FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Semifinals - Saturday, May 4 (Hosted by Suffolk, Fraser Field, Lynn, MA)
Game 5: #3 Johnson & Wales 12, #4 Lasell 8 (Lasell eliminated) - 10:00 AM
Game 6: #2 Saint Joseph's of Maine 3, #1 Suffolk 1 - 1:30 PM
Game 7: #3 Johnson & Wales 2, #1 Suffolk 0 (Suffolk eliminated) - 5:00 PM
Championship - Sunday, May 5 (Hosted by Suffolk, Fraser Field, Lynn, MA)
Game 8: #3 Johnson & Wales vs.#2 Saint Joseph's of Maine - 2:00 PM
Game 9: if necessary - 5:30 PM
-- JWU needs to win twice to earn GNAC Championship on Sunday --
NO. 3 JOHNSON & WALES 12, NO. 4 LASELL 8
LYNN, Mass. – Third-seeded Johnson & Wales University jumped out to an 11-0 lead but had to hold off a comeback by fourth-seeded Lasell College Saturday, knocking the Lasers out of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball tournament with a 12-8 victory at Fraser Field.
The Wildcats (25-14) will play again later Saturday in another elimination game against the loser of Saturday's game between #2-seed Saint Joseph's College of Maine and top-seeded Suffolk University. Lasell winds up its season at 23-17, posting the most wins in the 11-year history of the program.
Things did not start well for the Lasers as JWU plated six runs in the first inning. Senior Aidan Hagarty (Weed, Calif.) had a two-run triple and classmate Tim Lombardi (Providence, R.I.) added a two-run single to highlight the rally. It went from bad to worse in the third inning as the Wildcats tacked on five more runs as freshman Alex Domingos (Ellington, Conn.) cracked a three-run triple down the right field line and came home on a single by senior Adam Diehl (Cypress, Texas) to make it 11-0.
The Lasers did not quit and came back with three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Seniors Andre Marchesseault (Conn.) and Brett Sherron (Howard Beach, N.Y.) each had RBI singles to highlight the fifth-inning rally, and Marchesseault had a two-run double to spark the sixth-inning rally.
Down by six, Lasell staged another rally in the ninth inning. Senior Evan Michalek (Berlin, Conn.) drove in two runs with a single to right center, but the Lasers couldn't overcome such a big deficit.
Sherron finished with three hits and an RBI for Lasell, and Marchesseault had two hits and three RBI. Sophomore Wyatt Sihvonen (Lebanon, Conn.) reached base four times with two hits and a pair of walks.
Senior David Marsell (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) started and took the loss (3-5) for Lasell. Classmate Brian Cohen (Rockland, Mass.) had a strong stint in relief, pitching four innings and allowing just one unearned run on two hits and two walks, striking out two.
Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.
NO. 2 SAINT JOSEPH'S 3, NO. 1 SUFFOLK 1
LYNN, Mass. – Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (31-9) defeated #1 Suffolk University (23-17-1), 3-1, in the winners' bracket game of the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament at Fraser Field on Saturday afternoon.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the conference championship game and will face the winner of the #3 Johnson & Wales / #1 Suffolk losers' bracket contest tomorrow at Fraser Field at 12:00 PM. The game between the Wildcats and Rams, which began at 5:00 PM today, was not yet completed at the time of this release.
As the lone undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination GNAC Tournament, the Monks will have a second chance to claim the crown if they should fall in the 2:00 PM game, as an if-necessary contest is scheduled for 5:30 PM.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
All the scoring occurred in the first inning, as the Monks plated three runs off three hits and a Suffolk error in the top and the Rams scored a run off two hits in the bottom of the opening frame.
Senior shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) led off the winners' bracket contest with a single to center field and later scored on a Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.) base hit to right field. With two out and runners on first and second, senior first baseman Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine) delivered a base hit to left field, sending Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) and Healey across the plate to make it a 3-0 game.
In the bottom of the first, junior Rich Gilbride (Beverly, Mass.) singled to right field and moved to second when Trevor Lee (Flanders, N.J.) worked a walk before scoring on a Blasé Cormier (Wayland, Mass.) base hit.
Suffolk had runners on first and third with nobody out but a costly baserunning blunder helped SJC sophomore starter Zach Begin (Georgetown, Mass.) escape further damage. Sophomore center fielder Will Hopkins (Old Rochester, Mass.) was up next and lined out to SJC second baseman Drew Healey, who quickly threw to first to nab Cormier, who was a bit too ambitious with his secondary lead.
Neither team managed to advance a runner past second base for the remainder of the contest, but the Rams had a chance to make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. With runners on first and second and one out, sophomore catcher Shane Lake (West Roxbury, Mass.) hit a sharp grounder down the third base line, but freshman Ronan Chisholm(North Chatham, Mass.) snagged the ball, stepped on third, and fired to second for the game-ending double play.
ON THE MOUND:
- SJC starter Zach Begin improves to 6-0 on the season after striking out seven while allowing a run off five hits and five walks in a dominant complete-game performance
- Suffolk senior Kevin Sinatra (East Boston, Mass.) also tossed a complete game and allowed three runs (one earned) off six hits and a walk with five K's over nine frames
OFF THE BAT:
- Murphy went 2-for-4 with a run scored
- McDaniel was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.
NO. 3 JOHNSON & WALES 2, NO. 1 SUFFOLK 0
LYNN, Mass. – Facing elimination, the Johnson & Wales University baseball team won twice on Saturday to say alive in the GNAC Tournament. The Wildcats topped Lasell College, 12-8, then beat four-time defending champion Suffolk University, 2-0.
Records:
Johnson & Wales: 26-14
Statistical Leaders:
Adam Diehl (JWU): 2-4, 1 R, 3 RBI vs. LC
Alex Domingos (JWU): 1-4, 2 R, 3 RBI vs. LC
Colby Greenhalgh (JWU): 2-4 vs. SUF
Of Note:
For the second time in three years, Johnson & Wales advances to Sunday's finals. The Wildcats will face Saint Joseph's of Maine at 2 p.m. and need to beat the Monks twice to win the GNAC title.
The 26 wins are the most by the Wildcats since the 2014 squad won 29 games.
Starter Tom Doran and reliever Dane DellaValle combined to throw a five-hit shutout against Suffolk. Doran struck out five batters and gave up five hits. DellaValle threw three no-hit innings to get his second save.
In the third, Alex Domingos drew a two-out walk, stole second and came around to score on an Adam Diehl single.
JWU got an insurance run in the seventh from a Tim Lombardi solo home run.
Against Lasell, Johnson & Wales scored six runs by batting around in the bottom of the first inning. An Aidan Hagarty triple scored Diehl and Domingos.
Domingos had a triple of his own in the third to plate Colby Greenhalgh, Lombardi and Joe Maracic as part of a five-run third inning.
Junior Ryan Depatie worked five and two-thirds innings to get the victory. He gave up six runs, three earned, on 10 hits with six strikeouts.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –