The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team is in the final day of the NCAA Division II East Regional. If the Spartans defeat Dowlng in the noon contest, the teams will play again with the winner advancing to the NCAA Diviskon II Championship in Cary, North Carolina.
2:12 - It's all Ferriggi as Rizzitello grounds to Susana to end the game. ECC Tournament Final Redux - STAC vs Dowling, first pitch at approximately 3:00 pm. - FINAL - STAC 4, Dowling 2
2:07 - 6-7-8 in the 9th for Dowling, Cruz, Veltre, and Rizzitello scheduled to face Ferriggi.
2:06 - With the bat as well as the glove! Nick D'Angelo leads off with a walk and steals second. It's time for the Beard, as Ferriggi rips a grounder through the hole into left and D'Angelo scores a big insurance run. - Mid 9th - STAC 4, Dowling 2.
1:56 - CJ is OK! The ECC's top reliever comes in and strikes out Dan Parisi and JC Brandmaier to get out of the jam. STAC is three outs away from forcing Game 11. - End 8th - STAC 3, Dowling 2.
1:49 - Schuster draws a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch and Abreu's bunt in the air pops out of the glove of a diving Ferriggi putting runners at 1st and 2nd with none out. Going bunts the runners into scoring position with one out. Gonzalez is done for the day, CJ Ferriggi comes in to try to save the season.
1:42 - Derek Hirsch sends a diving liner into center field for a base hit. Baerga, playing half way, holds at third but center fielder Cruz bobbles for an error and Baerga comes home with the go-ahead run. Hirsh is caught stealing and Susana strikes out, but the Spartans have the lead, six outs from forcing a final showdown. - Mid 8th - STAC 3, Dowling 2.
1:36 - Baerga's grounder to short is thrown away by RJ Going. Kirshner grounds to third, advancing Baerga to second with one out. Caputo back to the mound, Rose is replaced by Dowling ace Tyler Badamo. Crunch time at Southern New Hampshire.
1:31 - Gonzalez retires the next two batters but Rizzitello reaches on an infield hit and steals second, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. Vinny Orlando grounds to second, and Gonzalez has worked seven strong innings, but the game is now tied. -End 7th - STAC 2, Dowling 2.
1:28 - JC Brandmaier puts one over the 385 mark in right center, just above the outstretched glove of Rich Baerga. We have a new ballgame. - Bottom 7th - STAC 2, Dowling 2.
1:24 - Ferriggi grounds into a big 6-4-3 double play as Sunday follows with a hard double down into the left field corner. Nail biting is acceptable behavior. Time to stretch.- Mid 7th - STAC 2, Dowling 1.
1:17 - Nick D'Angelo leads off with a walk and Coach Tom Caputo comes out to end DeMeo's day after a strong performance. Rob Rose in for the Golden Lions, Ferriggi up, runner at 1st, nobody out.
1:10 - Gonzalez has thrown just 50 pitches through five innings. Shuster flies to D'Angelo on the right field line and Abreu lines a single to left. Going's hard grounder to third is fielded behind the bag by Ferriggi, who guns to first for the out, but Abreu is in scoring position with two down. Gonzalez pulls the string with a perfect 2-2 offering, as Parisi swings through and is retired for the first time today. Six innings in the books. - End 6th - STAC 2, Dowling 1
1:07 - DeMeo sets down the 3-4-5 part of the STAC order. Top of the order up for the Golden Lions in the bottom half. - Mid 6th, STAC 2, Dowling 1.
1:05 - Veltre's hard liner is knocked down on a nice diving stop by Apreda, but goes for a single. Gonzalez settles down and avoids any damage. - End 5th - STAC 2, Dowling 1.
12:55 - Apreda is hit by a pitch but stranded on first. We're halfway in Manchester as the Spartans try to keep their season alive. Mid 5th - STAC 2, Dowling 1
12:49 - Abreu's grounder is bobbled by Kirshner for an error. After Going's single, Dowling has 1st and 3rd with one down. With Jonathan Cruz up and two down, the Golden Lions execute the fake double steal, with Abreu coming in as the runner is tagged out. Inning over but Dowling is on the board. - End 4th - STAC 2, Dowling 1.
12:39 - Susana draws a two out walk, the third time STAC has had a two out baserunner. An errant pickoff throw by DeMeo moves Susana to second, and Del Priore grounds a single through the middle as Susana narrowly beats the throw home with Del Priore advancing. D'Angelo grounds a single to left and the throw home is late as D'Angelo takes second. Ferriggi's hard liner is right at second baseman Cruz but the Spartans take the lead. - Mid 4th - STAC 2, Dowling 0.
