Box Score BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH GRADUATE STUDENT MIKE MASTROBERTI
When and Where: May 14, 2016 – Rindge, N.H. (Pappas Field)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 5, College of Saint Rose 4
Records: SNHU 45-5, Saint Rose 21-20
Graduate student Mike Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.) drove in the eventual game-winning run and was named the Northeast-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player as the eighth-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team was crowned champion of the Northeast-10 for the second time in program history with a 5-4 victory against the College of Saint Rose on Saturday at Franklin Pierce University's Pappas Field.
SNHU, seeded second in the Northeast Division, wins its second Northeast-10 Championship in the last three years, while Saint Rose, the Southwest's No. 4 seed, sees its season come to a close following its first ever appearance in the NE-10 finals.
Saint Rose jumped on Southern New Hampshire and junior starter Ben Criscuolo (Branford, Conn.) early, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. A leadoff walk from Derek Reed, followed by singles from Nick Venier and Tyler Ungerland, netted the Golden Knights their first run of the contest before a 6-4-3 double play plated Venier with run No. 2.
SNHU's offense came alive in the third with a four-run frame. Sophomore Sean Webster (Boston, Mass.) led off by roping a double over the left fielder's head before scoring on a single up the middle from junior Zach Goldstein (Merrick, N.Y.). Junior Carson Helms (Farmington, Conn.) came through with a two-out double to left and then scored on a single to right-center from junior Derek Bauer (Millis, Mass.). Bauer, who scampered to third when the center fielder misplayed the ball, came home on a wild pitch to put the Penmen in front, 4-2.
Saint Rose halved its deficit in the fifth after it knocked Criscuolo from the game when Venier hit a ball to first that was ruled a hit and an errant throw allowed Reed to score from second. The unearned run was charged to Criscuolo, while sophomore reliever Ivon Clough (Dublin, N.H.) cruised from there as he brought the Penmen through the seventh inning with the lead intact.
Southern New Hampshire grabbed an insurance run in the sixth on Mastroberti's two-out RBI single that made it 5-3. The Penmen would need the insurance run because Saint Rose would push one across in the eighth against sophomore closer Jake Walkinshaw (Seymour, Conn.) on an RBI groundout to short.
Then in the ninth, with the tying run on second and one out, Walkinshaw punched out the final two betters to clinch the title.
Criscuolo allowed three runs – two earned – on two hits, while striking out a pair and walking six, in four-and-a-third innings. Clough (4-0) collected his second win of the NE-10 Championship with two-and-two-thirds shutout frames, giving up just one hit, while striking out one. Walkinshaw (11th save) earned his third save of the Championship as he relinquished one run on two hits, striking out four, over two innings.
Mastroberti (walk, RBI) and Webster (run) were both 2-for-4, while Goldstein went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Helms (1-for-5) and Bauer (1-for-4) both recorded an RBI and a run.
Notes:
- Southern New Hampshire, which has won 31 of its last 34, 27 of 29 and seven straight, is on pace for its best record ever at 45-5. The 2012 squad that advanced to the Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C., was 38-12 through its first 50 games.
- SNHU's 45th win of the season extends its single-season record for victories.
- The Penmen, making their fourth appearance in the Northeast-10 Championship, become the first team to nail down two titles in three years since Franklin Pierce won three straight from 2007-09.
- Mastroberti was joined on the Northeast-10 All-Championship Team by Clough and junior Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.).
- Over four games in the NE-10 Championship, Mastroberti went 7-for-16 with a home run, six RBI and four runs scored, while producing a slash line of .438/.500/.750/1.250. Cruz was 5-for-13 (.385) with five walks, four RBI and four runs to go along with his stellar defense at short, with Clough going 2-0 and allowing just a single hit over five-and-two-thirds scoreless innings.
- Mastroberti has a hit in 22 of his last 23 contests, Goldstein has hit safely in 18 of 19, and Cruz and Helms have both collected a base knock in 12 of 13. Mastroberti, Goldstein and Cruz are tied for the longest hitting streak on the team at nine contests.
Up Next:
The Penmen will now wait to see where they are seeded for the NCAA East Regional when the NCAA Selection Show airs Sunday, May 15 (10 p.m.) on NCAA.com. The show can be seen live by clicking HERE.
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