Pictured Above: Sophomore 3B Anthony Pecora (Photo by: Dave Saffran)
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Norwich, CT – Despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, the Wagner College baseball team's 2017 season came to a dramatic end on day two of the 2017 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament, falling to the No. 4 seed, Sacred Heart University Pioneers, 4-3, in 12 innings on a walk-off RBI single.
Earlier in the day, the Seahawks posted their first-ever tournament win under head coach
Jim Carone, eliminating the top overall seed, Bryant University, 6-5, on a walk-off, two-run single.
With the loss, the Seahawks conclude the 2017 season with an overall record of 22-28. The Pioneers, who improve to 23-35, will take on the No. 2 seed, Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils in the championship game on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore 3B
Anthony Pecora (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck), who got the game-winning hit in defeating the Bulldogs earlier in the day, finished 3-for-6. Junior 2B
Kyle Brey (Middletown, NJ/Middletown) also went 3-for-6 with a run scored.
Freshman designated hitter and All-NEC Second Teamer,
Freddy Sabido (Staten Island, NY/Susan E. Wagner [Saint Louis Univ]) had two hits with a run scored. Junior LF and All-NEC First Team selection,
Anthony Godino (Thornwood, NY/Pleasantville) went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Freshman 1B
Nick D'Amore (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) drove in the other Seahawk run.
Freshman RHP starter,
Chris Mormile (Wildwood, NJ/Wildwood) threw 6.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits, walking five and striking out a career-high ten batters. Freshman reliever
Steven Bowley (Medford, NJ/Holy Cross Academy), who claimed the Seahawks first playoff win in nearly seven years, lasted 2.1 innings, giving up four hits, two unearned runs while walking three. Freshman RHP
Nick Robino (Wilmington, DE/Salesianum School) was charged with the loss after going 2.2 innings, giving up two unearned runs while walking three and striking out three.
SHU's Elijah Brown led the way, going 3-for-6 with a run scored and the game-winning RBI. Ted Shaw and Keith Klebart each had two hits. Anthony Capozziello accounted for two of the four Pioneer RBIs in the victory.
Baylor Sundahl went five innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs while walking five and striking out four while not factoring in the decision. James Taubl came on in relief and threw 7.0 innings, surrendering eight hits, one earned run while walking three and striking out six in picking up the victory.
Wagner got on the board first in the top of the third inning. D'Amore walked and with one out, junior SS
Sean Mazzio (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School [DE]) doubled down the left field line, moving D'Amore to third. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Godino grounded out to shortstop, allowing D'Amore to cross the plate, giving the Seahawks a 1-0 edge.
Three innings later, the Green & White struck again. Sabido led off with a single to right field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A walk to junior RF
Kyle Cala (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) gave the Seahawks runners on first and second and ended Sundahl's day.
Taubl came in and got Pecora to fly out to right and forced Cala out at second, which moved Sabido over to third. On the first pitch he saw from Taubl, D'Amore laced a single through the left side, scoring Sabido and giving the Seahawks a 2-0 lead.
Wagner and Sacred Heart traded zeros until the bottom of the ninth. Bowley was able to get Stephen Thibault to pop up on the first pitch he saw for the first out. Bowley gave up back-to-back base hits, giving the Pioneers a chance to win it in the frame.
The Pioneers got new life in the inning when D'Amore dropped a foul ball down the right field line. Capozziello got SHU on the board with an RBI single. Alex Perry drew a five-pitch walk, which scored the tying-run in Ted Shaw.
Following a scoreless tenth, Wagner was able to go up 3-2. Brey sent a double to center field to lead off the eleventh. Mazzio executed a perfectly-placed sacrifice bunt that was fielded by Taubl, moving Brey to third. With the count in his favor at 1-0, Godino too Taubl's second pitch through the left side, scoring the go-ahead tally.
Sacred Heart responded in the bottom of the stanza. Robino was able to strike out Brown after falling behind 3-0 in the count for the first out of the inning. Klebart doubled down the left field line on a 3-1 pitch while PJ Defilippo reached on a fielding error, moving Klebart to third. Capozziello drove in his second RBI of the game as he lofted a sac-fly to center, scoring Klebart.
Wagner had a chance in the 12
th. With one out, freshman CF
Eric Lauk (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview Regional) walked and moved to second on a D'Amore ground out. Brey was able to send a two-out single to third base, giving the Seahawks runners on the corners but couldn't break the tie as Mazzio struck out swinging.
In the bottom of the 12
th, Robino walked Cody Doyle and Thibault reached on a fielder's choice. He moved up to second on a passed ball, which prompted Robino to intentionally walk Shaw. A wild pitch moved the winning run to third and on a full count, Brown singled down the right field line, scoring the game-winning run in Thibault as the Pioneers move to Sunday's championship game.
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