The Husson Eagles had an opportunity on Sunday to win an elimination game and advance to the championship round of the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament at Eastern Baseball Stadium as part of the Willimantic Regional in Mansfield, Connecticut.
In the elimination game- Husson would advance by breaking out to an early 3-0 lead, cruising to a 6-2 win over SUNY New Palz. The Eagles built that lead in the top of the second inning. Hunter Curtis led off and was hit by a pitch, and Matt Holmes then doubled to leftfield to make it 1-0. After Tanner Evans grounded out to send Holmes to third base, Kevin Connolly drew a walk. Colin Marshall drove in Holmes with an RBI groundout, and Connolly would score when he moved to third on a wild pitch but crossed the plate when SUNY catcher Justin Harvey tried to cut him down but threw the ball away for an error. Husson added some insurance on an RBI groundout by Evans and an RBI single by Keegan Cyr in the fourth, and another RBI from Evans in the fifth on a single for a 6-0 advantage.
Cam Rendell got a no-decision on the mound but was effective in his start allowing no runs on one hit with four walks and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Alex Smith (5-1) picked up the win in relief giving up two runs over 1.2 innings, while Ryan Robb fired the final 2.2 frames. Holmes had three hits, while Jackson Curtis, Hunter Curtis, and Cyr had two each. Evans drove in two runs. Matt Sarni (4-2) was tagged with the pitching loss for SUNY New Palz, as he was touched up for five runs (four earned) on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts over the first 4.0 innings. The Hawks, who were the champions out of the State University New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), end their season with a record of 31-16.
In the championship round- Husson for a second time in the tournament really battled the #1 team in the country Endicott College tough, but a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning was enough to push the Gulls to a 4-3 win to claim the regional title. Husson, needing to claim a victory in the first game to force a second, got into an early 2-0 hole. Endicott got an RBI single from TJ Liponis and an RBI double by Robbie Wladkowski in the bottom of the second inning for that early two run advantage. The Eagles fought back to take their only lead 3-2 by scoring the next three runs. Jackson Curtis came through with a two-out RBI single in the third, Keegan Cyr got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth, and Matt Holmes lifted an RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The Gulls tied it right back up in the last of the fifth on an RBI groundout by Dylan Pacheco. They produced the game winner in the sixth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Wladkowski, winning the regional championship with a perfect 3-0 mark in the tournament and extending their win streak to 21 games.
Jackson Curtis led Husson in the loss with two hits and an RBI. Tanner Audyatis started on the mound and went the first 2.0 innings, while Ryan Penney (1-2) took the defeat by going the final 6.0 innings giving up two runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. The Eagles, who won their fifth straight North Atlantic Conference Title to get the automatic bid into the regionals, end their season with a record of 25-12. Joey Frammartino, Danny MacDougall, and Liponis had two hits a piece for Endicott. Wladkowski knocked in two runs. Brady Stuart (4-1) got the win in relief allowing one run on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts over the final 5.1 frames. The Gulls, who are the champions out of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, head into the Super Regionals with a record of 44-2.
