Mansfield, Conn. - Junior P Jeremiah Bayer (Greenfield,
Mass.) threw a complete game shutout with some defensive
help behind him to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 6-0 win
over Southern Maine Huskies in the second round of the NCAA
Division III New England Regional Baseball Championship Tournament
this morning at Eastern Connecticut State University. Trinity,
ranked No. 3 in New England and No. 5 in the nation, improves to
31-5 with its fifth straight win and advances to the winner's
bracket. The defending NCAA National Champion Bantams will play WPI
tonight at 7:45 p.m. The Huskies fall to 36-8 and will play an
elimination game against Eastern Conn. at 4:15 p.m. this afternoon.
Despite two powerhouse offenses, and a match up between Bayer,
the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year, and senior P Tim Therrian
(New Portland, Maine), the Little East Pitcher of the
Year, it was the defense that became just as much a factor.
In the first error-free game in the tournament, and the first
flawless defensive performance for Trinity in their last seven
games, Piacentini and Martin turned double plays to end the second,
third, and fourth innings to help Bayer shut the high-powered
Huskies offense down. Bayer and the Trinity gloves stranded
eight runners in the game.
"I was lucky enough to get some ground balls, and the defense
was there to make the plays," Bayer, who threw the first complete
game shutout of the tournament, said after the game. "I think
it was our best game of the year."
Southern Maine immediately threatened to take an early lead by
loading the bases in the first inning, but Bayer escaped the jam,
something he would get used to. Bayer, who threw a no-hitter
earlier in the season, would strand a runner on base every inning
for the first seven innings before a perfect eighth and ninth
inning to cap his fifth complete game of the season, and his second
shutout of the year to improve to 11-0 on the season, and 20-0 in
his career at Trinity.
The Bantams broke a scoreless tie with two out in the fifth
inning, after three straight singles by sophomore DH Alex
Rokicki (Truro, Mass.), senior co-captain C Sean
Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.) and junior 1B Kent
Graham (Longmeadow, Mass.), who collected his team-leading
52nd RBI of the season to put the Bantams on top 1-0.
Trinity came up with timely 2-out hits in the bottom of the
sixth, when Martin, who made all seven defensive plays he was
involved in, did some damage with his bat as well, knocking in
Piacentini, who had led off the inning with a walk, to give the
Bantams a 2-0 lead. Martin immediately stole second before
another clutch RBI single by junior OF Jack Abbott
(Longmeadow, Mass.), giving the Bantams a 3-0 edge.
With two runners on in the top of the seventh, Bayer struck out
sophomore OF Mike Eaton (Sabattus, Maine),
stranding runners on base for the seventh consecutive
inning. Therrian answered by stranding two Bantams in
the bottom half of the inning, thanks to the second double play of
the game turned by Southern Maine senior tri-captain SS
Chris Burleson (Portland, Maine) and freshman 2B
Anthony Pisani (Cheshire, Conn.).
Bayer had his first perfect inning of the game in the top of the
eighth and the Bantams offense would give him a cushion in the
bottom half of the inning, after junior OF Matt Sullivan
(North Reading, Mass.) would scorch an RBI double of the
body of Pisani at second, knocking in Martin on the play.
Killeen would follow that up with a double of his own, plating
Abbott and Sullivan on the play, putting the game out of reach for
Southern Maine as the Bantams increased their lead to 6-0.
Abbott, Killeen, Graham, and Martin collected two hits apiece
for the Bantams, while junior Josh Mackey (Danvers,
Mass.), senior Anthony Daltons (Westbrook,
Maine),and Pisani had two hits apiece for the
Huskies. Bayer allowed seven hits, walked four, and struck
out four in the shutout, and Therrian pitched 7 2/3 innings,
allowing six runs on 12 hits for the Huskies.
Trinity is 2-0 in the double elimination tournament. The
winner of the New England Regional bracket advances to the NCAA
Div. III College World Series in Appleton, Wisc.
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