12:32 - Rizzitello's short chopper to third goes for a hit, but Gonzalez draws fly outs from Orlando and Schuster. Only two hits thru three quick innings, both by the Golden Lions. End 3rd - STAC 0, Dowling 0
12:28 - Baerga works a two-out walk but is gunned down at second trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt. The Spartans remain hitless through three innings. - Mid 3rd - STAC 0, Dowling 0
12:22 - Parisi lines a hard single to right but Brandmaier grounds into a taylor-made 6-6-3 double play. Cruz flies to left to end the inning. Ten of Gonzalez' 16 pitches through two innings have been strikes. End 2nd - STAC 0, Dowling 0
12:15 - DeMeo fans Susana on three pitches and Del Priore pops to second. D'Angelo grounds to second, but Abreu drops the easy play for an error. D'Angelo proceeds to steal second. Ferriggi fouls off a pair of 3-2 offerings but DeMeo wins the battle with a strikeout. The right-hander's fast ball is popping early. - Mid 2nd - STAC 0, Dowling 0.
12:10 - Schuster's hard grounder to short is chested down by Susana, who completes the play. Abreu lines to short center but Baerga is played perfectly for the catch. Going's foul pop to first is gloved by Kirshner and Gonzalez has a 9-pitch inning. End 1st - STAC 0, Dowling 0
12:04 - Sunny, cool, absolutely beautiful day in Manchester. Breezy and mid-60s. DeMeo retires the Spartans in order with a quick 12-pitch innig. - Mid 1st - STAC 0, Dowling coming to bat.
12:00 - DeMeo's first pitch to Baerga is a called strike. Championship Sunday is underway.
11:57 - Dowling takes the
field
11:53 - Starters - St.
Thomas Aquinas (visitors) - Baerga cf; Kirshner 1b; Hirch lf;
Susana ss; Del Priore dh; D'Angelo rf; Ferriggi 3b; Sunday c;
Apreda 2b; Gonzalez p (3-2, 5.04 ERA)
Dowling - Schuster rf;
Abreu 2b; Going ss; Parisi c; Brandmaier 1b; Cruz cf; Veltre lf;
Rizzitello dh; Orlando 3b; DeMeo p (4-1, 2.50 ERA)
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Other results:
Thursday, May 15
Game 1 - (1) Southern New Hampshire 9, (6) Felician 3 - The hosts unleash a 7-run barrage in the bottom of the 1st inning and cruise to victory.
Game 2 - (5) Dowling 3, (2) Franklin Pierce 0 - ECC Pitcher of the Year Tyler Badamo tosses a shutout and his offense provides two homers in the opening victory.
Game 3 - (3) Wilmington 4, (4) St. Thomas Aquinas 0 - Wilmington scores four runs in the third and pitching does the rest for the Wildcats.
Friday, May 16
Game 4 - (2) Felician (1L) 5, (6) Franklin Pierce (2L) 0 (Franklin Pierce eliminated) - Jack Fowler tosses a six-hit shutout and the Golden Falcons strike late to send FPU packing.
Game 5 - (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (1L) 6, (1) Southern New Hampshire (1L) 1 - Nick D'Angelo homers and Rob Frank braves a 64-minute rain delay, striking out 13 in a complete game win.
Game 6 - (5) Dowling (0L) 6, (3) Wilmington (1L) 1 - Tom Bammann carries a shutout into the final inning as the Golden Lions remain the only team in the Winner's Bracket, securing a slot in Sunday's final action.
Saturday, May 17
Game 7 - (1) Southern New Hampshire (1L) 4, (3) Wilmington (2L) 3 (Wilmington eliminated) - The hosts rally from a three-run deficit to eliminate the Wildcats and advance to Game 9 against Dowling.
Game 8 - (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (1L) 8, (6) Felician 5 (2L) (Felician eliminated) - Spartans score six unanswered runs as a 3-run rally in bottom of 8th makes CJ Ferriggi a winner in relief.
Game 9 - (5) Dowling 4 (0L), (1) Southern New Hampshire 3 (2L) (SNHU eliminated) - The Golden Lions hold on to eliminate the hosts and set up an ECC Final rematch with St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday.
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Sunday, May 18
Game 10 - (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (visitors) vs (5) Dowling (home) - 12:00 noon
Game 11 - to follow 30 minutes after completion of Game 10 if STAC wins.