Lyons Collects Six Hits, Nelson Earns Victory And Save As Baseball Advances To Championship Round Of 2005 Northeast-10 Championships With Elimination Round Victories Over Southern Connecticut And UMass Lowell
May 14, 2005
STONEHILL BASEBALL
2005 Northeast-10 Conference Championships
Saturday, May 14, 2005
LeLacheur Park, Lowell, Mass.
GAME #1 FINAL: STONEHILL 4, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 3
(Southern Connecticut eliminated)
123 456 789 R H E
Stonehill (26-19) 010 002 010 - 4 10 0
Southern Connecticut (28-12) 000 000 003 - 3 9 2
BATTERIES
STO: Nick SantaBarbara, Mat Lindenmayer (9), Brian Nelson (9) and Matt Vaughn
SCS: Jeff Farrell, Joe Vingo (7), Ben Starta (8), Justin Cox (9) and Joe Pagan
WP: SantaBarbara (8-2) LP: Starta (2-3) Save: B. Nelson (4)
Home Run: STO- T.J. Piscatelli (2)
GAME #2 FINAL: STONEHILL 7, UMASS LOWELL 5
(UMass Lowell eliminated)
123 456 789 R H E
UMass Lowell (27-18) 000 102 002 - 5 7 2
Stonehill (27-19) 100 011 04x - 7 10 0
BATTERIES
UML: Kevin Graham, Ron Nelson (7), Mike Barry (8) and Miles Page
STO: Brian Nelson, Mat Lindenmayer (9) and Matt Vaughn
WP: B. Nelson (3-4) LP: R. Nelson (2-2) Save: Lindenmayer (1)
LOWELL, Mass.– Third-seeded Stonehill and second-seeded Franklin Pierce will play for the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship on Sunday afternoon, as the Chieftains advanced to the championship round with a pair of victories in the elimination bracket on Saturday afternoon over 27th-ranked Southern Connecticut (4-3) in the opener and over host UMass Lowell (7-5) in the nighcap in games played at LeLacheur Park.
Stonehill (27-19) opened the day by building a 4-0 lead against the top-seeded Owls (28-12), taking a 1-0 second inning lead on a sacrifice fly by freshman David Fradette (Goffstown, N.H.) and extending the lead to 3-0 in the sixth on junior T.J. Piscatelli’s (Norfolk, Mass.) two-run homer, his second of the season. The Chieftains added what would prove to be a key insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single by senior Tim Flynn (Clifton Park, N.Y.), as Southern Connecticut received an RBI single from senior Mel Davis (Bristol, Conn.), a bases-loaded walk to senior Tyler Call (Hopkinton, Mass.) and an RBI groundout by junior Joe Pagan (Bridgeport, Conn.) to close to within 4-3. Junior Brian Nelson (Greenville, R.I.) Came on to record a strikeout to end the game and earn his fourth save of the season, as sophomore Nick SantaBarbara (Middleton, Mass.) allowed eight hits and three runs while fanning three in eight-plus innings of work to improve to 8-2 on the mound for Stonehill.
Junior Coley Lyons (West Roxbury, Mass.) went 4-for-5 in the win over Southern Connecticut for Stonehill, while senior Craig Audette (Raynham, Mass.) added three hits as part of a 10-hit Chieftain attack. Call and sophomore Sean Morgan (Maynard, Mass.) each had two hits in the setback for the Owls, as sophomore Ben Starta (Franklin, Mass.) suffered the setback on the mound for Southern Connecticut, his second of the season to Stonehill in relief.
Sophomore Matt Vaughn (Bow, N.H.) went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, including a tie-breaking RBI single that ignited a four-run eighth inning rally, in the second elimination contest against UMass Lowell (27-18), as his hit gave the Chieftains a 4-3 edge and was followed by an RBI infield single by Audette and a pair of bases-loaded hit by pitches by Lyons and sophomore Max Vigliotti (Stamford, Conn.). The River Hawks closed to within 7-5 in the ninth on RBI singles by sophomore Ted Dillon (Dracut, Mass.) and freshman Dan Pope (Billerica, Mass.), but freshman Mat Lindenmayer (Penfield, N.Y.) came on to record the final two outs to earn his first collegiate save for Brian Nelson, who went 8 1/3 innings in allowing seven hits and striking out nine to pick up his third win of the season after earning the save in the opener.
Stonehill grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead on a Lyons RBI double, but UMass Lowell evened matters in the fourth on an RBI groundout by senior Miles Page (Dracut, Mass.). The Chieftains regained a 2-1 lead in the fifth on an RBI single by freshman Ryan Halloran (Tyngsboro, Mass.), but the River Hawks came back to take their lone lead of the night in the sixth on a Page RBI single and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Patrick Wilson (Dracut, Mass.). Vaughn’s RBI double in the bottom of the frame evened matters for Stonehill, setting up the late Chieftain heroics.
Lyons and sophomore Adam Pardo (Hanover, Mass.) Each had two hits in the UMass Lowell win for Stonehill, while freshman Tim Manton (Swansea, Mass.) had a pair of hits for the River Hawks, who earlier dropped a 4-3 decision to Franklin Pierce in a winners bracket contest. Sophomore Ron Nelson (Tewksbury, Mass.) suffered the setback in relief for UMass Lowell.
Stonehill, which dropped a 7-3 first round decision to Franklin Pierce on Friday afternoon, has advanced to the championship round of the Northeast-10 tournament for the second time in four seasons and the third time in six years. The Chieftains are looking for their first league playoff crown since 2000.
Stonehill and Franklin Pierce meet in the championship round at Noon at LeLacheur Park, and if the Chieftains best the Ravens, a second championship game will be played 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first contest.