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MAY 3 | 7:00 PM |
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Series Record - Suffolk Leads 24-1 |
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BOSTON – Suffolk baseball opens its 19th straight GNAC playoff run with a Thursday, May 3 battle against fourth-seeded Lasell at East Boston Memorial Park. The top-seeded Rams begin their quest to four-peat tonight under the lights at 7 p.m.
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THE SCHEDULE
First Round – Wednesday, May 2 (Single Elimination)
GAME 1: #4 Lasell defeated #5 Norwich, 16-3
GAME 2: #3 Johnson & Wales defeated #6 Anna Maria, 27-13
Second Round – Thursday, May 3 (Double-Elimination Begins)
GAME 3: #3 Johnson & Wales at #2 Saint Joseph's (Maine) – 4:00 PM - Live Stats
GAME 4: #4 Lasell at #1 Suffolk – 7:00 PM – Live Stats
Semifinals – Saturday, May 5 (Hosted by Saint Joseph's (Maine))
GAME 5: Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4 (Elimination Game) – 10:00 AM
GAME 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 – 1:30 PM
GAME 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 (Elimination Game) – 5:00 PM
Championship – Sunday, May 6 (Hosted by Saint Joseph's (Maine))
GAME 8: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 – 12:00 PM
GAME 9: If Necessary – 3:30 PM
TOURNEY PREP
Trailing by two heading into the sixth inning, the Suffolk baseball team rallied a comeback to defeat Endicott, 7-4, Sunday afternoon at North Field to secure head coach Anthony Del Prete's 100th career victory as the Rams head coach.
MORE READING: Del Prete Wins 100th as Baseball Comes Back at Endicott, 7-4
RAMS RUNDOWN
For the first time since 2008, Suffolk (21-16) swept Saint Joseph's (Maine), defeating the Monks 8-5 in the opener before putting together 8-6 win in the closer, to take the GNAC Regular Season outright with a 13-1 league ledger and claim the top spot in the conference tournament.
Brady Chant has been the main ingredient to Suffolk's success as the senior centerfield leads the Rams in every offensive category with 52 hits, 29 RBI and 33 runs on a .364 average to go along with 21 stolen bases. Seth Coiley adds a spark at the plate with 40 hits, 18 RBI and 24 runs scored on a .333 connection rate, while Blasé Cormier is also adding depth at the dish with the freshman producing 38 hits, 21 RBI and 20 runs on a .306 average.
Suffolk's staff has controlled conference opponent's bats this year. Mark Fusco is the leader of the pack with a 2.68 ERA through 43.2 innings with 34 strikeouts. Kevin Sinatra is just over 3.00 at 3.06 through 47.0 frames and 28 punchouts. Ryan Pordes (5.29 ERA, 36 Ks, 51.0 IP), Charles Batchelder (3.61 ERA, 35 Ks, 57.1 IP) and Tyler Zell (2.25 ERA, 26 Ks, 36.0 IP) are also in the starting rotation for the Rams.
SUFFOLK IN THE GNAC TOURNEY
Since joining the league in 2000, Suffolk baseball has appeared in the GNAC postseason tournament field and 2018 is no different.
The Rams, who make their 19th appearance in the field Thursday night, has escaped the single elimination each of the six times it has completed in the play-in round and has reached the championship series on 15 occasions, including the last 11 seasons.
Suffolk owns seven conference crowns, including the past three, with two titles as the field's top seed.
Overall, the blue-and-gold is 47-21 in the GNAC Tournament, 11-2 under Anthony Del Prete.
LASERS LOOK
Lasell, the tournament's fourth seed, handled Norwich, 16-3, Wednesday night to advance to the second-round.
David Marsell and Andrew Marchesseault are the Lasers' leaders at bat. Marchesseault has recorded hits .384 with 33 hits, 19 RBI and 13 runs scored, while Marsell boasts 33 hits, nine RBI and 13 runs scored on a .363 average.
Zach Handzel is Lasell's go-to arm. He holds a 4.39 ERA in 41.0 frames with 29 strikeouts. Dan Petr, who has seen 35.0 innings, brings in a 5.91 ERA with 31 Ks, with Marsell also adding depth on the hill for the Lasers as the two-way guy with an ERA of 2.67 and 17 strikeouts through 30.1 innings.
INSIDE THE SERIES
After sweeping Lasell in the regular season, Suffolk has now won eight straight games versus the Lasers to hold a 24-1 all-time series lead.
WE MEET AGAIN
Suffolk took care of Lasell April 8 with a 10-1 game one victory before holding off the Lasers, 3-1 in game two. Brady Chant led off the opener with his 200th career hit to highlight the regular season conference doubleheader.
MORE READING: Chant Records 200th Hit as Baseball Downs Lasell, 10-1, in Game 1 | Baseball Rallies in Fifth to Layover Lasell, 3-1 in Game 2
SUFFOLK VS. LASELL IN GNAC TOURNEY
For the third straight year, Suffolk will battle Lasell in the second round. In each such meeting, the Rams have come out on top.
Overall, Suffolk is unbeaten against the Lasers in the postseason, 4-0.
The two foes will meet for the first time with Suffolk as the No. 1 seed and Lasell as the No. 4 seed for the second-time and first since the original playoff clash in 2011, which the Rams won, 10-6.
EYES ON THE GAME
MUTTS MANAGER REACHES 100
Anthony Del Prete became the fastest Suffolk baseball coach to reach 100 wins on the blue-and-gold's bench as the Rams rallied past Endicott, 7-4, April 29 to achieve the milestone for the four-year head coach.
SENIOR CLASS
Suffolk's Class of 2018 – Brady Chant, Seth Coiley, Mark Fusco, Ryan Pordes and Greg Speliotis – became the fourth consecutive senior class to record 100 wins in their careers with the comeback 7-4 win at Endicott April 29.
ON DECK
The victor of the Thursday tilt advances to the winners bracket and will face the winner of the third-seed Johnson 7 Wales and second-seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) matchup Saturday, May 5 at 1:30 p.m. The losing team from each quarterfinals contest will play to stay alive Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Both contests will be hosted by the Monks at Larry Mahoney Diamond in Standish, Maine.
