The Suffolk University Baseball team captured the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship with a 4-3 walkoff victory in 13 innings over the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at historic Holman Stadium in Nashua.
Junior Cal Carroll (Methuen, Mass.) threw seven innings of scoreless relief in the victory. Suffolk scored the game winning run in the bottom of the 13th when junior Drew Carter (Newburyport, Mass.) came around second to score as an errant throw brought in the winning the run. Carter led the inning off with a double in the left center gap. After an intentional walk to senior Adam Johnson (Georgetown, Mass.), freshman Alec Costanza (Revere, Mass.) laid down a perfect bunt on the third base side. The throw to first would meet Constanza at the bag as it escaped with Carter rounding the third base bag and coming home for the game winning run.
Both teams advanced to a winner take all game after Johnson & Wales staved off elimination with a 7-3 victory in game one of the doubleheader on Sunday.
Suffolk would jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the first as they were able to load the bases with two outs. Junior Jon Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) led the inning off with a single before a walk to senior JC Collette. Sophomore Luke Ronchi (Randolph, N.J.) extended the inning as junior Rob Marks (Revere, Mass.) drove in the game's first two runs with a base hit to left.
The Wildcats would answer in the third with a pair of their own. Junior Andrew Hunton (East Meadow, N.Y) would lead the inning before another single by sophomore Carlos Sanabria (Pawtucket, R.I.) and a walk to Ivan Reyes (Cranston, R.I.) would load the bases. Junior Tom Elkow (Morganville, N.J.) would then even things up as he delivered a single to left center making it a 2-2 game.
Johnson & Wales would then jump ahead by a run in the sixth when sophomore Lou Umberto (Cranston, R.I.) singled home sophomore Greg Joubert (Cumberland, R.I.) would led the inning off with a single.
Suffolk would answer in the seventh as freshman Brady Chant (Warwick, R.I.) led the inning off with a double to right. Junior Julien Plana (Miami, Fla.) would then hit a ground ball to short that was overthrown allowing Chant to score and advance him all the way to third. With nobody out and a chance to get ahead, junior Jake Marchessault (Wyoming, R.I.) would escape the jam by not allowing the run home preserving the tie at 3-3.
Johnson & Wales would then have a chance to take the lead as Reyes singled to lead off the inning and would later steal second with one out. Carroll would escape that jam with back to back strikeouts.
Suffolk had a chance to win it in the 10th when Lapolla opened the inning off to deep center. After a walk to Collette, Ronchi would lay down a sacrifice bunt advancing both runners up a base. Marks would then be intentionally walked but Marchessault once again escaped danger inducing a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.
Carroll would retire eight of the next nine hitters he faced in order as the lone base runner reached on an infield error. He would allow a two out walk in the 13th before that threat was erased when Collette threw Elkow out trying to steal second setting up the walkoff victory.
Three players for Johnson & Wales finished the game with a pair of hits as they put together a 12-hit attack. Senior Rob Bochetti (East Meadow, N.Y.) was 2-for-6 while Hunton and Sanabria were each 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Sophomore Ryan Cabral (Hope, R.I.) started game two for the Wildcats as he went the first six innings allowing two runs on seven hits.
Marchessault allowed just the one run which was unearned over four innings of work as he punched out three. He also recorded the save in game one as he closed out that victory going the final four innings without allowing a run and punching out a pair.
Carbral was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the opener as he triple in the eighth broke open a 4-3 game at the time.
Johnson & Wales also collected 12 hits in game one as Bochetti, Reyes, Elkow and Umberto all had a pair. Sanabria's two run single in the third inning of that ballgame made it a 3-0 game at the time. He finished game one going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Lapolla was 4-for-5 for Suffolk in game two as he also added a hit in game one.
Marks finished game two going 3-for-4 with the two RBI in the first.
Sophomore Chuck Gibson (Malden, Mass.) started the game for Suffolk going the first six innings as he allowed three runs on eight hits with two strikeouts.
Senior Josh Desai (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was named the 2015 GNAC Tournament MVP as he threw a complete game five-hitters against top seed and five time defending champion St. Joseph's College on Saturday. Suffolk defeated the Monks 3-2 to advance in the winner's bracket.
Johnson & Wales eliminated St. Joseph's College in the following game with a 4-2 victory.
Carroll, Chant and Johnson were all selected to the All-Tournament team for Suffolk.
With the victory Suffolk improves to a 17-17 overall record on the year.
This GNAC Championship is the program's fifth and first for first year Head Coach Anthony Del Prete. Suffolk last won the GNAC back in 2009.
Suffolk will now play four games this upcoming week before final exams. They host Salve Regina on Tuesday and UMass Dartmouth on Thursday. Both games will be played at Adams Field at 4:00pm. Suffolk will also host Williams College on Saturday May 2.
Suffolk also earns an automatic qualifier bid into this year's NCAA Regional Tournament. It will be their fifth NCAA appearance in program history. The regional tournament will be held at Whitehouse Field in Harwich. It will begin on Wednesday May 13.