Bridgewater, NJ - Pat Epps (Waterford, CT/Waterford) hadn't homered in any of his last seven games when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning of a tie ballgame at the 2010 Northeast Conference Championship presented by Akadema. Central Connecticut State's Home Run King couldn't have picked a better time to end the long ball drought.
The junior outfielder blasted a two-run opposite field bomb that broke a 3-3 deadlock and lifted CCSU to the Northeast Conference baseball crown. The Blue Devils tacked on four insurance runs in the eighth inning and defeated top-seeded Sacred Heart, 9-3, in the NEC title tilt on Sunday at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ.
While Sacred Heart fell finished as the NEC Tournament runner-up for a second straight season, Central Connecticut State nabbed its fourth crown to tie Monmouth for the most in the 18-year history of the postseason event.
Earning the NEC's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship Field, Central Connecticut will be watching when the baseball bracket is announced to a live national TV audience via ESPN on Monday, May 31 at 12:30 pm.
Although Epps hadn't homered since a game-winning walk-off shot against Long Island on May 21, he was hardly in a slump. The all-NEC outfielder went 10-for-18 with seven RBI and five runs scored in five tournament games and earned the Tournament MVP award as a result.
CCSU relief pitcher Tyler Riordan (Haddam, CT/Avery Point) joined Epps on the nine-member NEC All-Tournament Team. The senior righty threw 6.2 innings of one-run ball to earn the victory on Sunday.
After the Blue Devils spotted him an early 3-0 lead, starter Harry Glynne (Hamden, CT/Vermont) ran into trouble in the third inning. The Pioneers opened the frame with three consecutive hits, the third of which was a run-scoring double by freshman John Murphy (Seymour, CT/Seymour) that ended Glynne's day.
Riordan allowed one inherited runner to score after entering, but was able to get his team back into the dugout holding a 3-2 lead.
The righty reliever allowed only two hits and one more run the rest of the way to nail down the NEC crown. His 1-2-3 ninth inning started the celebration.
2010 Northeast Conference All-Tournament Team
Pat Epps (Jr., OF), Central Connecticut State - MVP
Jason Foster (So., P), Central Connecticut State
Tyler Riordan (Sr., P), Central Connecticut State
Kyle Zarotney (Sr., OF), Central Connecticut State
Jared Balbach (Sr., P), Sacred Heart
John Murphy (Fr., SS), Sacred Heart
Troy Scribner (Fr., P), Sacred Heart
Vin Avella (Sr., 1B), Wagner
Kyle Breese (Sr., P), Monmouth
2010 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament
Presented By Akadema - TD Bank Ballpark - Bridgewater, NJ
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| Day One |
| Thur. |
May 27 |
Game 1: #1 Sacred Heart 5, #4 Monmouth 4 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
| |
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Game 2: #2 CCSU 5, #3 Wagner 3 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
| Day Two |
| Fri. |
May 28 |
Game 3: #3 Wagner 9, #4 Monmouth 4 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
| |
|
Game 4: #1 Sacred Heart 8, #2 CCSU 3 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
| Day Three |
| Sat. |
May 29 |
Game 5: #2 CCSU 7, #3 Wagner 2 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
| |
|
Game 6: #2 CCSU 9, #1 Sacred Heart 6 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
| Day Four |
| Sun. |
May 30 |
Game 7: #2 CCSU 9, #1 Sacred Heart 3 |
Final | Box Score | Recap |
