Game 10 - May 28, 2006
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The unlikeliest of plays provided the greatest of thrills - and the greatest of heartaches. A wild pitch on an intentional walk attempt enabled Michael Nunes to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, leading Montclair State University to a 5-4 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University in an NCAA Division III Baseball Championship elimination game on Sunday afternoon at Fox Cities Stadium.
Nunes (pictured left) led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a double to left field, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Danny Rodriguez. Eastern Connecticut State head coach Bill Holowaty brought in senior pitcher Alex Narus - the seventh Warrior pitcher used in the game - to face Brian Butler. On his first pitch of an intentional-walk attempt, the high lob ricocheted off of the top of catcher Matt Cooney's glove and slowly went back to the wall. Nunes sprinted to the plate with the game-winning run.
"Once I saw it (the ball) release out of his hand, I saw that it was very soft, and if he had thrown that a little harder, I think I probably wouldn't have gone because of the concrete back(stop), because it jumps out really far back," Nunes said. "Once I saw it soft in the air, I made sure it got past the catcher's glove, and I knew I had it after that."
Nunes, the Red Hawks' leadoff batter, saved his two best hits for last in his six at-bat day, stroking doubles in both the ninth and 11th innings. His double in the ninth bounded sharply off the third-baseman's glove to drive in the tying run and force extra innings. "The first couple of at-bats, I felt terrible," Nunes said. "One thing Coach (Norm Schoenig) has always taught me over the past two years is to not get down on myself when I mess up an at-bat - just put that in the past and just keep going forward, controlling the things that you can control, and making sure that you do the things that you can do, like hustling and stuff like that."
Kevin Cuozzi, Montclair State, pictured right, Randy Re, Eastern Conn State, pictured left
"He does that better than anybody I've been around," Schoenig said of Nunes. "He goes out and he makes great plays in centerfield. Throughout the entire year, after a poor at-bat … he'll go out and make a play. He's got the right mental attitude, better than anybody I've ever been associated with in my coaching career."
The unusual ending to the contest provided a bittersweet finale to Eastern Connecticut State's season at 36-20 overall. Meanwhile, Montclair State (35-18-2) advances to face Wheaton (40-9) in another elimination game on Monday at 12 noon.
"We've had a lot of different games. This game is an evil game and it can really, really break you down and wear you out," Holowaty said. "All I can say is our kids didn't quit. It's a shame we had to end our season in a situation like that. It's just a shame. I couldn't ask any more from our kids. … It's just a shame for Alex and our team to end that way. We battled. God bless it, the kids did a super job."
The game was a back-and-forth struggle, as each team matched the other stroke-for-stroke in the contest. Eastern Connecticut State had 11 hits, but stranded 10 runners on base; Montclair State had nine hits and stranded 11 runners.
Montclair State starting pitcher Enrique Gomez struck out seven in six-and-a-third innings of work, with Kevin Dalton and Marty Cabalar pitching in relief. Cabalar struck out three in two-and-two-thirds innings to claim the win.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Eastern Connecticut State's Randy Re hit a single to drive in pinch runner Greg Sullivan, giving the Warriors a 4-3 lead. Re ended up 3-for-5 at the plate in the game. "I just tried to put the ball in play and get that run across, that's all I tried to do," Re said.
After both teams scored two runs apiece in the early innings, the teams traded runs in the seventh and eighth frames. Eastern Connecticut loaded the bases in the seventh inning and took the lead on an RBI sacrifice fly by Matt Cooney. But the Red Hawks tied the game in the eighth on Andrew Vicaro's RBI single to left field, plating Rob Bowness.
Zach Merbach had three hits for Eastern Connecticut State, while Marc Garofalo had two hits. Andrew Vicaro (pictured left) had three hits for Montclair State, including his 10th double of the season, while Kevin Cuozzi had two hits.
