Game 1:
#4 Sacred Heart 7, #1 Central Connecticut State 5
Boxscore
Lakewood, NJ -- Sacred Heart scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 5-5 tie and advanced to the winner’s bracket of the Akadema 2006 Northeast Conference Baseball Championship on Thursday afternoon at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J. A pair of RBI singles allowed the fourth seeded Pioneers to break the tie and pick up the victory over the top seeded Blue Devils. With the victory Sacred Heart is now 24-28 on the season while the Blue Devils fall to 31-17 overall. Sacred Heart scored a single run off of Blue Devils starter Evan Scribner (Washington Depot, Conn./Shepaug Valley) in the top of the first inning. The Pioneers used three singles, including a two-out RBI single up the middle by Jeff Hansen (Woodstock, N.Y./Onteora) to take a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Devils responded with three runs, one unearned, in the bottom of the inning against Pioneer starter Jay Monti (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro) on three hits and one fielding error. With the bases loaded and no one out, Adam Taha (Belmar, N.J./Brookdale CC) doubled to deep right center scoring three runners and giving the Blue Devils a 3-1 lead.
Sacred Heart tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs on two hits in the top of the fifth inning. With runners on first and third and two outs, Bobby McKee (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) tripled off the left field wall scoring both runners and tying the game.
Central Connecticut responded again with a pair of runs on four hits to take a 5-3 lead. Freshman Richie Tri (Everett, Wash./Barnstable) tripled to lead off the inning and scored on an RBI single by Seth Brown (Valley, Neb./Creighton). With men on first and third and one out, Matt Memoli’s (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) fielder’s choice groundout scored Brown giving the Blue Devils the two run lead.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Sacred Heart’s McKee singled in his third and fourth runs of the game and tied the game at 5-5. Tim Lantz (Endwell, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) and David Kaloyanides (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) each singled off Scribner to lead off the inning. The single by McKee knocked Scribner out of the game after 6.1 innings pitched. Reliever Adam Piechowski (Winsted, Conn./The Gilbert School) recorded the final two outs of the inning, including the potential go-ahead run which was thrown out at home plate.
In the top of the ninth, Josh Enos (Paulsboro, N.J./Paulsboro) and Jeff Hanson (Woodstock, N.Y.) each drove in a run with one out in the inning off of Piechowski to give the visitors a 7-5 lead. The Blue Devils walked two in the inning, one intentionally, and both runners scored.
Monti picked up his eighth win of the season pitching a complete game allowing 10 hits and five runs, four earned. He faced the minimum 12 batters in the final four innings of the game and allowed only one base runner during that time. McKee led the offense with three hits and his four RBI. Hanson drove in a pair of runs in the victory for the Pioneers. For CCSU, Taha had three hits and three RBI, all on a double in the first inning off of Monti.
Sacred Heart advances to the 12:00 p.m. winner’s bracket game on Friday. Central Connecticut will play in the 3:30 p.m. elimination game on Friday afternoon and must win to stay alive in the tournament.
Game 2:
#3 Wagner 3, #2 Quinnipiac 1
Boxscore
Lakewood, NJ --
Wagner College sophomore Joe Testa (Brick, N.J./Brick) scattered nine hits and struck out nine in a complete-game 3-1 win over Quinnipiac in the opening round of the Northeast Conference tournament on Thursday at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.
The third-seeded Seahawks improve to 18-32 overall, they advance to play the fourth-seed Sacred Heart in the second round on Friday at noon. Quinnipiac is now 22-23-1, they will play top-seeded Central Connecticut State on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Both pitchers cruised through the first five innings as Quinnipiac recorded just two hits, while Wagner had a first-inning single. The Bobcats struck first in the home-half of the sixth as John Delaney (Hanson, Mass./Xaverian Bros.) singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on single by Ryan Rizzo (East Northport, N.Y./Commack) and came around to score the game’s first run on a single by Tim Binkoski (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) to make it 1-0.
