Junior Bruce Brown connected for home runs number 6 and 7 in leading the Eagles to their first playoff win in 14 years Saturday (Gil Talbot photo).The 2010 NECC Baseball Championships: BROWN, EAGLES DELIVER IN OPENER, 12-5
Nashua, NH – The UPS advertising campaign likes to ask what Brown can do for you.
The Eagles already know.
Junior Bruce Brown (Lowell, Mass.) made two special deliveries Saturday, popping two two-run homers into the left field parking lot and knocked in four leading host and tournament top seed Daniel Webster past fourth-seeded Southern Vermont, 12-5 in the opening game of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tournament championship series Friday afternoon at Harvey Woods Field.
The win gave the Eagles (19-15) a 10:00 a.m. date with second-seeded Mitchell College Sunday as they contrinue their quest for their first conference title in 14 years. The Mariners (16-12) were 6-5 winners of third-seeded Becker in the day's second contest. Becker (14-17) stayed alive with a 5-4 victory over Southern Vermont in the nightcap, eliminating the Mountaineers.
The tournament will continue and conclude on Sunday as Saturday's forecast is for rain throughout the day.
On Sunday, no more than three games will be played. Daniel Webster will face Mitchell at 10:00 a.m. in game four of the series. The loser of that game will face Becker in game five at 1:00 p.m. in an elimination game.
The winner of game four will face the winner of game five at 4:00 p.m.
Game 1: (1) Daniel Webster 12, (4) Southern Vermont 5
In the opener, Brown belted his sixth and seventh of the season for his first round trippers since April 12th with shots in both the first and fifth innings, sandwiching Nick Michaud's (Windsor Locks, Conn.) solo blast – his third of the season – which also dropped over the left field fence.
The Eagles, who won a post-season game for the first time since the last time they won a tournament title in 1996, pounded out 15 hits including three each from Rich Lizotte (W. Warwick, R.I.), Darrik Marstaller (Spofford, N.H.) and Elliot Kilgore (Milford, N.H.), who doubled and tripled. Both Lizotte and Marstaller knocking in two.
The Eagles took control plating four in the bottom of the first and broke open a 5-1 game with two each in the fourth and fifth.
Southern Vermont (12-22) was led by Brett Pawlak, who knocked in two runs while Pat Warrington knocked in one.
Eagle starter Kory Kiro (Goffstown, N.H.) went a tidy seven innings for the win (5-2), allowing two earned runs on five hits, striking out four and walking four.
Adam Northup took the loss (3-5).
Brown's second shot had put the hosts up 9-1 at that point before SVC tacked on three in the seventh on four hits.
But DWC squelched any hope of a comeback in the eighth thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles from Marstaller and Kilgore while Lizotte would later single Kilgore home with the 12th run.
Game 2: (2) Mitchell 6, (3) Becker 5
Junior Paul Martinez (New London, Conn.) laced a deep single to right field with one out in the bottom of the ninth to score pinch runner Eric Pesino (Millbury, Mass.) with the winning run as the Mariners escaped with a 6-5 victory after the Hawks had staged a furious late-innning rally after trailing 5-0 after four innings.
The game winner came after Justin Szela (Woodstock, Conn.) reached on an infield error and Pesino advanced to second on a nifty sc bunt from Tommy Derosier making a winner of Cody Faddis (Muskogee, Okla.) who moved to 2-3 in relief of starter Jeremy Chapman (Waterford, Conn.).
Martinez went 4 for 5 knocking in two to lead the attack, while Andre Langlais (Ledyard, Conn.) had two hits with a RBI double in the second. Ethan Graynor (Leonia, N.J.) added a two-run single in the third for a 3-0 lead.
After a sac fly RBI from Derosier and a run-scoring single from Martinez built a 5-0 lead in the fourth, Chapman cruised into the seventh before Becker began their rally.
The Hawks would plate four in the seventh all coming with one out to chase Chapman including a two-run double from Austin Phillips (Thomson, Ga.) and a two-run single from Weston Meehan (Thomson).
In the eighth, Ryan Sczerbinski (Cranston, R.I.) reached on a two-out error and pinch runner Don Ballsieper (Bolton, Conn.) would score on a Keith Kandel (Fresno, Cal.) triple to tie it.
Mike Schoen (Yorktown, Conn.) would take the loss (2-4). Starter Jheremy Brown went eight innings allowing five runs (two earned) on nine hits, striking out six and walking one.
Game 3: (3) Becker 5, (4) Southern Vermont 4
In the nightcap, Meehan was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate for the Hawks while Phillips and Todd Tompkins (West Haven, Conn.) knocked in two runs each as the Hawks ousted the Mountaineers.
Errick Maddern (West Haven, Conn.) went 8 1/3 innings allowing four runs (three earned) on 13 hits striking out eight and walking one to get the win (4-4) while Jeff DiLorenzo (Coventry, R.I.) earned his third save allowing one hit in the ninth.
Kendel and Eric Lajoie (Oakham, Mass.) added two hits for the winners.
Eric Wells (Athens, Penn.) had three hits for the Mountaineers knocking in two, while Dave Gage (Gloversville, N.Y.), Pat Warrington (Flocroft, Penn.), and Corey Armstrong (Bennington, Vt.) all added three hits each.
Connor Murray (Litchfield, Conn.) went the distance in taking the loss (1-5).
After Becker pushed a run across in the first, SVC rallied with three in the top of the third keyed by a two-run double from Tompkins.
But Becker answered with three on six hits in the bottom of the frame including five straight singles to start the rally including a Wells two-run hit and a Max Ginter (Hamden, Conn.) RBI ground out.
Becker added insurance in the eight as Tony D'Addio (West Haven. Conn.) and Lajoi combined for a double steal with D'Addio swiping home.
Southern Vermont would cut it to 5-4 as Pawlak reached on an error and came home on a two-out single from Armstrong, but DiLorenzo induced a fly out to seal the win.