Box Score Photos by Haley Heslin
MANSFIELD, Conn. -- For the first time in seven years, Eastern Connecticut State University will play for the Little East Conference Baseball Tournament championship on its home field.
In the all-important winners' bracket final Friday, No. 1 seed Eastern (31-7) erased an early three-run deficit by scoring seven times in its first three at-bats and went on to its ninth straight victory with a 7-6 victory over No. 3 seed Massachusetts Dartmouth (21-21) at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
The seven-time LEC tournament champions – the only remaining unbeaten team in the original field of six -- need one victory on two chances Saturday to capture their first title since 2009. Eastern has won four championships at home as the No. 1 seed, most recently in 2007. Eastern is making its ninth championship round appearance, its only loss coming to Rhode Island College the last time it hosted the tournament in 2011.
Eastern and second-seeded University of Southern Maine (31-11) will meet in the championship round of the tournament for the third time in 13 years after the Huskies won twice Friday to advance, eliminating sixth-seeded Rhode Island College, 10-0 in eight innings, and UMass Dartmouth, 3-2, in Friday's late game. In the final round, Eastern downed USM both previous times, winning at Gorham in 2001 and at the Eastern Baseball Stadium in 2004.
To win its fifth title, Southern Maine must turn the tables on the Warriors, who swept the Huskies on USM's home field last Friday to wrestle the No. 1 tournament seed from the No. 12 nationally-ranked team.
Ranked No. 1 in the NCAA New England Region and No. 16 nationally, Eastern has won 24 of its last 27 since splitting a northern-opening conference doubleheader with Massachusetts Boston.
Eastern chased UMD freshman Sean Callahan (4-1) early in the third inning, scoring twice in the bottom of the first to cut the Corsairs' lead to one, then moving ahead for good with two in the second on an RBI single by Mike Vaccarelli (Wolcott) and a deep sacrifice fly to left by Nik Ververis. Kyle Hart (Guilford)'s leadoff single in the third spelled the end of the day for Callahan, and Vaccarelli recorded his 12th tournament hit in 13 at-bats with a two-run double to left-center to make it 6-2. Vaccarelli came home with the third run of the inning on Corey Keane's (Tolland) single.
In his 30th career start, senior righty Greg Porter (Mystic) advanced within an inning of his first career complete game before giving way to Pat Barnett (Windsor) after the first two UMass batters reached in the top of the ninth. Porter (7-3), who did not make it through the third inning in a 10-7 loss here to UMass Dartmouth two weeks ago, allowed 12 hits this time but did not walk a batter until the ninth. Until the ninth, Porter limited the Corsairs to just seven hits after being ripped for four hits and three runs in the top of the first.
Trailing 7-3, UMass rallied for three runs in the ninth. The Corsairs loaded the bases without an out. A ground ball scored one off reliever Pat Barnett (Windsor), an infield single by Alberto Vasquez made it 7-5, and Ben Monteiro's sacrifice fly cut the gap to one. With the tying run on first, Barnett struck out Nate Farias on a 3-2 pitch to earn his second save.
Porter threw 92 of his 136 pitches and Barnett nine of 14 for strikes.
Now 12-for-15 in the tournament, Vaccarelli was 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs. Keane and Hart both had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Vasquez, who bats cleanup, was 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI and Monteiro and George Agostini both had three hits. The 2-through-5 hitters in the UMass lineup had 12 of the team's 14 hits, scored four times and drove in four.
