The Husson Eagles baseball and softball teams, who are both the #1 overall seed for the North Atlantic Conference Tournament, played their first games of postseason on Thursday. Baseball was in New York, in the tournament hosted by NAC West Champion SUNY Cobleskill, while the East Division Champion softball team is hosting the playoffs in Bangor.
At Fighting Tiger Field in Cobleskill, New York- The Husson baseball team scored three times in the bottom of the first inning, and never looked back advancing into the winners bracket with a 4-1 victory over Eastern Nazarene College. Keegan Cyr led off the Eagles first at bat with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Akira Warren, and would score on a Jackson Curtis single. Cam Rendell followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Hunter Curtis then reached on an errant throw by Lions shortstop Frank Landeiro, that allowed Jackson Curtis and Rendell to score unearned. Starting pitcher Matt Wallingford (5-2) took it from there. The junior right hander out of Leavitt Area High School allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in 8.1 innings. Ryan Robb picked up the two out save, his third of the season. Jackson Curtis had two hits, and Colin Marshall drove in the other Husson run with an RBI double. Francis Ferguson (6-4) took the loss on the mound for Eastern Nazarene giving up four runs (one earned) on six hits with five walks and five strikeouts over 6.0 innings. He led his team with the bat with two hits. Michael Monteforte provided the only Lions (12-20-1) offense with an RBI sacrifice flyout in the fourth inning. The Eagles are now 21-10, and will take on the hosts from SUNY Cobleskill (17-21) on Friday at noon in that winners bracket game with the winner advancing to the championship round.
At O’Keefe Field in Bangor- The Husson softball team scored early and often, and senior third baseman Kenzie Dore had a huge game as the Eagles rolled over SUNY Morrisville 18-0 in five innings (mercy rule) for their 28th consecutive victory. Dore started her afternoon with a three-run triple in the first inning, and followed that up with a two-run homer in the second and a three-run shot in the fourth. They had 12 hits, led by Dore with three while she also knocked in eight runs. Katie Raymond and Jess Pomerleau each had two hits, and Bulla McCabe chipped in two RBI. Former Hampden Academy standout Danielle Masterson (12-1) won in the circle going 4.0 innings allowing just one hit while walking two and striking out eight. The two homeruns and eight RBI for Dore tied a single-game program record. Kaylie Kendrick had the lone hit for SUNY Morrisville, and Piper Kaylor (9-11) suffered the pitching loss giving up 11 earned runs in three innings. The Mustangs, out of the West Division, are now 15-18 and play the first game of the day on Friday at 9 a.m. in an elimination contest against UMaine-Farmington. The Eagles (33-4) play at 1 p.m. Friday against SUNY Poly (23-8). The Wildcats went 14-1 in the NAC West Division during the regular season. The winner of that game will have the inside track to taking home the title, needing to be beaten twice on Saturday in the championship round.
Recaps by Chris Lessner