Wagner tied it with a single run in the top of seventh. Nick Papa (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) singled to lead off the inning, stole second and third base, and came around to score on a two-out single by Mike Picarello (Clifton, N.J./Clifton). Wagner took its first lead of the game scoring a single run in the top of the eighth. Peter Delleani (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) singled to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out single by Ed Sudol (Wallington, N.J./Wallington) giving the Seahawks a 2-1 lead.
Wagner added to its lead, scoring a single unearned run as Papa singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third base, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. The Bobcats put runners on second and third in the ninth,but failed to push a run across the plate. Quinnipiac starter Andy Mayer (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) tossed eight-plus innings allowing two runs on six hits. He walked two, struck out four and falls to 6-4 on the season.
Game 3:
Sacred Heart 4, Wagner 0
Boxscore
Lakewood, NJ --
Sacred Heart senior southpaw Chris Aldrich (Medway, Mass./Medway) pitched 8.2 innings of four-hit baseball on Friday afternoon in a 4-0 victory for the fourth seeded Pioneers over third seed Wagner in the winner’s bracket game of the 2006 Akadema Northeast Conference baseball championship at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, NJ. The Pioneers advance to Saturday’s championship game for the first time in school history and must win only once to claim the 2006 NEC title. With the win Sacred Heart is now 25-28 overall, while Wagner falls to 18-33 on the season.
After stellar pitching from Wagner starter Andrew Bailey (Haddon Heights, N.J./Paul VI) and Aldrich through the first five and one half innings, the Pioneers broke it open with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Each pitcher faced just one batter over the minimum for the first five innings of the game and combined for seven strikeouts and each allowed just one hit.
In the sixth, Sacred Heart’s Tim Lantz (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep) singled with one out and went to second on a single by David Kaloyanides (Reading, Mass./Reading). A double to deep right center fielder by Pete Kandybowicz (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) scored both runners and a sacrifice fly by Bobby McKee (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) gave the Pioneers the 3-0 lead. The RBI was the fifth for McKee in the first two games of the tournament.
In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Sacred Heart shortstop Rob Tenzca (Meriden, Conn./Maloney) homered down the right field line to up the Pioneer lead to 4-0.
The game was delayed for a passing thunderstorm at 1:32 p.m. for a total of 46 minutes.
Aldrich pitched 8.2 innings to pick up his sixth victory of the season (6-6). He allowed only four hits, all singles, in the game and retired the side in order five times. He never faced more than five batters in one inning and struck out five while walking only one. Alrich faced only 32 batters and threw 95 pitches in 8.2 innings of work.
Kandybowicz drove in a pair of runs while McKee and Tencza each had an RBI in the victory for the Pioneers.
Sacred Heart will play at noon on Saturday afternoon while Wagner will play in an elimination game at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night vs. the winner of the 3:30 p.m. elimination game between Central Connecticut and Quinnipiac.
Game 4:
CCSU 7, Quinnipiac 6
Boxscore
Lakewood, NJ --
Central Connecticut withstood a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning by Quinnipiac to secure a 7-6 victory in the first elimination game at the 2006 Akadema Northeast Conference Baseball Championship at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, NJ on Friday afternoon. With the victory the Blue Devils are 32-17 overall on the season and advance to Friday night’s elimination game at 7:00 p.m. vs. third seed Wagner. Fourth seed Sacred Heart advanced to the championship game on Saturday at noon with a 4-0 victory over Wagner in the winner’s bracket game earlier in the day. Quinnipiac is eliminated from the tournament with a final regular season record of 22-24-1.
Central Connecticut got on the board first with three two-out runs in the top of the first inning off of Bobcat starter Chris Gloor (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore). With two outs, Sean Salvatore (Southington, CT/Southington) walked and went to third on a single to right center by Adam Taha (Belmar, N.J./Brookdale CC). John Romano (Staten Island, N.Y./Brookdale CC) hit his fourth home run of the season to left field giving CCSU the 3-0 lead.
The Bobcats cut the lead to 3-1 with a single run off of Blue Devil starter Matt Gianini (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) in the bottom of the inning. With one out Ryan Rizzo (East Northport, N.Y./Commack) singled and went to third on a single by Tim Binkoski (North Haven, Conn./North Haven). An RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Randy Gress (Shelton, Conn./Notre Dame) made it 3-1.
The Blue Devils scored a single run in the top of the second to make it 4-1. After chasing Gloor from the game with a leadoff single by Matt Memoli (Shelton, Conn./Shelton), Richie Tri’s (Everett, Wash./Barnstable) sacrifice fly gave CCSU back the three run lead.
Quinnipiac responded in the bottom of the inning when Pete Kummerfeldt (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Pompton Lakes) led off with a single and went to third on a double by catcher Michael Marmo (Roslyn, N.Y./Chaminade). John Delaney’s (Hanson, Mass./Xaverian Bros.) sacrifice fly and Rizzo’s RBI groundout cut the lead to 4-3.
Romano’s fourth RBI of the game, a sacrifice fly which scored Salvatore who doubled to lead off the inning, gave the Blue Devils a 5-3 lead in the top of the third inning.
In the top of the sixth Taha led off the inning with a single and stole second with no outs. With one out, Jay Schillaci (McKeesport, Penn./McKeesport Area) singled to left scoring Taha and then scored on a single to center by Memoli making it 7-3.
In the ninth, the Bobcats scored an unearned run on an error by the Blue Devils and a balk and then plated two more runs on a two-RBI single by Jeff Mainetti (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) with one out in the inning to make it 7-6.
Gianini pitched eight innings allowing six runs, five earned, on 12 hits while striking out six and walking three. Ken Kerski (Waterbury, Conn./Crosby) picked up his second collegiate save pitching the final inning without allowing a run and striking out two.
Taha finished with three hits for the Blue Devils for the second straight game. Romano drove in four runs for CCSU. Mainetti drove in a pair of runs for the Bobcats in the loss.
Game 5:
CCSU 25, Wagner 8
Boxscore
Lakewood, NJ --
Central Connecticut scored 25 runs on 25 hits on Friday night in the elimination game of the 2006 Akadema Northeast Conference Baseball Championship at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J. The Blue Devils defeated Wagner 25-8. With the win Central Connecticut will face Sacred Heart on Saturday at noon and will need to win twice to capture the NEC title. The Pioneers need only one victory to win their first-ever NEC crown. Central Connecticut is 33-17 following Friday night’s game while Wagner finishes its season at 18-33.
Central Connecticut struck first in the top of the first with five runs off of Wagner starter Mike D’Angelis (Paramus, N.J./St. Joseph Regional). A sacrifice fly by Adam Taha (Belmar, N.J./Brookdale CC) scored the first run and a two-run double to deep left field by Jay Schillaci (McKeesport, Penn./McKeesport Area) made the score 3-0. With runners on second and third, Scott Appleton (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) reached on a throwing error and both runners scored making it 5-0. A single by B.K. McLaughlin (Junction, TX/West Texas CC) and a walk to Richie Tri (Everett, Wash./Barnstable) loaded the bases and chased D’Angelis from the game.
Wagner responded in the bottom of the first with a single run off of Blue Devil starter Ken Kerski (Waterbury, Conn./Crosby). Back-to-back infield singles by Matt Mastrianni (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and Ed Sudol (Wallington, N.J./Wallington) put runners on first and third and a double to left field by Joseph Malfettano (Toms River, N.J./Toms River) scored Mastrianni and made it 5-1.
With two outs in the top of the second the Blue Devils used three straight singles by John Romano (Staten Island, N.Y./Brookdale CC), Schillaci and Matt Memoli (Southington, Conn./Southington) scored a run and gave the Blue Devils the five run lead at 6-1.
In the top of the third, again with two outs, Brown walked, stole second and then scored on a single down the right field line by Salvatore upping the lead to 7-1.
In the bottom of the third Mastrianni and Sudol singled and Nick Papa (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs for the Seahawks. Malfettano walked for his second RBI of the game and Andrew Huebner’s (Hatfield, Penn./North Penn) sacrifice fly to right made it 7-3 with one out in the inning. An RBI single to left by Mike Picarello (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) made it 7-4 and chased Kerski from the game after 3.1 innings pitched.
