West Hartford, Conn. – The Le Moyne College baseball team closed out the regular season with its seventh straight NEC victory, 10-8, over Central Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at the University of Saint Joseph Baseball Field.
The Dolphins had a quartet of players record two hits. Freshman left fielder
Nick Kriegelstein (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) paired his two hits with two RBI and a run scored. Sophomore first baseman
Landen Duprey (Morrisonville, N.Y./Peru) tallied a pair of hits and scored twice. Junior designated hitter
Cooper Romich (North Chili, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) had two hits, an RBI and a run scored, while junior right fielder
Jack Cannon (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) recorded two hits, an RBI and two stolen bases.
Freshman righty
Jack Molini (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) improved to 5-0 on the mound after tossing six innings, while yielding five runs on seven hits. Freshman righty
Connor Usowski (Auburn, N.Y./Port Byron) earned his first save after recording the final two outs.
Zach Worzel took the loss for the Blue Devils after allowing eight runs and eight hits over two and one-third innings.
The Dolphins opened the game's scoring just three batters into the contest as senior center fielder
Paulie Goodness (Palmyra, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon/Finger Lakes C.C.) led off with a single up the middle, stole second, moved to third on a fly out and then scored on a single to left field by Cannon. The RBI gives Cannon 63 on the season, the fourth-most by a Dolphin and the most since 2008.
The Blue Devils answered in the bottom of the frame as designated hitter Nick Fox led off with a triple to center and scored on a single to left center by third baseman Louis Jordan.
Le Moyne took the lead for good with a pair of runs on two hits in the second inning. Duprey led off with a double to left center and then junior shortstop
Mike Whelehan (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) was hit by a pitch. Following a fly out, redshirt junior second baseman
James Musso (Auburn, N.Y./Skaneateles) drew a walk to load the bases. Duprey then scored as Goodness reached on a fielder's choice, while freshman third baseman
Isaac Brozon (Aurora, N.Y./Southern Cayuga) followed with a single up the middle to knock in Whelehan.
Central Connecticut State got one run back in the bottom of the second. First baseman Matt Graziose walked with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single up the middle by center fielder Gabe Pitts.
The Dolphins blew the game open with five runs in the third inning on four hits. Sophomore catcher
Robert Wegrzyn (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield) singled to left center with one out, Duprey singled to the shortstop and then Whelehan singled to center to load the bases. Kriegelstein then recorded a ground-rule double to center to plate Wegrzyn and Duprey. After Musso was hit by a pitch to load the bases again and force a pitching change, Goodness drew a walk to force in Whelehan. Kriegelstein then scored as Brozon reached on a fielder's choice. Musso was then awarded home plate on a balk.
Romich led off the fourth with a triple to right center and then scored on a one-out sacrifice fly to left by Whelehan.
The Dolphins completed their scoring in the fifth inning. Musso drew a walk to open the frame and then moved to second with one out when Brozon was hit by a pitch, which gives him 17 on the season, the most by a Dolphin in the program's history. After Musso took third on a fly out, he scored on a single to center by Romich.
The Blue Devils started a comeback attempt with three runs in the fifth inning. After shortstop Gabe Tanous walked to open the frame and a fly out, Jordan homered to center field to make it 10-4. Left fielder Antonio Ducatelli followed with a homer down the left field line.
Central Connecticut State pushed across two more runs in the seventh. Fox and Jordan walked to open the inning and moved up a base on a groundout. Catcher Frankie Ferrentino then singled to center to plate the duo.
Cannon led off the eighth inning with a single down the left field line, which gives him 83 hits on the season, passing Brett Botsford '12 from the 2012 campaign for the second most in a season by a Dolphin in the program's history. The hit also gave him multiple hits in a game for the 28th time this year. He then stole second and third base, giving him 51 on the year, the second-most in Division I, but he was left stranded there.
The Blue Devils got the tying run on base in the ninth inning, but were only able to scratch across one run in the frame. Fox led off with a single to left center and then Ducatelli walked with one out. After a Le Moyne pitching change and a fly out, right fielder Gianno Merlonghi walked to load the bases. Graziose was then hit by a pitch to force in Fox and move the tying run to second base, but the next batter grounded into a fielder's choice to end the game.
Le Moyne (22-24, 22-11 NEC), which won 10 of its last 11 NEC games, begins pursuit of its first NEC Championship on Thursday against top-seeded LIU at 12:00 p.m. at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, N.J.
