GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The Southern Connecticut State University baseball team upset Northeast 10 Southwest Division top seed Adelphi, 9-6, in the first round of the 2019 NE10 Baseball Tournament in Garden City, N.Y. The Owls' win ends a five-game losing streak in the NE10 Tournament and gives them their first tournament win since 2011.
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Jim Palmer (Milford, Conn.) was 5-for-6 with two runs scored while Mac Finnegan (Old Saybrook, Conn.) drove-in the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th to lead the Owls. Tyler Criscuolo(Branford, Conn.) was 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI while Mike DeMartino (New Haven, Conn.) and Nolan Cloutier(Wallingford, Conn.) also homered for the Owls. DeMartinodrove in three runs on the day.
Quantique White (New London, Conn.) picked up the win after throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out two. Jared Henry (West Stockbridge, Mass.) gave up one run on four hits over three innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• In the 2nd inning,
Connor Redahan (Greenwich, Conn.) worked a base-on-balls before
Mike DeMartino (New Haven, Conn.) connected with the first pitch of his at-bat and blasted a two-run homer over the right-center field wall to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
• Two batters later,
Nolan Cloutier (Wallingford, Conn.) turned on the second pitch of his at-bat, sending the ball off of the scoreboard in left field for his first career home run to give Southern a 3-0 lead.
• Adelphi got a run back in the bottom of the inning after the Panthers loaded the bases before Brandon Warrick worked a six-pitch walk to force in a run and cut the Owls lead to two runs, 3-1.
• In the 4th,
Jim Palmer (Milford, Conn.) and Cameron O'Toole (Grafton, Mass.) opened the inning with back-to-back hits. After Adelphi turned a double play,
Tyler Criscuolo (Branford, Conn.) lined a 3-and-2, two-out offering to left-center field to score Palmer and give the Owls a 4-1 lead.
• A fielding error in the bottom half of the inning resulted in one run scoring and the batter moving to third, before he scored on a single through the infield to cut Southern's lead to a run, 4-3, heading to the 5th.
• In the bottom of the 4th, Adelphi pushed across two runs on two hits to take a 5-4 lead through five innings of play.
• In the sixth, Criscuolo led off the inning with his fourth home run of the season to lead off the inning. Criscuolo'stowering shot to right-center field knotted the game at 5-5.
• In the top of the 7th, Palmer reached base for the third time`in the game before stealing second. After Cameron O'Toole bunted him over,
Nick Lamberti walked and stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Criscuolostruck out, and
Connor Redahan was intentionally walked before DeMartino worked a nine-pitch walk to force Palmer home and give the Owls a 6-5 lead.
• In the bottom half of the inning, a pair of hits including a high chopper through the infield gave Adelphi another run and tied the game at 6-6.
• In the top of the 9th, Criscuolo and Redahan singled to open the inning before DeMartino bunted them over.
Mac Finnegan (Old Saybrook, Conn.) then laced a double to the gap to score both runs and give the Owls a 8-6 lead.
John Spoto then singled to right field to score Finnegan and give Southern a 9-6 lead.
NOTES
•
Jim Palmer's five-hit day gives him 20 multiple-hit games of the year, the most in a single season since Kyle Rosadinohad 20 in 2012.
• Palmer's 65 hits for the year are the most since
Nick Lamberti totaled 66 for the 2017 season.
• Criscuolo's last home run came on Apr. 10 against Adelphi.
• Both DeMartino and Cloutier homered for the first time this season, giving the Owls nine different players to hit a round-tripper this season. It is the most in a single season since the 2006 team had 11 different players homer for the year.
•
Ronnie Rossomando gave up three earned runs – and two more unearned runs – over four innings and left with a no-decision.
•
Jared Henry held Adelphi to a single run on four hits over three strong innings before
Tommy Hughes and QuantiqueWhite worked the bottom of the 8th. White picked up the victory in relief aft spinning 1 2/3 of scoreless ball.
• Adelphi starter Ed Baram entered the matchup against the Owls with a 7-1 record and a NCAA Division II leading ERA of 0.58 after allowing just four earned runs over 62 1/3 innings pitched this season. The Owls struck for five runs in the game's first three innings against one of the nation's top starters.
• In his last five appearances,
Jared Henry has allowed two earned runs in 13 innings for a 1.32 ERA while striking out 16 batters.
UP NEXT
The Owls will face Merrimack in the Northeast 10 Tournament Quarterfinals at Onandaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y. on Thursday, May 9 at 10 a.m.
