The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team saw it's memorable season some to a disappointing close, with a pair of 4-3 setbacks - against Dowling College and the University of Bridgeport - in the East Coast Conference Tournament at Provident Bank Park. Among the many school records the Spartans set in 2012 was the single-season mark for victories in their 34-18 campagin.
Their elimination from the championship tourney after coming in as top seed and earning the right to host added to a bittersweet day, as the conference officially announced that STAC had captured every major ECC award. Shortstop Frank Salerno was named conference Player-of-the-Year, Matt Marotta was Pitcher-of-the-Year, third baseman Stanley Susana earned Rookie-of-the-Year kudos, and helmsman Scott Muscat was named Coach-of-the-Year.
After earning a berth in the winners' bracket on the strength of Thursday's 9-5 victory over Bridgeport, the stage was set for a showdown with #2 seed Dowling. The game lived up to its billing as aces Marotta and Marc Rutledge faced off in a classic pitchers' duel. STAC broke through first in the fifth with an Efrain Bautista RBI single and added another in the sixth on George Wargo's RBI double.
Dowling, batting as the home team, answered in the last of the sixth as Sean Craig's two-out sinking liner landed just in front of a diving Joe Antenucci in right field, bringing across a pair to deadlock the tally at 2-2.
Both starting pitchers showed the spirit of champions in tossing well over 100 pitches and working through the ninth, when STAC would recapture the advantage on Stanley Susana's two-out RBI triple. It would set the stage for a memorable, though heartbreaking conclusion, as JC Brandemaier's double into the right field corner would bring around two runs and end the affair in walk-off fashion.
Marotta fell to 8-2 with the tough loss, while Rutledge improved to 9-3. The Spartans were held to just seven hits while Dowling only accounted for five, but it was enough to advance into Saturday's winning bracket.
STAC would be faced with the unenviable task of playing immediately, facing Bridgeport, who eliminated CW Post in an improbable 13-inning thriller earlier in the day. Post seemed destined to advance, scoring three runs in the top of the final frame but the gritty Purple Knights - who tied the game in the ninth on Eric Schlitter's homer - would push across four of their own for the walk-off win.
Bridgeport broke on top with three runs in the third, with Mike Olszyk's RBI double keying the rally. STAC answered with one in the bottom half on Mike Russo's run-scoring double, but Purple Knight starter Chris Maull and Spartan Joe Ferrara traded zeroes from there. St. Thomas Aquinas reliever Mike Roestenberg allowed what proved to be a crucial unearned run in the eighth, as the Spartans responded with a pair in the bottom half. With the tying run on third, the hosts were unable to convert, squandering their final chance.
Olszyk worked the final two innings picking up his second save for Maull, who went to 3-5 with the win. Ferrara fell to 2-4 as the curtain closed on the Spartans' season. Bridgeport advances from the loser's bracket to face Dowling tomorrow at 12:00 at St. John's University in Game 6 of the ECC Tournament. If the Golden Lions win, they would earn the conference crown. Should the Purple Knights win the opener, the teams would immediately play Game 7, with the winner taking home the prized banner along with the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament.
On behalf of the St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball Team and the entire Department of Athletics, we would like to thank our fans and family for their incredible support throughout this tremendous season.
We would also like to thank the Rockland Boulders for the partnership that allowed us to play at the beautiful Provident Bank Park this season, as well as using this fine facility as a host venue for the ECC Tournament. We look forward to continuing our relationship next year and in the years to come.