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Eastern Conn State 4 Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Eric O'Toole lf/rf........ 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Tristin Hobbes ph/rf...... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Sean Kulucka rf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marc Garofalo 2b.......... 6 1 2 1 0 2 3 1 Randy Re cf............... 5 0 3 2 0 1 5 0 Chris DeSantis 1b......... 4 0 1 1 1 0 8 1 Matt Cooney c............. 4 0 0 1 0 2 8 1 Shawn Gilblair dh......... 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Zack Thomas ss............ 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 Zach Mehrbach 3b.......... 5 0 3 0 0 1 2 0 Jason LaVorgna rf......... 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 Greg Sullivan pr/lf....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jim Jagodzinski p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Matt Cremins p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Justin Davis p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Mike Tingley p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Wendell p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sam Iverson p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alex Narus p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals.................... 41 4 11 5 2 11 31 7 Montclair State 5 Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Michael Nunes cf.......... 6 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 Danny Rodriguez 2b........ 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 5 Brian Butler lf........... 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 Rob Bowness dh............ 4 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 Robert Clark 3b........... 1 1 1 0 2 0 2 1 Andrew Vicaro c........... 5 1 3 1 0 0 12 0 Lou Politan 1b............ 3 0 0 1 1 2 13 2 Thomas Meyer rf........... 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 Kevin Cuozzi ss........... 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 Scott Evangelist ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 James Scelzo ss........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Enrique Gomez p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 Kevin Dalton p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Marty Cabalar p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals.................... 35 5 9 4 6 8 33 19 Score by innings: R H E ------------------------------------------------ Eastern Conn State 002 000 101 00 - 4 11 0 Montclair State 020 000 011 01 - 5 9 2 ------------------------------------------------ Note: 1 out, 0 runner(s) LOB when the game ended. E - R Clark 2. DP - ECSU 1; Montclair St 1. LOB - ECSU 10; Montclair St 11. 2B - C DeSantis; LaVorgna; Nunes 2; A Vicaro. CS - R Clark. SH - O'Toole; Z Thomas; G Sullivan; D Rodriguez; Cuozzi. SF - Cooney; Politan. Eastern Conn State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Jim Jagodzinski..... 3.0 5 2 2 1 2 13 15 Matt Cremins........ 4.1 1 1 1 1 5 13 17 Justin Davis........ 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 3 5 Mike Tingley........ 0.2 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Brian Wendell....... 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Sam Iverson......... 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 3 4 Alex Narus.......... 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Montclair State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Enrique Gomez....... 6.1 9 3 2 0 7 29 30 Kevin Dalton........ 2.0 0 1 1 2 1 3 7 Marty Cabalar....... 2.2 2 0 0 0 3 9 10 Win - Cabalar 4-2. Loss - Iverson 3-2. Save - None. WP - Narus. HBP - by Cremins (T Meyer); by Cremins (R Clark); by Cremins (R Clark). Umpires - Home:Eric Thornton 1st:Kevin Joyce 2nd:Steve Reichardt 3rd:Andre Lanoue Start: 4:30pm Time: 3:18 Attendance: 1916 Jagodzinski faced 2 batters in the 4th.
