NCAA Regionals: Baseball Caps Great Come-From-Behind Victory and Defeats Caldwell 3-2 in 10 Innings; Will Play Adelphi at 7 p.m. with Winner Going to Championship.
BRYANT BASEBALL
May 19, 2007
NCAA Regionals: Baseball Caps Great Come-From-Behind Victory and Defeats Caldwell 3-2 in 10 Innings; Will Play Adelphi at 7 p.m. with Winner Going to Championship.
RINDGE, N.H. - Down to their last out, the Bryant baseball team never gave up and stormed back for the come-from-behind 3-2 10-inning victory at a foggy and rainy Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field Saturday afternoon.
With the comeback victory, the Bulldogs, ranked fifth in the Northeast region, will play Adelphi Saturday night (7 p.m.) with the winner of that game advancing to Sunday's championship against top-seed Franklin Pierce. Caldwell is eliminated after losing their second game of the tournament.
Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, RI) lined a two-strike single to left field to bring home T.J. Magnell (Leominster, Mass.) with the game-winning run. Magnell led off the 10th with a single and advanced to third after Buddy Riggs threw the ball down the right-field line off a sacrifice bunt from Mark Dondero (Medfield, Mass.).
Down to their last out with Jay Alexander (Simsbury, CT) on third, Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, CT) lined a single up the middle off Cougar closer Riggs to score Alexander and tie the game.
Adam Vuolo (2-3) (Walpole, Mass.) got the win, after hurling 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
First-baseman Raymond Keelan broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out eighth-inning single to right field off Eric Polvani (Wallingford, CT.) to give the Cougars the lead.
Starter Dan Lozeau (Pelham, NH) allowed a first-inning run to the Cougars, but Bryant evened the score in the fourth when Vigurs' sacrifice fly scored Nick Campbell (Rayhnam, Mass.) with the tying run. Campbell lined a one-out double down the left-field line and advanced to third on a single by Mike Rocco (Tewksbury, Mass.) before scoring on Vigurs' sac fly.
Lozeau recovered after a 21-pitch first-inning and allowed just one hit over the next six innings.
Caldwell starter Stephen File matched Lozeau pitch-for-pitch, as the Cougar right-hander allowed just six hits and two runs in 8.1 innings. He only got better as the game improved and retired 12 straight hitters from the fifth to the eighth inning, while settling for the no-decision, as Riggs blew the save.
Lozeau went 7.1 very effective innings allowing four hits, while walking just two.
Bryant (34-23) is now one win away from the championship games, needing a win later tonight against Adelphi.
Linescore:
Bryant University 3, Caldwell College 2 (May 19, 2007 at Rindge, N.H.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Caldwell College.... 100 000 010 0 - 2 6 1 (25-15) Bryant University... 000 100 001 1 - 3 9 1 (34-23) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Caldwell College - PFEIL; RIGGS(9). Bryant University - Lozeau; Polvani(8); Vuolo(8). Win-Vuolo(2-3) Loss-RIGGS(0-2) T-2:34 A-1272007 NCAA Division II Baseball Northeast Regional Schedule
Thursday, May 17
Game 1: #6 Wilmington (29-18) 1 at #1 Franklin
Pierce (45-9), 4
Game 2: #5 Bryant (32-22) 4 vs.
#2 Adelphi (34-15), 5
Game 3: #4 Caldwell (24-13) 9 vs. #3 UMass Lowell
(33-18), 4
Friday, May 18
Game 4: Wilmington 1 vs. Bryant 5
(Wilmington eliminated)
Game 5: Franklin Pierce 7 vs. UMass Lowell 4
(UMass Lowell eliminated)
Game 6: Adelphi 4 vs. Caldwell 0
Saturday, May 19
Game 7: Franklin Pierce 7 vs. Adelphi 2
Game 8: Bryant 3 vs. Caldwell 2
(Caldwell eliminated)
Game 9: Bryant vs. Adelphi, 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 21
Game 10: Franklin Pierce vs. Winner game 9, noon
Game 11: if necessary, 30 mins upon conclusion of
game 10