Suffolk Victory Saturday Puts Rams One Win Away From Third Straight GNAC Baseball Title

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

#3 Lasell 5, #1 Saint Joseph's of Maine 3
LYNN, Mass. – Third-seeded Lasell College (16-15) scored two runs in the top of the ninth to negate a 3-3 tie and upset top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (31-8) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament elimination game at Fraser Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Lasell advances and will face the loser of today's winners' bracket game, featuring #2 Suffolk and #4 Johnson & Wales, later tonight. For the Monks, the loss brings an unexpected end to the 2017 campaign.

Offensively, the Lasers scattered 11 hits across seven bats, buoyed by a 3-for-5 performance from Dom Mascolo (Waterbury, Conn.). The first baseman added one run to his effort at the plate, while one of Andre Marchesseault's (Cheshire, Conn.) two hits proved to be the most important of the day with the Laser's third baseman bringing in the winning run. Brandon Valentin (Meriden, Conn.) scored twice for Lasell and recorded one hit with Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) chipped in one hit and one run.

Hector Coscionne (Newton, Mass.) picked up the win in relief effort. The senior moved from shortstop to the mound in the bottom of the eighth and threw 2.0 scoreless innings for the Lasers, giving up no hits and sitting down one batter. Casey Johnson (Windsor, Conn.) dealt the first 7.0 frames, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts to his credit.

Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) paced the Monks at the plate with a 2-for-4, two RBI effort. Anthony DiPrizio had a 1-for-2 day, with one double, one RBI and one run scored. Dennis Meehan (Cardiner, Maine) contributed one hit and one run, with Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) scoring one run for the Monks.

SJC used four arms on the bump. Reliever Josh Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) suffered the setback. In 3.1 frames, he gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks with five Ks. Travis Godbout got the nod, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits, one walk and fanned a pair of hitters thorugh the first 2.1 frames. Marc Poirier (Lunenburg, Mass.) and Philip LeVangie (Hanover, Mass.) also saw time on the mound for the Monks.

Lasell struck early in the first frame to take a 1-0 lead. With one out, Valentin knocked a deep double to right field and two batters later, Mascolo sent a hopper to the Monks' thirdbaseman Taylor Black (Cardiff By the Sea, Calif.). The senior let the rock roll through his legs and into left field giving Valentin plenty of time to make it home and give the Lasers' a 1-0 edge.

After Johnson retired the side, the Lasers looked to stretch their distance in the second. With the bases loaded, two down and Coscione at the dish with a full count, the senior shortstop popped up to short and Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) was there to make the play to keep it a one-run game.

Lasell's defense sat down St. Joe's in order in the second and followed that with one run in the third. With one out, Beckerman knocked a double to center field, used a single up the middle from Mascolo to move over and came in on Marchesseault's single to center to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. The Monks brought Poirier out of the penn and the fresh arm fanned the Lasers next two hitters, swinging and looking, respectively, to keep it a two-run game.

Zeros went up on the board in the home half of the third, both sides of the fourth and the top of the fifth, before the Monks trimmed things to a one-run game in the bottom of the fifth. Meehan started things out with a double to left and advanced to third thanks to a sac bunt from Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.). With a runner in scoring position and only one out on the board, DiPrizio's 43 ground out made it a 2-1 contest after five complete frames. The Lasers' defense held the Monks there, however, as Beckerman snagged Chris Gerossie's (Chester, N.H.) fly ball to right field.

In the top of the eighth, things turned into a two-run game for the second time on the afternoon in Lasell's favor thanks in large part to SJC mistakes. David Marsell (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) took first on an error by Monks' first baseman Barbati. The sophomore second baseman moved to third with another St. Joseph's error, this time by third baseman Black, who also put Evan Michalek (Berlin, Conn.) on first. A passed ball by Monks' catcher DiPrizio with runners in the corners let Marsell strut in for the 3-1 lead.

