EAST BOSTON – Suffolk baseball punched its ticket into the double elimination portion of the CCC postseason as the sixth-seeded Rams bounced seventh seed Gordon with a 9-3 victory in the play-in game Monday afternoon at East Boston Memorial Park.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 9 | Gordon 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (23-18) | Gordon (9-27) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk made up the one-run Gordon put on the board in the opening inning with two of its own. The Rams used a trio of two-out doubles to grab a 2-1 edge. Joe Ward struck first as he placed a two-bagger inside the left field line. Harry Painter traded places with Ward with a double to center and before scoring two batters later on Luke Harder's double down the left field line.  

Shawn Nosky found himself in a bases loaded, one-out jam in the top of the second after allowing a single and back-to-back base on balls. The junior right-handed hurler got out of the sticky situation to keep the one-run lead for the host. Garret Roberts gloved a pop up at second before Nosky fanned Dalton Cody looking for the final out of the frame.   

Solo shots from Jonny Gilbride and Ward in the second and third, respectively, stretched the gap to three. Gilbride's dinger nearly hit the scoreboard down the left field line, while Ward sent the ball over the right field fence.  

A pair of Rams errors allowed the Fighting Scots to pull back within one in the top of the fourth.  

Christian Seariac restored the multi-run margin in the home half of the inning. The graduate student tripled to right center to bring in Roberts, who singled, to make it a 5-3 game.

Suffolk was held scoreless for the first time in the fifth and again in the sixth, but made up for it with a three-run seventh. With the bases loaded, Luke Harder placed a perfect single up the middle to score Seariac and Painter, who walked and doubled, respectively. Two batters later Harder came in on Shane Lake's base hit up the middle to stretch the advantage to 8-3.  

Extra insurance came in the eighth thanks to Painters productive ground out to third that plated Seariac, who worked a walk to lead off the inning.  

Suffolk took a 9-3 cushion into the ninth that EJ Birch preserved. The senior reliever, who threw two consecutive three-up, three-down innings in the seventh and eighth, was on the verge of doing so again as he retired the first two batters in the ninth. A pitch got away from the right-handed pitcher and hit Cody. Birch showed his composure with the next batter and used help from the outfield to lock up the postseason win.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Suffolk starter Nosky let up two runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks over 3.2 innings. He sat down four of the 21 batters he faced, three looking. 
• Casey Sullivan tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief with just three hits and one walk allowed. He had one strikeout.
• Birch earned the decision after throwing 3.0 innings of scoreless, hitless relief with a pair of punchouts to his credit. 
• Andrew Marzetta, Gordon's starter, was also pulled after 3.2 innings of work. He gave up five runs, all earned, on nine hits, including a pair of bombs and one walk with two Ks. 
• Hunter Routhier let up three runs, two earned, on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts to his credit over 3.0 innings of work. 
• Jacob Hitchcock closed the outing for the Fighting Scots. He compiled a one-run, one-hit, one-walk stat line in 1.1 innings of action.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Ward had three hits including a double, one RBI and two runs scored. 
• Painter produced two hits, both doubles, two RBI and scored twice. 
• Seariac supplied one hit, a triple, two runs and one RBI. 
• Harder contributed two hits, including a double, three RBI, one run scored and one stolen base.
• Lake went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
• Roberts registered one hit, one run and two walks. 
• Gilbride added one hit, one RBI and one run. 
• Marc Birbiglia chipped in one hit.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk served as host of a CCC postseason game for the first time in program history. 
• The Rams captured its first CCC playoff game.
• Suffolk defeated Gordon in the foe fourth straight meeting. 
• The Rams are now 6-4 all-time against the Fighting Scots. 
• Suffolk has never fallen to the Fighting Scots in Eastie. 
• The Rams are now 4-0 all-time against Gordon at East Boston Memorial Park. 
• Gilbride registered his fifth homer of the year, while Ward knocked his seventh bomb of the season.
• Suffolk recorded multiple homers in a single game for the 14th time this season. 
• Painter matched a career-high two doubles. 
• Ward tied a personal-best three hits. 
• Lake (four games), Harder (five games), Painter (five games), Seariac (three games) and Gilbride (three games) all extended their hit streaks.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will head to top seeded Salve Regina to open the double-elimination portion of the tournament Wednesday, May 11. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.