hawks ahead, 8-7, and they would not look back.
Jacob’s hit came in the middle of a four-run inning that ended with Monmouth ahead 10-7.
Game Five: #2 Sacred Heart 5, #4 Wagner 4
Mike Drowne (South Hadley, MA/South Hadley) singled over the head of Wagner centerfielder Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) to complete a ninth-inning comeback and send Sacred Heart to the Championship Round of the 2009 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament presented by Akadema. The second-seeded Pioneers face fourth-seeded Monmouth, which is undefeated (2-0) in Tournament play, needing to defeat the Hawks twice to capture the NEC crown.
Sacred Heart returns to the final round of the NEC Tournament for the first time since winning it all in 2006 by virtue of its dramatic victory over Wagner in what was an elimination game.
The Pioneers trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning when catcher Jeff Heppner (Aquebogue, NY/Riverhead) blasted a solo shot over the centerfield wall to trim the deficit to one run. Heppner, an all-NEC first team selection, went 2-for-4 and scored twice in the game.
Wagner received a lead-off single from Jared Gruccio (Landsville, NJ/Buena Regional) in the ninth inning, but was unable to add any insurance.
Still, Sacred Heart faced a tall task in its final at-bat. Wagner’s senior closer Andrew Huebner (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) took the mound looking for his 14th save in 14 chances this season.
Ryan Lynch (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon) led off for Sacred Heart and fell behind Huebner 0-2. The right-fielder took the third pitch for a ball before poking an infield single to the right side that was too hot for diving first baseman Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ/CBA) to handle. Lynch was erased at second base on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Paul Schmidt (Amityville, NY/St. John the Baptist) who took first on the fielder’s choice.
SHU second baseman Steve Tedesco (Mission Viejo, CA/Trabuco Hills) followed by singling up the middle while Schmidt, going first to third, came around to score the tying run on the play thanks to an errant throw that sailed into Wagner’s dugout.
Three pitches later, Drowne delivered the game-winning hit to score Tedesco from third base and end Huebner’s save streak.
Chris Zacherrio (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset) earned the victory for Sacred Heart. The junior right-hander came on in the seventh inning to pitch 3.0 frames of scoreless, three-hit relief.
Wagner jumped out to its 4-2 lead thanks to the bat of Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA/La Costa Canyon). The sophomore shortstop pulled a solo home run down the left field line to break a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning before singling home the Seahawks’ fourth run in the seventh.
Martutartus, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored Saturday, hit .538 (7-for-13) and drove in five runs over a three-game span to claim All-Tournament Team honors.