Newark, Del. – The Le Moyne College baseball team, the no. 3 seed in the NCAA Championship East Region, defeated second-seeded Goldey-Beacom College Lightning in a winner's bracket matchup on Friday night at Bob Hannah Stadium to advance to the East Regional #2 Finals.

Senior right-handed pitcher Sam DiGeorge (Canastota, N.Y./Canastota) delivered a dominant performance on the mound, and freshman designated hitter Brody Keneston (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) had a record-setting day at the plate to lead the 'Phins to their second consecutive victory in the NCAA tournament.
 
"What can you say about Sam (DiGeorge), he has been unreal all year and this may have been his best [performance] yet," said Le Moyne head coach Scott Cassidy '98 following the 'Phins win. "He pitched great, our defense was incredible, and we used the long ball offensively. Brody (Keneston) didn't miss a barrel all day with three bombs to lead the charge and Dewey (Roden) did it on both sides. He also homered, but he was lockdown at first base with some great plays," Cassidy added.
 
DiGeorge held the Lightning to just four hits, one run and zero walks with a season-high seven strikeouts in 9.0 innings of work to improve his 2023 record to 7-1. The Lightning were unable to put a runner on third base against DiGeorge until the ninth inning.
 
Keneston smashed three home runs on Friday, becoming the first player in Le Moyne baseball history to record three home runs in an NCAA tournament game. Le Moyne's rookie cleanup hitter finished the postseason battle with a season-high four hits and a season-high five runs batted in. Keneston's five RBI on Friday is the most runs batted in by a Le Moyne player in an NCAA tournament game in the last 20 years.
 
Only five other players in program history have recorded three home runs in a single game (one of them being current assistant coach Michael Smith '21, M '22, who hammered three home runs against D'Youville during the 2022 season).
 
Keneston drilled a two-run home run in the top of the first to break the 0-0 tie, then he delivered another two-run shot in the eighth inning to extend Le Moyne's lead to 5-0.
 
Keneston stepped to the plate with two-outs in the top of the ninth and recorded his third home run of the game with a line drive over the left field wall to give the 'Phins a six-run lead.
 
DiGeorge was coming off a tremendous outing in the opening game of NE10 Championship Weekend, when he did not allow a Franklin Pierce runner to reach third base during 7.0 shutout innings as the Dolphins claimed an 8-0 victory. With another outstanding outing on Friday in the NCAA tournament, DiGeorge lowered his season ERA to 1.52, which is the best earned run average among all Northeast-10 Conference pitchers. DiGeorge is now 5-0 in his last six starts for the 'Phins.
 
Graduate first baseman Dewey Roden (Sherrill, N.Y./Vernon-Verona-Sherill) launched a solo home run in the top of the third, his second long ball in as many games for Le Moyne in the NCAA East Regional #2.
 
Keneston now has nine home runs on the year, and Roden increased his 2023 home run tally to 10. Roden also delivered a double in the eighth inning prior to Keneston's second home run of the game.
 
As a team, the Dolphins now have 58 total home runs this season, surpassing the 2008 squad's total of 57 for the second most home runs hit by a Le Moyne baseball team in the last 20 seasons.
 
Fifth-year shortstop Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), senior center fielder Zach Brush (New York Mills, N.Y./New York Mills), and freshman left fielder Adam Sullivan (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) each recorded one hit during the postseason victory.
 
Goldey-Beacom junior right-hander Justin Jump started on the mound for the Lightning and completed 7.1 innings of work. Junior second baseman Darin Miller recorded a team-best two hits for GBC during the setback.
 
With one out and nobody on in the top of the first, the left-handed hitting Nevins turned on a 1-0 pitch and ripped a single to right field. After Jump recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Keneston smashed a line drive over the wall in left field to give the 'Phins an early 2-0 lead.
 
DiGeorge completed his second consecutive 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second, then Roden hammered a solo home run with two outs in the top of the third to make it 3-0 in favor of the Dolphins. The next three Le Moyne hitters reached safely to load the bases in the third, but Jump got a ground ball to the right side to end the inning.
 
Goldey-Beacom put their first runner in scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the third, then DiGeorge got a chopper up the middle, and Nevins fielded the ball at short and fired to first in time to end the inning.
 
GBC put runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but once again DiGeorge got a ground ball to the left side, and Nevins got the force out at second to end the inning and strand two runners on base.
 
