SUNY Cortland Athletics

2011 NCAA DIVISION III BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Auburn (NY) Regional – Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Game four: #2 Farmingdale State College (NY) 2, #7 Clarkson University (NY) 1, 10 innings

Recap by Mark Coley

AUBURN, NY – Senior first baseman Kevin Curtis (Riverhead, NY) belted a one-out single down the left field line, scoring sophomore designated hitter David Zilnicki (Riverhead, NY) from second base with the winning run as second-seeded Farmingdale State College defeated seventh-ranked Clarkson University, 2-1 in 10 innings in the final game of the day at the 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Auburn (NY) Regional at Falcon Park, co-hosted by SUNY Cortland and the Auburn Doubledays.

The contest lasted 3:44, going well past midnight, and survived three rain delays (the longest lasting 31 minutes after the second inning).

The Rams (27-15), making their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance, will face Keystone College in the final winner’s bracket game on Thursday May 19 at 7:45 p.m. The Golden Knights (19-18), making their second tournament appearance in three years, will play Ramapo College (NJ) in an elimination contest, the second game of the day, at 1:15 p.m.

Both teams combined for 13 hits, with Clarkson holding a 7-6 edge, and left a total of 19 runners on base (Farmingdale 10, Clarkson 9). Curtis and Clarkson junior first baseman David Kinney (Mexico) were the top hitters for their respective teams, both going 3-for-4 with a run batted in.

Both starting pitchers, Clarkson senior David Goerold (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and Farmingdale junior Chris Phelan (Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford), along with their respective defenses, kept each other at bay through the first six innings. The Golden Knights limited Farmingdale to three hits with seven runners left on base, stopping potential scoring attempts with a runner on third base in the fourth (runners on second and third ending in a double play), and sixth innings (bases loaded with two outs ending in a ground out) innings.

The Rams countered by holding Clarkson to just two hits in the stretch with four runners left on base, preventing scoring opportunities in the second and fourth innings. Phelan fanned five batters, including inning-ending strikeouts in the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

Farmingdale produced the game’s first run in the bottom of the seventh with one out as Zilnicki struck out, but advanced to first as the pitch from senior reliever Vincent Baldwin (Catskill, NY), who entered to start the inning, hit the dirt and bounced to the backstop to score junior second baseman Danny DeVito (Plainview, NY/Holy Trinity) from third base. DeVito opened the inning with a single to right center, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and reached third on a ground out to set up the score.

Clarkson answered in the top of the eighth as Kinney (Mexico, NY) singled to center field with one out to score junior shortstop Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) from second base. Coleman reached on a triple to right center field with one out before Farmingdale replaced Phelan with senior J.R. Lott (East Islip, NY/St. John the Baptist). Lott lasted only two batters, hitting freshman left fielder Dan Lenney (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and giving up the double to Kinney, before bring pulled for sophomore Drew Dallanegra. (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham-Wading River).

Freshman right hander Pete Roma (Binghamton, NY/Union-Endicott) came in relief for Baldwin to open the bottom of the eighth for Clarkson and held Farmingdale to a hit before giving up the game-winning hit and run.
The Golden Knights had the chance to take the lead in the top of the tenth as Farmingdale made its fourth pitching change when freshman Chris Dragone (Hicksville, NY/St. Dominic) replaced Dallenegra to open the inning. Dragone retired the first two batters (ground out, strike out) before Lenney reached base on a short fly single to center field. Kinney followed with a single up the middle. Lenney moved to second and moved to third base en route to heading home before taking the turn too wide and slipping on the grass, forcing him to double back to third. The next batter popped up to shortstop to end the inning.

Dragone (2-0) picked up the victory for his one inning of work, facing five batters, while Roma (0-2) tossed 2 and a third innings for the hard-luck loss, yielding two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in facing ten batters.