The Blue Devils put a single run on the board in the top of the fifth on the second sacrifice fly of the game by Taha. Tri, who had reached on an error, scored from third to make it 8-4. They put two more runs up in the top of the sixth including an RBI single by McLaughlin, his third hit of the game, which scored Memoli who had walked and stole second. A second run scored making it 10-4 when Tri reached on an infield single but the shortstop mishandled the ball and allowed McLaughlin to score from second.
In the eighth, the Blue Devils scored 15 runs on 11 hits and a pair of Wagner errors to take a 25-4 lead. Appleton, McLaughlin and Schillaci each had two hits in the inning while Schillaci drove in three runs and Brown and Salvatore each drove in a pair for CCSU. The Blue Devils sent 19 batters to the plate in the inning.
McLaughlin tied the tournament record with five hits in the game while Brown tied the tournament record for runs scored with four. Schillaci’s five RBI tie the tournament record and as a team the Blue Devils’ 25 runs ties the tournament record.
Game 6:
Sacred Heart 10, CCSU 8
Boxscore
Lakewood, NJ - Sacred Heart scored the first nine runs of the game and held on for a 10-8 victory over Central Connecticut in the championship game of the 2006 Northeast Conference baseball championship, presented by Akadema, to win its first-ever NEC title. With the victory, the Pioneers earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers finish the season with an overall mark of 26-28, while the Blue Devils finish the season 33-18 overall and won the regular season NEC title with a 16-7 league mark.
The Pioneers struck first with four runs in the top of the first inning off of Blue Devil starter Hasani Franke (Philadelphia, Penn./Abington Friends). He walked a pair of batters with one out and both scored giving Sacred Heart the 2-0 lead. Josh Enos (Paulsboro, N.J./Paulsboro) had a sacrifice fly and Jeff Hanson (Woodstock, N.Y./Onteora) singled to left field scoring both runs. A third run scored on a throwing error by the Blue Devils and a fourth on a single up the middle by Rob Tenzca (Meriden, Conn./Maloney) that also chased Franke from the game in favor of Derek Roberts (New Britain, Conn./New Britain). Roberts recorded the final out of the inning.
In the top of the third, Bobby McKee (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) was hit by a pitch and went to second when Enos walked. A single through the left side by Hanson off of Roberts scored McKee. Evan Scribner (Washington Depot, Conn./Shepaug Valley) relieved Roberts and allowed a sacrifice fly to Tenzca giving the Pioneers the 6-0 lead. Scribner recorded the final two outs of the inning and the Pioneers left runners on second and third.
Sacred Heart scored three runs on four hits off of Scribner in the top of the fifth to open the lead to 9-0. Enos singled to lead off the inning and went to third on a double to deep center by Hanson. Jason Maiella’s (N. Haledon, N.J./Manchester) RBI groundout and the third RBI of the game for Tencza scored the first two runs. A sacrifice fly by Anthony Diaz (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) scored the third run of the inning.
The Blue Devils scored a pair of runs but left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 9-2. Adam Taha (Belmar, N.J./Brookdale CC) and John Romano (Staten Island, N.Y./Brookdale CC) each had RBI singled in the inning for CCSU.
B.K. McLaughlin (Juntion, TX/West Texas CC) hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and Matt Memoli (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) hit a two-run home run, both to right field, to cut the Pioneer lead to 9-5 at the end of the seventh inning.
The Pioneers added a run in the top of the ninth inning on an RBI groundout by Maiella to make it 10-5. In the bottom of the ninth, Jay Schillaci (McKeesport, Penn./McKeesport Area) drove in a run with no outs to make it 10-6 and Scott Appleton (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) reached on an error which scored two runs making it 10-8 with one out.
Jay Monti (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro) picked up the save recording the final two outs in the ninth inning for the Pioneers. He was the game one winner vs. the Blue Devils on Thursday.
2006 Akadema/NEC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Ricky Coppola - Quinnipiac
Joe Testa - Wagner
Adam Taha - Central Connecticut
John Romano - Central Connecticut
Chris Aldrich - Sacred Heart
Bobby McKee - Sacred Heart (MVP)
Jeff Hanson - Sacred Heart
Jay Monti - Sacred Heart