SS John Murphy had 3 hits and 3 RBI for Sacred Heart.
There were four hours and 14 minutes worth of delays, but defending champion Sacred Heart and top-seeded Bryant both managed to put victories in the books on Friday at the 2013 NEC Baseball Tournament in Lakewood, NJ. With their backs against the wall, the regular season champion Bulldogs remained alive by erupting for 11 runs against No. 3 seed Monmouth. In the winners’ bracket game, which did not begin until 8:14 pm, Sacred Heart jumped out to an 8-3 lead over No. 4 seed LIU Brooklyn and hung on for an 8-7 victory. With the win, the Pioneers moved into the tournament’s Championship Round for the fifth consecutive season. Meanwhile, LIU will face Bryant in an elimination game on Saturday for the right to take on Sacred Heart in the final. The Blackbirds and Bulldogs are slated for a 12:00 pm first pitch on Saturday, May 25. Follow @necbaseball on Twitter for up-to-the-minute tournament updates. All games will air live on NEC Front Row.
Game 4
#2 Sacred Heart 8, #4 LIU Brooklyn 7
Box Score
Highlights
Lakewood, NJ - The two-time defending NEC Tournament champions are heading back to the Championship Round, but not without having to survive a scare.
No. 2 seed Sacred Heart watched No. 4 LIU Brooklyn score four runs in the ninth inning and put the tying run on base.
After all-NEC catcher Chris Untereiner’s two-run single pulled the Blackbirds within 8-7, Sacred Heart skipper Nick Giaquinto summoned sophomore Dan Wertz from the bullpen. The side-arming right-hander induced a soft hopper back to the box from Mike Garcia, fielded it and ended the game with his underhand toss to first base.
SHU starter Kody Kerski was the winning pitcher of record, picking up his third NEC Tournament victory in as many years. The righty lasted 7.2 innings on Friday, surrendering three runs (two earned) on four hits and five walks. He struck out 12.
When Giaquinto asked Kerski for the ball with two outs in the eighth inning, Sacred Heart’s streak of seven straight NEC Tournament games without having to call the bullpen came to an end.
Sacred Heart scored in four of the game’s first five innings in support of Kerski.
Pioneers’ designated hitter Dan Perez started the offensive eruption. The two-time all-NEC selection yanked a two-out, two-run homer off in the first inning off LIU starter Jordan Wilcox.
All nine Pioneers managed at least one hit on Friday with six players recording multi-hit performances.
SHU shortstop John Murphy was a key part of the effort, going 3-for-6 with three RBI.
Untereiner went 3-for-4 with three RBI for LIU.
One day after setting the Blackbirds’ single-season hits record, shortstop John Ziznewski avoided an 0-fer with a clutch two-run base knock during the team’s ninth-inning rally. Ziznewski will look to add to his 74 hits on Saturday when LIU takes on top-seeded Bryant in an elimination game at 12:00 pm.
Game 3
#1 Bryant 11, #3 Monmouth 1
Box Score
Highlights
Lakewood, NJ - It didn’t end until six hours and six minutes after the first pitch, but Bryant was finally able to close the book on its first-ever NEC Tournament victory.
Coming off a loss to No. 4 seed LIU Brooklyn in Thursday’s opening round, the top-seeded Bulldogs exploded for 11 runs against Monmouth and cruised to an 11-1 triumph in Friday’s elimination game.
NEC Player of the Year Kevin Brown bounced back from Thursday’s 0-for-3 showing against LIU Brooklyn by going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs against Monmouth.
His run-scoring single plated Jordan Mountford with the game’s first run in the top half of the third inning. Bryant’s third baseman added another single to score two runs in the sixth.
The Bulldogs chased Monmouth starter Frank Trimarco out of the game following 5.0 innings. The southpaw surrendered five runs on seven hits while striking out five.
Bryant built a 10-run lead before the game was halted in the top of the seventh due to rain. Play resumed following a delay of three hours and 34 minutes.
Following the delay, Monmouth loaded the bases in the eighth inning but was unable to capitalize.
Two-time all-NEC second baseman Jake Gronsky drove in Monmouth’s lone run with an infield hit in the third inning.
While the Hawks managed only four hits all day, Brown was one of three Bulldogs to enjoy a three-hit performance. DH John Mullen and NEC Rookie of the Year AJ Zarozny went a combined 6-for-10 with three runs scored. The former recorded three RBI.
Bryant starter Craig Schlitter earned the win. The righty, who pitched to an 0.81 ERA in NEC regular season play, went 6.0 innings and allowed only two hits and a run. He struck out eight and walked two.