Vestal, N.Y.-- Pat Cantwell and Chad Marshall's back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning broke a 1-1 tie to give Stony Brook a 4-2 win over University at Albany and its second America East Baseball title in three years. The Seawolves earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship and will find out its postseason destiny Monday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN when the brackets are revealed.
Cantwell was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while freshman pitcher Adam Brown, who went 8.2 innings with just two earned runs in the title game, joined him on the all-tournament team. Cantwell batted .385 in three games, drove in six runs on three extra base hits, and scored two runs.
The Seawolves, the first three seed to win the conference crown since Albany did in 2007, batted .301 in the tournament and had a team ERA of 2.00. This was the first championship round since 2003, and just the third ever, not to feature either of the top two seeds. The Great Danes were the fourth seed and knocked off top-seeded Binghamton twice in three days.
In the second inning, Stony Brook got on the board first on walks to Michael Stephan and William Carmona, a wild pitch and then a throwing error on Albany catcher Ralph Keppler.
Albany responded in the top of the third inning. Nolan Gaige and Adam Cutspec led off the inning with back-to-back singles to center field, and then Brian Bullard walked to load the bases. Brendan Rowland hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Gaige from third and tie the game at one run apiece.
The teams were scoreless for the next 3.5 innings until Cantwell's and Marshall's homers broke the tie. Gaige had a solo home run in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 4-2, but it was not enough as Carmona relieved Brown to retire the Great Danes and pick up the save.
Albany starter Kasceim Graham, a freshman, went 6.2 innings and was charged with four runs, three of them earned. Brian Gauthier came into the game with two outs in the seventh to finish out the final 1.1 innings. He allowed just one hit in relief.
In addition to the save, Carmona went 3-for-3 Friday afternoon and also drew a walk. He hit .462 in the tournament en route to all-tournament honors.
The Great Danes' Kyle Crean went 6-for-8 for the day, including Albany's win over Binghamton earlier in the day. Him and teammate Brendan Rowland represented the Great Danes on the all-tournament team.
Earlier in the day to advance to the final, sophomore
pitcher Greg Lutton
threw 4.2 innings of scoreless relief as Albany upended Binghamton,
7-4, in
an elimination game. The Great Danes advanced to the championship round for the third time in the last four
years.
Binghamton
chased Albany starter Ryan White in the fifth by scoring twice to take a 4-3
lead. Joe Charron singled and later scored on a passed ball. Peter
Bregartner, who also singled, came across on designated hitter Mike
Thompson’s
ground out.
Albany tied
the contest in the sixth when Keppler led off the frame with his
fourth
home run of the season, a solo blast over the left-field fence. The
Great
Danes went in front with
three
runs in the seventh. Gaige started the uprising with a single and
would score the go-ahead run on an error. Crean, who had
three
hits and scored a pair, later smacked a two-run single to center field.
A
second-team
all-conference pitcher, Lutton got out of trouble in the eighth when
Charron
hit into an inning-ending double play. Lutton, who allowed just four
hits
with two strikeouts and one walk, picked up his third win of the season
with a
solid 62-pitch performance.
Catcher
C.J. Lukazewski
singled three times in four plate appearances for the Bearcats, who won
the
conference’s regular-season crown to earn the No. 1 seed.
2010 America East Baseball Championship
All games on the campus of Binghamton University
Double Elimination
Wednesday, May 26
Game 1: #3 Stony Brook 10, #2 Maine 1
Game 2: #4 Albany 9, #1 Binghamton 6
Thursday, May 27
Game 3: Binghamton 6, Maine 0
Game 4: Stony Brook 8, Albany 4
Friday, May 28
Game 5: Albany 7, Binghamton 4
Game 6: Stony Brook 4, Albany 2
All-Tournament Team
Pat Cantwell, OF, Stony Brook - Most Outstanding Player
William Carmona, DH/P, Stony Brook
Maxx Tissenbaum, 2B, Stony Brook
Nick Tropeano, SP, Stony Brook
Adam Brown, SP, Stony Brook
Kyle Crean, SS, Albany
Brendan Rowland, OF, Albany
Mike Augliera, SP, Binghamton
Joe Charron, OF, Binghamton
Joe Mercurio, C, Maine