Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – Suffolk University took home the ECAC Division III New England Baseball Championship over Roger Williams University Sunday afternoon, winning 8-1 in the championship game.
Sean Boyle (Arlington, Mass.), making his second start of the ECAC Tournament, got off to a good start for the Hawks in the top of the first, sandwiching a ground-out to short between a pair of strikeouts for a 1-2-3 inning.
Tim Conroy (Arlington, Mass.) fared equally well in his first appearance on the mound. He managed to get the Hawks to ground out twice in the infield, along with a line-out to second.
JC Collette (Amesbury, Mass.) picked up the first hit of the game for Suffolk in the second, singling just past third base, but would be retired at second on a 6-3 double play.
In the bottom of the second, Chris Travers (East Freetown, Mass.) lined a double to center field, as Suffolk outfielder Mac Jacobson (Norfolk, Mass.) just missed the diving attempt. Reid Nelson (Wallingford, Conn.) followed with a hard-hit shot past the first baseman to score Travers and give RWU a 1-0 lead.
Rob Marks (Revere, Mass.) opened the third with a base hit and moved over to second on a wild pitch that skipped to the backstop. After being sacrificed over to third, Matthew Brenner (Eliot, Maine) took a 3-2 pitch into right field to bring him home and tie the game.
The following inning saw Collette draw a lead-off walk, followed by a base hit up the middle by Devan Jones (Roslindale, Mass.), the 200th of his career. Jon Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) attempted to sacrifice the two runners over, but a bobble and overthrown to first allowed Collette to score the go-ahead run and put runners at second and third with no outs. After a walk to load the bases, Mike Muse (Milton, Mass.) sent a shot into the left center gap, but Jaime Timothy (Cohasset, Mass.) made an outstanding diving backhanded grab to hold the Rams to only a sacrifice fly. However, Knight stepped up next and put a single just over the head of a jumping Caulin Rogers (Gloucester, Mass.) at second for an RBI.
Another Hawk error in the infield led to a bases-loaded hit by pitch for Jake Cintolo (Wrentham, Mass.) to put the Rams up by four. The Rams picked up one more run in the fifth, as Marks singled in Jones with an RBI hit after Jones reached on a lead-off double.
Suffolk's defense helped hold off potential rallies for RWU in the fourth and fifth with a double play in each innings to take down the Hawks' lone base runner of each inning. In the seventh and eighth, the Hawks were able to put runners at first and second with two outs, but the Rams were able to hold RWU without a run both times.
The Rams tacked on two runs in the top of the eighth, thanks to an RBI single by Brenner to score Knight from second. Jacobson later came home from second, as Cintolo beat out the throw from second as the Hawks tried to turn a 4-6-3 double play.
After a scoreless eighth, the Hawks mounted one last rally in the bottom of the ninth, with pinch hitter Bryan Terzian (Westport, Conn.) taking a pitch in the upper back to get on first. After a strikeout on a pitch low and away, Jake Wazorko (Burlington, Conn.) sent a liner up the middle just over the jumping shortstop, but Jacobson made a heads-up play by in center to throw out Terzian at second on the force out. Jhonneris Mendez (Boston, Mass.) would then get the final strikeout to clinch the championship for Suffolk.
Conroy gave up only one run on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in the win. Brenner, who was named ECAC Most Outstanding Player, finished the day 2-for-5 with two RBI, while Jones was also 2-for-5 with two runs.
Boyle allowed four runs (three earned) in three innings in the loss. Thomas was 2-for-4 at the plate, while Travers was 1-for-2 with a run.