St. Joe's did not let the errors effect their offense as it found its grove in the home half of the eighth. DiPrizio's double to left was followed by a single from pinch hitter Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.) in the same spot. Both Monks came in on Murphy's long single to center, which leveled the playing field at 3-all. From there, the Lasers' put their starting shortstop, Coscione, on the hill and the relief arm kept the go-ahead run stranded as he took the Monks down in order to keep the contest equalized.

In what turned into a fresh game in the top of the ninth, the Lasers made the most of it. Valentin's walk was followed by singles from Beckerman and Mascolo to load the bags. With no outs, Marchesseault barreled a single to center to bring in the go-ahead run, Valentine, and another, Beckerman, for a two-run cushion, 5-2.

Lasell's defense stood tall behind Coscione, leaving the tying run at the plate to lock up the 5-2 win and advance.

Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.

#2 Suffolk 11, #4 JWU 1
LYNN, Mass. – The second-seeded Suffolk baseball took care of business in the GNAC semifinals as the Rams cruised past fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales, 11-1, at Fraser Field Saturday night to secure its place in the conference championship contest. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 11, Johnson & Wales 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (24-13) | Johnson & Wales (22-18) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk grabbed a 3-0 lead after the first complete inning. With one out, Sean Cameron sent a single up the middle and turned on his wheels, going from first to home thanks to a deep double to left center by Seth Coiley. Matt Brenner's single to second was followed by an RBI single from Greg Speliotis. During the play, the Wildcat's shortstop, Lou Umberto, overthrew to second, allowing Brenner to advance into scoring position on third. In the next at bat, the senior catcher strutted in with a 43 ground out by Luke Ronchi to give the Rams' a three-run cushion.  

Coiley continued to have a day collecting his second RBI in the home half of the second. Suffolk's leftfielder barreled a single up the middle with two down to bring around Brady Chant, who reached second thanks to a single and a stolen base, to push the Rams' lead to 4-0. 

After being held scoreless for the first time on the day, Worth Walrod found himself in a bases loaded jam. The Rams' defense backed up the left-handed pitcher as Suffolk's shortstop Cameron connected with second baseman BJ Neil for the play at second to get out of the inning with its 4-0 edge intact. 

Three scoreless innings on either side were put up, before Suffolk did more damage in the bottom of the sixth. Coiley and Brenner each wore a pitch before Speliotis hit a successful bunt to put all the ducks on the pond. A free base from Ronchi brought in the first run, before Kevin Belskie collected two RBI with a single to right field. Ronchi rounded out the scoring, using a fielder's choice during Neil's at bat to make it an 8-0 Suffolk score. 

Suffolk continued to stretch its lead in the bottom of the seventh as a pair of Rams runners came in. A 53 ground by Brenner plated Cameron, who walked, before Speliotis' single to right scored Coiley, who knocked a double to right, to bring the score to 10-0 after seven. 

As Mark Fusco took over the hill in the top of the eighth the Wildcats managed to put a run on the board. The lone score did not make a dent in Suffolk's hefty advantage, however, as the Rams responded in the bottom of the eighth with one run thanks to a sac fly from Chant that plated Belskie, who reached on a single. 

Fusco and the Rams retired the side, sitting down two hitters, both swinging, to secure its spot in the championship contest. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• A quartet of Rams produced three hits in the outing to lead a 17-hit performance from the Rams.
• Coiley was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, and one walk for two RBI and three runs scored.
• Spelitotis and Belskie had identical stat lines of 3-for-4 with one walk, two RBI and one run scored.
• Chant rounded out the foursome with a trio of hits as the junior centerfielder went 3-for-5 at the dish with one double, for one RBI and one run scored.
• Neil notched multiple hits on the day with a two to his credit to bring in one run.
• Ronchi, who tallied one hit, contributed two RBI and scored once, while Brenner produced two runs and one RBI.
• Cameron crossed home twice and added two hits. 

