Baseball

No. 1 D'Youville, No. 2 Molloy to Compete for ECC Baseball Championship Title on Saturday

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Second-seeded Molloy (38-12, 18-6 ECC) and top-seeded D'Youville (31-19, 18-6 ECC) survived Elimination Friday and will meet in Saturday's final, with first pitch set for 12:00 p.m. Playing in the winner's bracket, the Lions earned a 10-1 win over the Spartans in the second of three games on Friday while top-seeded D'Youville defeated both Queens, 3-1, and St. Thomas Aquinas, 11-5, to close Friday's slate. 
(1) D'Youville 3, (3) Queens 1
Box Score

The Saints wasted no time getting on the board. After Hunter Nowak (Hamburg, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, Jake Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) brought him in with a double down the left field line.
 
In the top of the fifth, Hollins came through again, extending DYU's lead to 2-0 with an RBI single up the middle. Two batters later, Alec Boucher (Essex, Ontario) brought home Hollins with a single to third base, making it 3-0.
 
The Saints threatened to add some insurance in the top of the eighth after singles from Jeremy Glinski (Sloan, N.Y.) and Jon Simpson (Grand Island, N.Y.) put runners at the corners, but they were unable to score.
 
With DYU facing elimination, Billy Morris (Lancaster, N.Y.) twirled a gem on the mound, holding Queens scoreless through seven innings. Ultimately, Morris allowed just one run on eight hits and struck out four in eight innings of work.
 
Sam Worthen (Guelph, Ontario) shut the door on the Knights in the bottom of the ninth, thanks in part to a beautiful diving play and glove flip by Alex Dzimian (Lakeview, N.Y.) to turn two for the final out.

Recap courtesy of D'Youville University Sports Information

(2) Molloy 10, (4) St. Thomas Aquinas 1
Box Score

For the sixth time in the last seven seasons, the baseball team will be competing for the East Coast Conference Championship following a 10-1 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas College this afternoon. Molloy, who is seeking its third title in four seasons, enters the game with a 38-12 record. 

How it Happened
  • The cardinal and white's bats went right to work with back-to-back singles from junior JJ DeVito and senior Aidan Larkin. 
  • Senior Gavin McAlonie cleared the bases with a triple to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. 
  • Senior Matt Yip singled to center to make it 3-0. 
  • DeVito was hit by another pitch in the second inning, advancing to third on a single from Larkin. 
  • McAlonie drove in another run with a single to make it 4-0.
  • The Spartans got on the board following a bases loaded walk in the fifth inning.
  • A lead-off walk to Yip paired with a single to senior Anthony Manisero put two runners on base for sophomore Sean Welsh, driving in two runs.
  • Freshman Patrick Sanchez followed up with another double to make it 7-1.
  • A fielder's choice, RBI ground out, and RBI single made it 10-1 in favor of the Lions after eight innings.
  • Graduate student Matthew Fried retired the Spartans in order in the ninth inning to conclude the contest and help send the Lions to the Championship Game. 
Top Performances
  • McAlonie led the Lions at the plate in a 3-for-5 day with four RBI.
  • DeVito, Larkin, Yip, Manisero, and freshman Joe Burriesci each had two hits with Welsh and Sanchez each adding a double.
  • Junior JC Kiss tossed seven innings with six strikeouts, allowing just one run.
  • Fried sat down one batter in two innings of relief. 
Up Next
The Lions await the winner of Saint Thomas Aquinas and D'Youville to determine the opponent in the 2024 ECC Championship Game, scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.

Recap courtesy of Molloy University Sports Information
(1) D'Youville 11, (4) St. Thomas Aquinas 5
Box Score

Mihir Manerikar (Mississauga, Ontario) got the start in DYU's second elimination game of the day and cruised through the first two innings, but the Spartans got to him in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead.
 
The Saints got one back in the bottom of the third after a walk from Dillon Crook (Liverpool, N.Y.) and a base hit from Nowak set up an RBI single from Morris to cut it to 2-1.
 
After Glinski walked and Dzimian singled to start the bottom of the fourth, Simpson lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate a run and make it 3-2 STAC.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, infield singles from Boucher and Dzimian and a walk from Glinski loaded the bases with no outs. Ethan Hammond (Oakville, Ontario) came off the bench to draw a bases loaded walk to cut it to a 4-3 Spartans lead. A wild pitch then brought in Dzimian to tie the game at 4-4.
 
After STAC retook the lead in the top of the seventh, the Saints responded with two runs thanks to a pair of throwing errors by the Spartans to take a 6-5 advantage.
 
After DYU loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Boucher cleared the bases with a double down the left field line to extend the lead to 9-5. Two batters later, Dzimian laid down a bunt that STAC's pitcher threw away, allowing two more runs to score and make it 11-5.
 
Worthen got the win after throwing four innings in relief, allowing one run on three hits and punching out five.
 
D'Youville will square off against Molloy University in the ECC Championship on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The Saints went 2-2 against the Lions in the regular season.

Recap courtesy of D'Youville University Sports Information