Le Moyne put a runner on third with one out in the top of the sixth, but Jump recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and keep his team's deficit at three runs.
 
 Goldey-Beacom senior right fielder Marlon Linsdey Jr. led off the bottom of the seventh for the Lightning and ripped a line drive towards the left side. Le Moyne freshman third baseman Lukas Egenhauser (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) leaped to his left and nearly snagged the ball out of the air, but it hit off his glove and bounced in front of Nevins at short. Le Moyne's veteran shortstop stopped on a dime, fielded the ball cleanly, then quickly shuffled his feet towards first and fired to the bag in time for the first out of the inning.  During the next at bat, GBC junior first baseman Garrett Musey hit a high chopper down the third base line. Egenhauser fielded the ball in the air behind the bag with his right foot on the foul line, then shifted his weight and fired the ball to first base. Egenhauser's throw short-hopped Roden at first, but Le Moyne's three-hitter showed some outstanding glove work and scooped the ball cleanly with his right foot on the bag to record his second putout of the inning.
 
DiGeorge recorded a strikeout during the next at bat, then he delivered another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh. Roden led off the top of the eighth and hammered a ground-rule double over the wall in right-center field. Keneston swung and missed at the first pitch he saw during the next at bat, then the rookie slugger turned on a pitch over the plate and lifted a line drive over the left-center field wall to make it 5-0 in favor of the Dolphins. Le Moyne kept the inning going and loaded the bases with two outs, but GBC sophomore relief pitcher Luke Drzemiecki got a fly ball to center field to end the frame.
 
Roden made another great play at first base to record the first out in the bottom of the eighth. Goldey-Beacom designated hitter Dante DiSabatino led off the bottom of the eighth for the Lightning and a hit a slow ground ball to the right of second base. Le Moyne graduate second baseman Drew Carroll (Clifton Park, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy (Albany)) charged the ball, fielded it cleanly and made the throw across his body on the run. The throw bounced a few feet in front of Roden, but the 2023 NE10 All-Conference first baseman stretched his body low to the ground, swiped at the ball and successfully picked it with his right foot on the bag to record the first out of the inning.
 
Keneston stepped to the plate for his fifth at bat with two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth. On a 1-2 count, Keneston obliterated a fastball over the plate and sent the ball flying over the left field wall for his third home run of the ballgame, extending Le Moyne's lead to 6-0 in the final inning.
 
Goldey-Beacom put their first runner on third base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, then Lindsey delivered an RBI double down the left field line to give the Lightning their first run of the contest.
 
DiGeorge got a pop up to Roden at first base during the next at bat to secure the victory, record his second complete-game win of the season, and send the Dolphins through to the East Regional #2 Finals.
 
Felician University was eliminated from East Regional #2 on Friday after losing to Queens College. The Queens Knights and the Goldey-Beacom Lightning will play an elimination game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The winner will take on Le Moyne in the East Regional #2 Finals at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. If the winner of sixth-seeded Queens and second-seeded Goldey-Beacom is able to defeat the Dolphins on Saturday, then it will force a winner-take-all game at Bob Hannah Stadium on Sunday. The winner of East Regional #2 will travel to East Regional #1 winner Southern New Hampshire on May 26 and 27 for the three-game super regional.


Additional quotes following the win:

From Coach Cassidy...  "It was a great game all-around. We played some good defense behind Sammy...  It was great to get a pitching performance like that against a team like Goldey, who is really tough and beat us earlier in the year. It was a good all-around game that the boys played so we're pretty pumped about that… The message (to the players ahead of the East Regional Final on Saturday) is simple: Today was only one step. We could very well be playing (Goldey-Beacom) again tomorrow. We put ourselves in the driver's seat, but it's just one step in the process, and we gotta be ready to go tomorrow."

From Sam DiGeorge... "To begin the game I was feeling terrible, to be honest. My arm was hanging, but I knew I had to be tough and just get through it, and that's what I did"
On what was working well for him on the hill... "Just trusting myself. I love facing (right-handed hitters) and they had eight righties in the lineup, one switch hitter, so I knew I was just going to pound the strike zone inside."

From Brody Keneston... "I just tried to the do the best that I could with the pitches that I got. I took a couple bad swings, but I just had to adjust… I was locked in from the jump."
 On the team's balanced lineup...  "We just all try to pick each other up and I feel like that's the biggest thing…We just gotta keep bringing the energy."