LOWELL, Mass. - The No. 1 seed Stony Brook Seawolves advanced to the championship round of the 2015 America East Baseball Championship with a, 4-3, win over UMBC on Friday during day two of the tournament at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass. Also during the second day of competition, the fourth-seeded Hartford Hawks stayed alive in the tournament with an, 11-2, win over No. 3 Maine an elimination game.
No. 2 UMBC and No. 4 Hartford will play an elimination game at 1 p.m. on Saturday on AmericaEast.TV. The winner will advance to the championship round to play Stony Brook at 5 p.m. Recap Friday's games:
Game 3 – No. 4 Hartford 11, No. 3 Maine 2
Box Score | Photo Gallery
In the first elimination game of the 2015 America East Baseball Championship, the third-seeded Hartford Hawks exploded for 11 runs in an, 11-2, win over Maine, eliminating the Black Bears from the tournament. The Hawks stayed alive to face to loser of Stony Brook and UMBC on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Hartford put together 11 runs on 16 hits, with the top-three in the lineup combining to go 8-for-14 with four RBI and eight runs scored. Sophomore David MacKinnon led the way with a 3-for-3 performance, driving in a pair and scoring three while reaching base in all five of his plate appearances. Freshman Ben Bengston also had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBI.
On the hill, it was Sam McKay getting the job done, working deep into the contest despite giving up 12 hits. He went 7.2 innings, allowing just two runs and striking out four while picking up outs in key spots.
Momentum seemed to swing in Hartford’s favor in the first inning when McKay worked out of a jam. With a runner on third and nobody out he was able to get Alex Cabrera to strike out, Scott Heath to pop-up to short and Brett Chappell to strike out to escape unscathed.
Hartford responded in the bottom of the frame as senior Ryan Lukach delivered an RBI single, brining home Chris DelDebbio who doubled earlier in the inning. Bengston made it a, 2-0, lead in the second with a two-out RBI single that scored MacKinnon.
The Hawks took control of the game in the fourth, rallying for four runs on five hits to take a 6-0 lead. Bengston had the big hit in the inning, bringing in two runs with a chopper through the left side with two outs. Trey Stover and DelDebbio also had RBIs in the rally.
After The Hawks added two more in the fifth to extend the lead to 8-0, the Black Bears were able to get to McKay in the sixth, scoring two on a double by Luke Morrill. Maine was able to get to McKay for 12 hits, but left eight men on base throughout the game.
Hartford added three more runs with one in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the seventh to make it, 11-2.
Junior Justin Robarge shut the door in relief, throwing a perfect 1.1 innings to close out the contest.
Hartford advances to Saturday of the America East Championship for the second-straight year and will face UMBC on Saturday at 1 p.m. on AmericaEast.TV.
Game 4 - No. 1 Stony Brook 4, No. 2 UMBC 3
Box Score | Photo Gallery
Casey Baker's RBI single in the seventh inning broke a, 3-3, tie and sent top-seeded Stony Brook into the championship round for the second-straight year of the America East Baseball Championship as the Seawolves beat UMBC, 4-3, on Friday evening.
Baker provided the difference offensively while reliever Cameron Stone was the star on the mound with 1.2 perfect innings of relief to earn his sixth save.
Stone's save was well-earned, entering the game with a runner on third and one out in the eighth. The sophomore was able to get Jamie Switalksi to line out softly to second base and then induced a fly out to right off the bat of Andrew Casali. In the ninth, Stone recorded two of the final three outs by way of the strikeout in a 1-2-3 inning.
The middle of the lineup continued to produce for the Seawolves as batters two-through-six had six of the seven Stony Brook hits. Robert Chavarria and Andruw Gazzola had two hits apiece.
For the Retrievers, both Switalski and Casali had two hits while Connor Hax had an RBI and Mitch Carroll drove in two.
Tyler Honahan allowed three runs in 5.1 innings for the Seawolves before giving way to Chad Lee, who pitched two shutout innings in relief to get the win. Freshman Matt Chanin also allowed three runs in his start for the Retrievers with two earnd over six innings. Connor Stasky got the loss in relief, surrendering one run in two innings of work.
After neither team scored in the first inning, the second inning provided most of the action. The Retrievers got to Honahan for three runs in the top of the inning, all with two outs. After Dolshun walked and Switalksi singled, Casali laid down a sac bunt to put runners at second and third with one out. Honahan got Barnes to fly to left, but Hax, who homered on the first day of the tournament, was able to flair a single to right to score the first run of the game. Carroll followed with a hard liner that just stayed fair down the right field line to bring in two more and make it 3-0.
Stony Brook answered right back in the bottom of the inning. Senior Cole Peragine stepped-up with a bases loaded two run double down the left field line that scored two and cut the deficit to, 3-2. Toby Handley tied the game on the ensuing at-bat with a sacrifice fly.
Neither team could get on the board over the next four innings before Baker broke the tie in the seventh, setting the stage for Stone.
The Seawolves will face the winner of UMBC and Hartford at 5 p.m. in the championship round. Stony Brook can take home the title with a win.
Championship Schedule
Thursday, May 21
Game 1 - No. 1 Stony Brook 2, No. 4 Hartford 0 - Box Score | Recap
Game 2 - No. 2 UMBC 9, No. 3 Maine 5 - Box Score | Recap
Friday, May 22
Game 3 - No. 4 Hartford 11, No. 3 Maine 2 - Box Score
Game 4 - No. 1 Stony Brook 4, No. 2 UMBC 3 - Box Score
Saturday, May 23
Game 5 - No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 2 UMBC, 1 p.m.
Game 6 - No. 1 Stony Brook vs. Winner No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 2 UMBC, 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 24
Game 7 - Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, Noon (If Necessary)