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Walrod picked up the win on the mound as the junior through 7.0 scoreless innings with four hits, six walks and four strikeouts.
• In relief, Fusco let up one run on two hits and fanned three hitters in the final 2.0 frames.
• Wildcats' starter Keith Grant went 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with one K.
• Three different arms came out of the pen for JWU. Rich Marshall let up four runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 2.2 frames. Mike Davlos dealt 1.2, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk, while Brandon Rainville closed the contest for the Wildcats. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk advances to the championship contest of the GNAC tournament for the 11st straight season.
• The Rams make their 14th overall trip to the conference's championship game.
• Under Anthony Del Prete, Suffolk has not missed a title game.
• For the fifth time and second straight season, Suffolk ran double digits in the GNAC semifinals.  

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.

#4 JWU 15, #3 Lasell 1
LYNN, Mass. – After losing for the first time in the GNAC Tournament earlier in the day, the Johnson & Wales University baseball team responded in a major way. The Wildcats rebounded from an 11-1 loss to Suffolk to defeat Lasell, 15-1.

Records:
Johnson & Wales: 23-18 

Statistical Leaders:
Greg Joubert (JWU): 3-5, 4 R, 5 RBI vs. Lasell
Lou Umberto (JWU): 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI vs. Lasell
Ryan Cabral (JWU): 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI vs. Lasell

Of Note:
The 15 runs are the most the Wildcats have scored in a GNAC Tournament game since putting 16 on Albertus Magnus during the inaugural GNAC Tournament in 1997.

JWU broke open game two with five runs in the fourth. Greg Joubert (Cumberland, RI) drilled a two-run single to score Armani Henderson (Johnston, RI) and Ryan Cabral (Scituate, RI). Shortstop Lou Umberto (Cranston, RI) ended the scoring with a double to plate Joubert and Chris Baldwin (Pawtucket, RI).

After a Joubert solo home run in the fifth, the Wildcats put the game out of reach with a six-run sixth inning. Cabral hit a bases-loaded triple then two batters later Joubert drove in Cabral and Ivan Reyes (Cranston, RI).

All nine starters reached base and seven out of the nine had at least one hit. Five different Wildcats had multiple hits with Joubert and Umberto leading the way with three each.

Senior pitcher Lane Compton (Freeland, Mich.) was dazzling on the mound. He threw a complete game and only surrendered one run on five hits with nine strikeouts.

Suffolk got out to a fast start, scoring three runs in the first inning. The Rams tacked on four runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

The Wildcats got their lone run in the eighth. An error on Baldwin's grounder allowed Henderson to score. Johnson & Wales had its chances to get more runs as it stranded 12 runners on base, including six in the first four innings.  

Up Next:
Johnson & Wales moves on to face Suffolk at 5:30 p.m. in the championship game. If the Wildcats win that game they'll have to beat the Rams a second time.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

First Round - Tuesday, May 2 (single elimination) | RECAP
Game 1: #3 Lasell 18, #6 Albertus Magnus 12 | BOX
Game 2: #4 JWU 7, #5 Norwich 6 | BOX

Second Round - Thursday, May 4 (double-elim begins) | RECAP
Game 3: #2 Suffolk 15, #3 Lasell 8 | BOX
Game 4: #4 JWU 6, #1 Saint Joseph's of Maine 3 | BOX

Semifinals - Saturday, May 6 (Hosted by Rivier at Fraser Field, Lynn, MA) 
Game 5: #3 Lasell 5, #1 Saint Joseph's of Maine 3 | BOX
Game 6: #2 Suffolk 11, #4 JWU 1 | BOX
Game 7: #4 JWU 15, #3 Lasell 1 | BOX

Championship - Sunday, May 7 (Hosted by Rivier at Fraser Field, Lynn, MA) 
Game 8: #2 Suffolk vs. #4 JWU  - 5:30 PM

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –