Junior third baseman Chad Adams (Ware, MA) hit a walk-off home run over the left field fence with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning that lifted the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team to a 6-5 non-conference victory over Suffolk University Thursday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
Eastern (11-11) had been shut out on two hits by freshman righty reliever David Apostolides (Peabody, MA) for 5 2/3 innings before he gave way to senior lefty Mike Masulli (Prospect) to start the bottom of the 11th. Masulli, having pitched only 1 2/3 innings all year, retired the leadoff batter on four pitches before Adams drilled a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence for his fourth home run to make a winner of sophomore lefty Ron Buchetto (Cromwell) and give the Warriors their fourth straight win. Eastern is now 3-1 in one-run games this year.
The sixth Eastern pitcher, Buchetto (3-1) had pitched a complete-game five-hitter Monday in a 6-2 win over regionally-ranked Amherst College here Monday and now owns both of the Warriors' wins this year at the Eastern Baseball Stadium. He pitched the final two innings against Suffolk (10-15). Buchetto retired six straight batters after hitting the first batter on his first pitch of the tenth, then giving up a single to junior third baseman Drew Carter (Newburyport, MA).
Suffolk tied the game, 5-5, with three runs in the sixth on freshman centerfielder Brady Chant's (Warwick, RI) two-run triple through the right-center field gap and a game-tying sacrifice fly by senior shortstop Adam Johnson (Georgetown, MA).
The Warriors pushed the winning run into scoring position against Apostolides in the tenth on a single by senior leftfielder Joe Perez (North Branford) and a comebacker to the pitcher, but Apostolides induced a routine fly ball to right to end the threat.
Trailing 2-0 on Johnson's two-run, two-out double down the left field line in the second, Eastern moved ahead with four runs in the fourth when the first five batters reached safely. Senior second baseman Corey Keane (Tolland) and Kyle Hart (Guilford) were both hit by pitch, and freshman first baseman D.J. Scavone (Auburn, MA) gave Eastern its first hit of the game with a tying two-run single to right. Sophomore shortstop Christian Budzik's (Cromwell) bunt single and senior catcher Tim Budd's (Cheshire) sacrifice fly put the Warriors in front, 3-2, and sophomore centerfielder Pat Sirois' (Cromwell) RBI bunt single made it 4-2. Eastern upped the lead to 5-2 in the fifth on back-to-back leadoff doubles by Keane and Hart.
In his first career start, sophomore righty Luis Vega (Willimantic) carried the 5-2 lead into the sixth and left on the winning end of a 5-4 score after Chant's one-out, two-run triple. Chant came home to tie the game on Johnson's sacrifice fly of a subsequent pitcher that spoiled Vega's chance at his first win. Vega fanned four and walked two, hit two batters and gave up four hits.
Perez reached safely in all five of his at-bats with three walks and two singles and has reached base in the team's last 12 games. Hart's double extended his hitting streak to 11. Defensively, Keane handled eight chances in the field without an error, submitting sparkling plays on Suffolk's first two batters of the game by ranging behind second base, gloving the balls on the backhand, and throwing out the runners.
Chant, Johnson and senior catcher JC Collette (Amesbury, MA) all had two hits for Suffolk. Johnson drove in three runs and Chant drove in two and scored twice, as did Collette.
Eastern visits Rhode Island College Saturday at noon in a Little East Conference doubleheader.
(Story courtesy of Eastern Connecticut State University Sports Information)