Baseball Earns Ninth Trip To ECAC New England Championships, Hosts Brandeis In Quarterfinals Thursday
The Massachusetts Maritime baseball team’s post-season run will continue this week, as first-year Head Coach Mike Kelley’s Buccaneers are one of six squads that were selected to compete for the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Championship earlier today.
Massachusetts Maritime, which earned the program’s first-ever appearance in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship round yesterday, is seeded fourth in this year’s ECAC New England single elimination tournament and will host fifth-seeded Brandeis University in quarterfinal round play on Thursday, May 12th at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The winner advances to take on top-seeded and host MIT in semifinal round action on Saturday, May 14th at Briggs Field in Cambridge, Mass. beginning at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
The Buccaneers, who enter the ECAC championships with an overall record of 23-15 on the spring, finished second in MASCAC regular season play and advanced to the conference championship round before falling to Salem State in the tournament title game played yesterday afternoon. Kelley’s crew, which has notched its highest single-season win total in 33 years (1983), is led by two-time MASCAC Player of the Year Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass./Bishop Stang), as the sophomore catcher is batting .410 with eight doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 29 RBI while starting all 38 games. Sullo, who has also drawn 22 walks and been hit with a pitch 10 times, is also sporting a .521 on-base percentage to go with a .726 slugging percentage.
Sophomore outfielder Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass./Pope John Paul II), who joined Sullo in earning first-team all-MASCAC accolades, is batting .352 with 10 doubles, a triple, a homer and 20 RBI to date, while junior second baseman Jake Petruzzelli (Abington, Mass./South Shore Voke) checks in at .331 with eight doubles and 17 RBI after earning second team all-league honors. Sophomore Cobie Gerbis (Holmes Beach, Fla./Tampa Catholic) has posted a solid .321 batting average with 12 RBI at third base for Massachusetts Maritime, while freshman Riley Fusaro (Nantucket, Mass./Nantucket) has started 24 of 27 games at shortstop while batting .313 with 10 RBI.
Junior Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass./Blackstone Valley) has posted a 5-2 mark with a 3.88 ERA in 12 appearances (eight starts) while striking out 53 in 48 2/3 innings of work to date, while senior Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) sports a 4-1 slate with a 3.33 ERA and 45 strikeouts for the Buccaneers. Freshman Brian Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) and senior Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) have combined for seven wins in 13 starts for Kelley, who turns to three-time all-conference senior Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) in the closer’s role. Kennedy, who earned second team all-MASCAC honors once again this season, is 5-1 with four saves and a 1.34 ERA in 20 appearances, as he won all three games for Massachusetts Maritime in the conference tournament over the weekend. Kennedy has fanned 43 in 40 1/3 innings of action this season and is holding opponents to a .199 batting average.
Brandeis enters this year’s ECAC Championships with an overall mark of 19-16-1 under first-year Head Coach Derek Carlson, as the Judges are one of the region’s hottest teams after winning 11 of their final 12 outings. Senior outfielder Liam O’Connor leads Brandeis at the plate with a .427 batting average that includes eight doubles and 17 RBI, while senior Ryan Healy and freshman Benjamin Bavly follow with respective .387 and .345 marks and 23 RBI each. Senior Sam Miller has been Carlson’s top hurler this spring with six victories in 12 starts to go with a 3.41 ERA and 53 strikeouts, while junior Liam Coughlin sports a 4-1 mark with a 4.24 ERA in 11 appearances. Healy has been the Judges’ closer during the season, as he has amassed five saves and 22 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings pitched.
Massachusetts Maritime is making its ninth overall appearance in the ECAC New England Championships, as the Buccaneers advanced to the semifinals of last year’s tournament at Salve Regina and are seeking their first title since 1982. Brandeis is making its 10th trip to the ECAC Championships, as the Judges captured crowns in both 1988 and 2003.
Thursday’s contest will be the 14th series meeting between Massachusetts Maritime and Brandeis, as the Judges hold an 11-2 advantage over the Buccaneers in those previous match-ups. It will also mark the first game between the two squads since the 1990 campaign, as the last Massachusetts Maritime win in the series came during the 1986 season by a 3-2 margin.
The other ECAC New England quarterfinal round match-up will see third-seeded Nichols hosting sixth-seeded Elms, with the winner advancing to face second-seeded WPI in semi-final round action on Friday afternoon at the New England Baseball Complex in Northboro, Mass. The two semifinal winners will meet for the ECAC New England title on Sunday, May 15th at Noon EDT at MIT’s Briggs Field.
2016 ECAC Division III New England Baseball Championships
Wednesday – Sunday, May 11-15, 2016
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11TH – QUARTERFINALS
Game #1: #6 Elms (31-12) at #3 Nichols (24-16) 3:00 pm
THURSDAY, MAY 12TH – QUARTERFINALS
Game #2: #5 Brandeis (19-16-1) at #4 Massachusetts Maritime (23-15) 4:00 pm
FRIDAY, MAY 13TH – SEMIFINALS
Game #3: Nichols/Elms winner at #2 WPI (26-13) TBA
SATURDAY, MAY 14TH – SEMIFINALS
Game #4: Massachusetts Maritime/Brandeis winner at #1 MIT (20-14) 11:00 am
SUNDAY, MAY 15TH – CHAMPIONSHIP
Game #5: Semifinal Winners Noon
