Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 COLLEGE
BASEBALL FINAL SCORE
NCAA Championship Regional Game 13
Tufts 6, St. Joseph's, ME 5 (11 inn.)
At Willimantic, CT
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Game
Box Score
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Senior Nate Bankoff finished with three hits
and four RBI for the Jumbos
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WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- In the final elimination contest of the
2010 NCAA Division III regional hosted by Eastern Connecticut State
University here today, Tufts University senior first baseman
Nate Bankoff (Lynnfield, MA) knocked in senior
catcher Alex Perry (Danvers, MA) with the go-ahead
run in the 11th and junior relief pitcher Ed Bernstein
(Foxboro, MA) completed five shutout innings of work with
a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the 11th to secure the 6-5
victory for the Jumbos over eighth-seeded St. Joseph's College
(Me.).
Top-seeded Tufts now takes on undefeated seventh-seed University
of Massachusetts Boston for the regional title. If UMB wins the
game later today, they will claim the crown and earn their
first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III World Series in Appleton,
Wisconsin in their first appearance in the national tournament.
Tufts, making its third trip to Nationals, has yet to win a
regional and needs to defeat UMB twice for that honor. The second
game between the teams, if needed, will be played Sunday at 1
pm.
Perry began the top of the 11th with a walk off senior losing
pitcher Pat Moran (Winterport, ME) and was advanced to second by
senior second baseman Alex Grzymala's (East Setauket,
NY) sacrifice bunt. Moran got the second out of the inning
on a fly ball to center before Bankoff launched a deep fly to
right-center field. The ball appeared playable at first, but ended
up landing between the St. Joe's outfielders near the fence for a
double, the second two-bagger of the game for Bankoff and his third
hit. He also knocked in four of the Jumbos six runs.
Bernstein, making his 18th relief appearance of the season for
Tufts, got a pair of routine fly balls to right field and his
eighth strikeout of the game in the bottom of the 11th to improve
his seasonal record to 4-0. Moran fell to 7-2. He had pitched nine
innings on Thursday in a no-decision outing during St. Joe's 5-4
win over Worcester St. in 12 innings.
St. Joe's got it rolling in the bottom of the first inning as
junior shortstop Chris Campbell (Rochester, NH) picked up his fifth
hit of the tournament, a line double into the left-center field
gap. After moving to third on a fine sacrifice bunt by senior
second baseman Mike Burdin (Gardiner, ME), Campbell scooted home on
a bouncer up the middle by senior first baseman Ben Grant-Roy
(Biddeford, ME) which squirted through for an RBI single.
The Monks got a solo shot over the right-field fence from senior
catcher Travis Adams (Saco, ME) in the second, his fourth home run
of the 2010 campaign, to up St. Joe's lead to 2-0. In the meantime,
starting Monk hurler freshman Chad Rafferty (Keene, NH) retired six
of the first seven Jumbos he faced, two by strikeout, to establish
a good rhythm.
A slight loss of control to begin the top of the third came back
to hurt Rafferty as he issued a walk to Tufts leadoff batter Perry,
then uncorked a wild pitch to put Perry at second. Two outs later
with Perry at third, Bankoff drove him in with a double to
left-center field, cutting the margin in half at 2-1.
Grant-Roy added a single to center in the third, advancing
junior right fielder Todd Keneborus (Hollis Center, NH) to third
base. Keneborus had picked up his tenth hit of the regional with a
single to right with two outs. Tufts starter junior Pat O'Donnell (Worcester, MA) got out of the jam with a
groundout to shortstop.
Such was not the case in the fourth as O'Donnell was chased from
the mound when the Monks pushed over their third run and had
runners at first and second with two outs. O'Donnell gave way to
sophomore Jake Crawford (Boise, ID). Crawford then
walked Burdin to load the bases and threw a pitch into the dirt
that eluded Perry for another run before striking out Keneborus to
leave it 4-1 in favor of St. Joe's. A double off the right-field
fence by Adams was followed by a fielding error on a grounder by
freshman third baseman Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, MA), allowing Adams
to score. Pratt made it home on the wild pitch.
After yielding the RBI double to Bankoff in the third, Rafferty
settled back in to put down seven Jumbos in a row in support of the
4-1 St. Joe's edge. Rafferty entered the game with a lofty 6.21 ERA
in 10 previous appearances with eight starts, but looked masterful
through five innings with two hits allowed, six groundouts and six
strikeouts.
Tufts ended Rafferty's run when junior shortstop Dave
LeResche (St. Louis, MO) blooped a single into center
field leading off the sixth. The Jumbos eventually got runners to
second and third in the frame with two outs, but Rafferty threw a
brilliant pitch on a 3-2 count to whiff junior left fielder
Ian Goldberg (Lake Forest, IL) for his seventh
strikeout.
When Tufts opened the seventh with a single by junior center
fielder David Orlowitz (Wakefield, MA) and a walk
to senior designated hitter Corey Pontes (Milton,
MA), Rafferty gave way to junior reliever Mason Roberge
(Franklin, NH). Roberge lasted just four batters as Perry met him
with a single through the right side to load the bases. A sacrifice
fly to center field by Grzymala brought in Orlowitz with the second
Jumbo run. Then with two outs, Bankoff made it a new game with a
two-run single up the middle, tying the game 4-4 as Pontes and
Perry crossed the plate. Roberge exited in favor of senior lefty
Andrew Keirstead (Westbrook, ME), who gave up a single to center
field to sophomore third baseman Sam Sager (Cranston,
RI), sending Keirstead to the bench. Junior Kevin
Chamberlain (Scarborough, ME) took to the hill and struck out
junior right fielder Chase Rose (Scottsdale, AZ)
to end the inning. Rafferty gave up five hits and three runs in his
six innings on the mound, but ended up with no decision.
St. Joe's regained the lead in the seventh as Burdin scored
following his single to left, a walk to Keneborus and an RBI
grounder past second base for the 5-4 lead by Grant-Roy, who leads
all players in the tournament for hits with 12. Though Bernstein
gave up the go-ahead RBI after entering the game with a runner at
first, he proceeded to strike out the side to avoid further
damage.
Tufts came right back to even the count at 5-5 in the eighth
with a pair of safeties after two outs. Pontes lashed a double down
the left-field line and was pulled for pinch-runner Derek Miller (Whitman, MA). Perry then got the job done with a
line single into center field to plate Miller. Moran, who had
started the game as the designated hitter, came in to pitch for the
Monks and got the final out on a strikeout with runners at second
and third.
Though the Monks got their leadoff man on, and senior center
fielder Craig Woodbrey (Gorham, ME) sacrificed him to second,
Bernstein upped his strikeout total to five with a pair of K's to
end the stanza. Neither team got a man into scoring position again
until extra innings.
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