ENDICOTT, N.Y.-- In an elimination game on the second day of the 2009 America East Baseball Championship, #4 Vermont knocked off defending champion #3 Stony Brook, 13-11, at Pete Sylvester Field in Endicott, N.Y. The Catamounts used a six-run top of the eighth inning to rally for the win. In the winners bracket game in the nightcap, #1 Binghamton topped #2 Albany, 11-7, and clinched its third straight championship game appearance. It will be the first time, however, the Bearcats have advanced to the title tilt through the winners bracket.
Vermont will play Albany Saturday at 4 p.m. for the right to play Binghamton Saturday night at 8 p.m. If Binghamton fails to win the double-elimination championship Saturday night, the if necessary game will be played Sunday at 12:05 p.m.
The Bearcats and Great Danes each knocked out 11 hits, but the Binghamton bullpen held Albany to just four runs in 7.2 innings, including just one earned.
Binghamton starter James Giulietti got roughed up early, just lasting 1.1 innings, giving up three runs in the first inning. Freshman reliever Mike Augliera came in with one out in the second inning and earned the win. Morgan Smith threw the final 2.1 innings of hitless, shutout relief to pickup his first save of the season.
In the first inning, Albany came out of the gates strong. Gary Pitcheralle singled to center field and came around during the very next at bat when Brendan Rowland sliced a triple down the left field line. First-team catcher Ryan Gugel brought Rowland home quickly, singling to left center. Two batters later, Peter Eichner drove in Gugel on a groundout to the second baseman.
After the Bearcats crossed the plate once in the bottom of the first frame, Albany had another big inning in the fourth. Four hits and three Binghamton errors led to a four-run outburst for the Great Danes, capped off by a Dave West single to left field that scored Gugel.
The Bearcats, down, 7-1, scored in each of the next four innings, including four in the fourth and three in the fifth. At the same time, Binghamton also shut down the Albany batters to rally for the come-from-behind win.
Rookie of the Year Dave Ciocchi started Binghamton's half of the fourth inning with a solo homer to left center field, his fifth of the season. Ciocchi finished with two RBI and two runs during a 2-for-4 night. Senior Kyle Klee also had a productive night out of the three-hole, driving in three of the Bearcats' runs on two hits.
Gugel, batting as the designated hitter Friday night, paced the Great Danes offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and a double. Freshman Zach Kraham started on the hill, going four innings and letting up five runs, one earned. He struck out three and walked three. Dave Noble was tagged with the loss after going one-third of an inning in the fifth and letting up three runs. Corey Warrings, Sean Gregory and Alexander Beaulieu also saw time on the mound for the Great Danes.
In the first game, the Catamounts found the deep left-centerfield hole to pound out five triples, including two by Mark Micowski and Ethan Paquette in the big eighth frame that each drove in a pair of runs. Micowski and Paquette combined to go 4-for-9 with five RBI and four runs scored.
Junior Justin Milo scored the first run of the game back in the top of the second on a leadoff home run to left field, the first four-bagger of the tournament, that put the Catamounts up 1-0. Milo finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI as the designated hitter before being replaced by Tom Jackson in the seventh inning.
Overshadowed by the Catamount victory was the Stony Brook bats early on, producing three home runs, including two by rightfielder Michael Tansey. All-Conference First Team first baseman Rob Dyer hit the first one in the third inning, driving a pitch about 340 feet over the left field fence. The homer drove in three of the four runs Stony Brook put up in the third.
Shortstop Chad Marshall also had a big offensive day for the Seawolves, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored, one RBI and two doubles.
Vermont lefty hurler Joe Serafin, who started the day on the mound, settled back down again after the third inning until the sixth inning when he gave up Tansey's first home run of the day to leadoff the inning. He retired the side around a Chad Rebecca infield single, but then got into a jam in the seventh. Marshall doubled to center, and Nick Thode popped up and Dyer struck out swinging. Three consecutive extra base hits for the Seawolves signaled the end of the day for Serafin, who finished with 6.2 innings pitched, five earned runs, on 13 hits and three strikeouts.
Tom Kelly relieved Serafin and finished the game to pick up the victory and move to 4-4 on the season.
Stony Brook starter Tyler Johnson went through the first four innings nearly flawless except for Milo's homer in the second. Through four innings, Johnson had tied a career high of eight strikeouts. Jonathan Kalkau had to relieve Johnson in the fifth after the starter allowed four runs on four hits. Kalkau ended the inning by inducing a 4-6-3 double-play.
Vermont came into the eighth inning down 10-7, but rallied off of four Stony Brook pitchers, including Chris Maier who took the loss. The Catamounts advanced around the bases to score six runs on seven hits, an error and several wild pitches. Stony Brook would tack on a single run in the bottom of the inning, but a scoreless ninth gave the four seed the 13-11 decision and another life in the double-elimination tournament.