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Score by innings: R H E ------------------------------------------------ Eastern Conn State 002 000 101 00 - 4 11 0 Montclair State 020 000 011 01 - 5 9 2 ------------------------------------------------ Eastern Conn State inning 1 O'Toole grounded out to ss. Garofalo struck out swinging. Re singled to center field. C DeSantis lined out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 1 Nunes struck out swinging. D Rodriguez flied out to cf. B Butler singled to left field. Bowness flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 2 Cooney struck out swinging. S Gilblair grounded out to 3b. Z Thomas struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 2 R Clark walked. A Vicaro doubled to left field; R Clark advanced to third. Politan flied out to cf, SF, RBI; A Vicaro advanced to third; R Clark scored. T Meyer grounded out to 1b unassisted, RBI; A Vicaro scored. Cuozzi singled to left field. Nunes struck out swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 3 Mehrbach struck out swinging. LaVorgna doubled to center field. O'Toole reached on a throwing error by 3b; LaVorgna advanced to third. Garofalo singled to left field, RBI; O'Toole advanced to second; LaVorgna scored. Re singled through the left side, RBI; Garofalo advanced to second; O'Toole advanced to third. C DeSantis reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Re out at second 1b to ss; Garofalo advanced to third; O'Toole scored, unearned. Cooney grounded out to ss. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB. Montclair State inning 3 D Rodriguez flied out to cf. B Butler grounded out to 1b unassisted. Bowness flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 4 S Gilblair reached on a throwing error by 3b. Z Thomas grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; S Gilblair advanced to second. Mehrbach singled to shortstop; S Gilblair advanced to third. LaVorgna struck out swinging. O'Toole reached on a fielder's choice; Mehrbach out at second 2b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB. Montclair State inning 4 R Clark singled to left field. A Vicaro singled to left field; R Clark advanced to second. Cremins to p for Jagodzinski. Politan fouled out to 3b. T Meyer hit by pitch; A Vicaro advanced to second; R Clark advanced to third. Cuozzi grounded into double play 2b to 1b; T Meyer out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 5 Garofalo struck out swinging. Re struck out swinging. C DeSantis doubled to left field. Cooney grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 5 Nunes grounded out to 1b unassisted. D Rodriguez struck out swinging. B Butler lined out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 6 S Gilblair grounded out to 2b. Z Thomas out at first 2b to p. Mehrbach singled to third base. LaVorgna grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 6 Bowness struck out swinging. R Clark hit by pitch. A Vicaro grounded out to ss; R Clark advanced to second. Politan struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 7 O'Toole singled to right field. Garofalo singled to right field; O'Toole advanced to second. Re reached on a fielder's choice; Garofalo advanced to second; O'Toole out at third ss to 2b to 3b. K Dalton to p for E Gomez. C DeSantis walked; Re advanced to second; Garofalo advanced to third. Cooney flied into double play rf to 1b to 3b, SF, RBI; C DeSantis advanced to second; Re out on the play; Garofalo scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 7 T Meyer struck out looking. Cuozzi singled to right field. Nunes flied out to lf. D Rodriguez flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 8 S Gilblair grounded out to 2b. Z Thomas struck out looking. Mehrbach grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 8 B Butler struck out looking. Bowness walked. R Clark hit by pitch; Bowness advanced to second. J Davis to p for Cremins. A Vicaro singled to left field, RBI; R Clark advanced to second; Bowness scored. R Clark out at third c to 3b, caught stealing. Politan struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 9 LaVorgna walked. G Sullivan pinch ran for LaVorgna. O'Toole grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; G Sullivan advanced to second. Cabalar to p for K Dalton. Garofalo grounded out to p; G Sullivan advanced to third. Re singled to right center, RBI; G Sullivan scored. C DeSantis flied out to cf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 9 O'Toole to rf. G Sullivan to lf. T Meyer walked. Cuozzi grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; T Meyer advanced to second. Nunes doubled down the lf line, RBI; T Meyer scored. Tingley to p for J Davis. D Rodriguez intentionally walked. B Butler grounded out to 1b unassisted; D Rodriguez advanced to second; Nunes advanced to third. Bowness popped up to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 10 Cooney struck out swinging. S Gilblair struck out swinging. Z Thomas fouled out to c. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Montclair State inning 10 R Clark walked. B Wendell to p for Tingley. A Vicaro grounded out to ss; R Clark advanced to second. Politan intentionally walked. Iverson to p for B Wendell. T Meyer flied out to cf. S Evangelist pinch hit for Cuozzi. S Evangelist reached on a fielder's choice; Politan out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. Eastern Conn State inning 11 Scelzo to ss for S Evangelist. Mehrbach singled to right field. G Sullivan grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; Mehrbach advanced to second. Hobbes pinch hit for O'Toole. Hobbes struck out swinging. Garofalo grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Montclair State inning 11 Hobbes to rf. Nunes doubled down the lf line. D Rodriguez out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; Nunes advanced to third. Narus to p for Iverson. Kulucka to rf for Hobbes. Nunes scored on a wild pitch. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Updated May 2006