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Pictured Above: Senior 1B Tommy Mazurkiewicz and Sophomore RHP Nolan Long

Norwich, CT –  Trailing 1-0, the No. 3 seeded  Sacred Heart Pioneers recorded a three-run rally in the top of the ninth inning in upending  No. 2 seeded Wagner 3-1 on Day 1 of the 2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT today.

The Seahawks (27-22-1) will now take on the No. 1 seed, Bryant (26-24), in an elimination game at 12:00 pm on Friday. Wagner will be the home team in tomorrow's contest. Sacred Heart (21-29-1), meanwhile, will square off against No. 4 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (21-24) at 4:00 pm as the Knights upset the Bulldogs 7-2 in the tournament's opening game.

Wagner managed just two hits on the afternoon as senior CF Trey Nicosia (State College, PA/State College Area) and junior LF Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ/West-Windsor Plainsboro South) each went 1-for-4.  Senior 1B Tommy Mazurkiewicz (Neshanic Station, NJ/Somerville) recorded the lone RBI on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth.

The game, which was played in a swift 1:58, was dominated by pitching as Wagner's sophomore right-hander Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford [South Kent Prep]) and Sacred Heart's James Cooksey each gave their respective clubs a solid outing. 

Long, who was recently named to the All-NEC First Team, suffered his third loss of the season after tossing eight innings, while allowing five hits, two runs (both earned) while striking out two and walking just one.  The Waterford, CT native recorded 10 ground outs and 11 fly-ball outs while throwing 94 pitches on the afternoon.  Cooksey picked up his seventh victory of the year as he pitched a complete game two-hitter, allowing just one run while walking two and striking out five batters. 

Both pitchers put up zeros in the first two innings before the Pioneers threatened in the top of the third. After Long issued  a lead-off walk to Cody Doyle, the next batter, Keaton Flint, sent a line drive single up the middle for the first hit of the contest and before a a sacrifice bunt from Kenny Byram gave SHU runners at second and third.

Facing the Pioneers' lead-off hitter, Jayson Sullivan, Long was able to get Sullivan to roll a one-hopper to the third base side. Freshman Sean Mazzio (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School [DE]) was in perfect position to field the ball as he delivered a strike to 2015 NEC Player of the Year, senior C Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township), preserving the shutout.

Long skated around potential trouble in fourth. With one out, Sacred Heart's Ted Shaw reached first on a bunt single down the third base line, which advanced Victor Sorrento to second, before the towering 6'10" right-hander recorded the final two outs of the frame on a fly-ball and a swinging strike out of Doyle.

In the bottom half of the stanza, Wagner pushed across its lone run. Nicosia led off by breaking up Cooksey's no-hit bid with a single to right field.  Sophomore SS Nick Mascelli (Clifton, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) followed up with a walk, giving the Seahawks runners on first and second with no one out.  After Ruta was able to move the base-runners ninety-feet on a grounder to second, Dini was intentionally walked to load the bases. 

Facing a 1-0 count, Mazurkiewicz lofted a soft fly to shallow right field that was chased down by Pioneer second baseman Ted Shaw. Mascelli alertly tagged up from third on the play and slid in before Shaw's throw reached the plate, giving Wagner a 1-0 lead.

The Seahawks maintained this 1-0 lead until the ninth.  SHU's Jesus Medina singled up the middle to kick-off the Pioneers' three-run, game-winning rally.  Zack Short then doubled off the left field wall, scoring Medina from first to tie the game at 1-1. 

Fellow NEC First-Teamer, senior reliever Steven Bloodworth (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon), then came on in relief of Long.  The first batter that Bloodworth faced was Sorrento who drew a five-pitch walk. Short and Sorrento advanced to second and third, respectively, on a Bloodworth wild pitch.  The 6'5" righty was able to battle back after three straight balls to strike out Shaw looking for the first out of the inning.

The Seahawks elected to walk PJ DeFilippo intentionally with one out to set-up for the possible inning-ending double play. Instead, Doyle sent a 1-1 pitch down the left field line, scoring both Short and Sorrento to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead.

With one-man out in the bottom half of the ninth, Ruta chipped a single to left field on a 3-2 pitch from Cooksey which brought Dini, the newly- crowned NEC Player of the Year, to the plate. Back on May 9, Dini recorded his school-record 236th career hit, on a two-run home run down the left-field line on the road against these same Pioneers and history nearly made history repeat itself as Dini smacked the second pitch of the at-bat  down the left field line before the ball narrowly curved foul. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Dini popped up to the shortstop.

Mazurkiewicz then chopped a ground ball to the second baseman, who recorded the game's final out by flipping to the shortstop covering, sending the Seahawks into tomorrow's elimination contest.

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