NASHUA, NH – #2 Saint Joseph's (28-11, 13-3 GNAC) rallied from a five-run deficit by scoring six unanswered runs in the final four innings to stun #3 Suffolk University (28-11, 13-3 GNAC), 7-6 in 10 innings, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Championship at Holman Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Having advanced to the championship through the losers' bracket, the Rams needed to defeat the Monks twice today and were one out away from accomplishing the monumental task. Suffolk toppled Saint Joseph's by a 7-2 margin in the first game to make the "if necessary" contest a reality and the Monks, trailing 6-3 with a runner on first and two out in the bottom of the ninth, were down to their final out in the deciding tilt.
But the scenario changed quickly as Suffolk sophomore reliever Frank Tierney (Hyde Park, Mass.), who fanned four of the six batters he faced after entering the game with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth, suddenly hit a wild streak. En route to issuing a four-pitch walk to sophomore Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus), the second-year hurler uncorked a pair of pitches to the backstop which allowed Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.), who led off with a free pass, to move up to third base.
Senior second baseman Brandon Chase (Naples, Maine) plated Lorenc with a double to left-center as senior David Nieves (York, Maine), who entered as a pinch-runner for Lops, moved to third to provide junior third baseman Alex Markakis (Lynnfield, Mass.) with an opportunity to knot the game. Quickly down 0-2 in the count, Markakis fisted a chopper to deep short for an RBI single – scoring Nieves – and Chase came around to score the tying run when the ground ball was misplayed and trickled into shallow left field.
Senior pitcher Chad Rafferty (Keene, N.H.), who entered the contest with two runners on and two out in the top of the eighth, mowed down the Suffolk side with three K's in the top of the 10th to set the stage for the dramatic ending.
In the bottom of the 10th, senior center fielder Sam Butts (Saco, Maine) led off by working a 1-2 count into a base on balls and, after a failed bunt attempt, moved to second on a hit and run groundout to short from Lorenc. Sophomore catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) came through with perhaps the biggest hit of his baseball career when he roped a single through the right side to send Butts sprinting home for the game-winning run.
The conference championship is the Monks' eighth in the last nine seasons and fifth GNAC title in six years as a member of the league. Saint Joseph's, winners of four-straight crowns, and Suffolk, the 2009 GNAC Champions, have met in the championship in each of the past six seasons. Today marks the first time during the Monks' highly-successful string that St. Joe's has lost after heading into the final day of the tournament as the undefeated team and is also the Monks' first conference tourney extra-inning game over the last nine seasons.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's earns the NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier awarded to the GNAC Champions on an annual basis and will participate in NCAA Regional play for the seventh time in the last eight years this spring. The regional round of the NCAA Tournament begins on May 15th and the Monks most likely will participate in the New England Regional, which will be played at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts.
Rafferty was selected as the 2013 GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player while Lorenc, Tyler Laverriere (Biddeford, Maine) and Zack Graham (Marlborough, Mass.) all claimed All-Tournament honors for their play during four playoff contests.
GAME ONE
Saint Joseph's began the day on the right foot, as senior first baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass.) recorded an RBI single in the top of the first and Lorenc countered a Suffolk run in the bottom of the opening frame with an RBI double in the top of the second.
The lead would not last long, as JC Collette (Amesbury, Mass.) opened the bottom of the second with a single and later scored on an SJC infield error to tie the game at two-all. In the bottom of the third, Suffolk senior right fielder Mike Cunningham (Syosset, N.Y.) launched a two-run homer to left field to lift the Rams to a lead that would not be relinquished.
Suffolk proceeded to tack on three runs with the help of two Saint Joseph's errors in the fifth when Collette belted a three-run jack over the left-center wall to account for the 7-2 final.
The Monks failed to capitalize on a pair of bases-loaded situations early in the game and stranded 11 runners in the contest overall. Graham, Chase and Markakis notched two hits apiece in the losing effort while junior starting pitcher Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, Mass.) fell to 5-2 on the year after allowing seven runs (five earned) off six hits and a walk with three K's over five innings. Sophomore righty Alex Valenti (Lawrence, Mass.) tossed three innings of one-hit relief for the Monks.
Sophomore southpaw Josh Desai (Shrewsbury, Mass.) essentially put the Rams on his back in the opener, as the Suffolk starter yielded one earned run off 10 hits and a pair of walks while fanning 11 in a complete-game effort. Cunningham and Collette paced the Rams' offense, as both players recorded two hits, two runs and three RBI in a must-win game for Suffolk.
GAME TWO
The championship-clinching contest was eerily similar to the opener. Like the earlier game, the Monks scored first only to see the Rams fight back and take the lead.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lorenc roped a double down the left field line and, after a Coyne fly-out to center, scored when Pratt rapped a base knock to left. In the top of the second, junior third baseman Mike Muse (Milton, Mass.) and freshman catcher Jon Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) registered RBI singles to make it a 2-1 game in favor of the third-seeded Rams.
The 2-1 score remained until the fifth when sophomore shortstop Justin Knight (Great Meadows, N.J.) reached on a fielder's choice and later scored on a wild pitch. Suffolk made it a 6-1 game in the top of the seventh when senior Chris Stanley (Placentia, Calif.) produced an RBI two-bagger, Cunningham scored on an error and Collette slapped a run-scoring single – all with two out.
After six unproductive turns at the plate, Saint Joseph's finally showed some life in the bottom of the seventh when freshman Tim Beaudette (Uxbridge, Mass.) walked and scored on a Lorenc sacrifice fly to center field, making it a 6-2 game in favor of the Rams with just two innings remaining.
With runners on second and third and two out in the top of the eighty, Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 lifted senior Jimmy Kennedy (York, Maine) – who tossed an inning of effective relief – in favor of Rafferty. Facing the Ram's #3 hitter - junior second baseman Devan Jones (Roslindale, Mass.) - the reigning GNAC Pitcher of the Year worked out of the jam with a strikeout to preserve the 6-2 deficit.
The entrance of Rafferty – who tossed six innings in a win over Suffolk just two days prior – seemed to provide the Monks with a boost of energy and the Royal Blue put the momentum to work by scoring a run off two hits to cut the Suffolk lead to 6-3 heading into the top of the ninth. Lops led off with a single to deep right-center and later scored the Monks' third run on a Butts base hit up the middle.
Rafferty allowed his lone baserunner of the outing when he plunked Collette with two out in the top of the ninth, but struck out Muse to close the frame.
In the bottom of the ninth, Lorenc led off with a walk but seemed destined to be stranded at first after Tierney recorded a pair of backwards K's. With the outlook bleak, Lops walked and the rest is history.
Saint Joseph's employed five pitchers in the unlikely comeback victory. Valenti closed the opener and started the nightcap and was followed, in succession, by Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine), Corey McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.), Kennedy and Rafferty – who struck out six batters in 2.1 frames of relief.
Chase was 3-5 with a run, a double and an RBI while Graham, Coyne and Butts all tallied two hits apiece in the championship win.
For the Rams, sophomore starter Eli Libby (Sudbury, Mass.) threw six solid innings with two runs allowed off seven hits and three walks and sophomore Cal Carroll (Methuen, Mass.) gave up a run off three hits in the seventh frame. Tierney fell to 3-2 on the season after yielding four runs (three earned) off four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
Walk-off hit and celebration (Courtesy of Mario Lemieux '16):
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
