AMCATS advance with impressive 12-3 victory over Curry

PAXTON, Mass. (05.05.11) – Sophomore Mike Guarnieri (Wallingford, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with five runs batted in, as the Anna Maria College baseball team pounded-out 11 hits in a 12-3 victory over Curry College during the second round of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Championship on Thursday afternoon. The AMCATS are now 23-18 on the year, while the Colonels fall to 17-24.

Guarnieri led all players with his five runs batted in to pace the AMC offense, while junior Jeff Scafidi (Worcester, Mass.) was 3-for-4 with three RBI's and one run scored. Senior Mike Galvin (Rutland, Mass.) was 2-for-5 from the leadoff spot, scoring three runs, while fellow senior Andy Fallon (Worcester, Mass.) scored a game-high four runs in the win. Senior Zach Rafferty (Worcester, Mass.) had a strong day on the mound, surrendering just two hits and three runs while striking out six over six innings of work to post his fourth win of the year. Junior Dean Diamantopoulos (Shrewsbury, Mass.) came in to close things out with three scoreless frames, allowing just one hit while earning his first save of the year.

Sophomore Shayne McDonald (Cambridge, Mass.) led the Colonels offense going 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored, while junior Mike Connors (Stoughton, Mass.) and freshman Matt O'Neill (Milton, Mass.) each had one hit, with Connors adding a run scored, and O'Neill collecting one RBI. Sophomore Matt Rodriguez (Quincy, Mass.) reached base three times on a trio of walks and scored one run, while junior Matt Drew (Waltham, Mass.) and junior David Stevens (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) each drove in one run in the loss.

The AMCATS offense got going early, putting up eight runs over the first three innings of play.

Anna Maria took advantage of a throwing error by the Colonels to plate a run in the first before adding three more runs in the second, including a sac fly from Guarnieri and a pair of RBI singles from Galvin and Scafidi.

The AMCATS then erupted for five runs in third to build a 9-0 advantage. After senior Jim McNamara (Worcester, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position on a bunt, senior Craig Doyle (Worcester, Mass.) drove him home with a double to deep right center field. Sophomore Carlos Ortiz (Worcester, Mass.) followed with a run scoring single to right, before a base hit by Galvin and a walk to Fallon loaded the bases. Scafidi drew a walk to drive home a run before Guarnieri capped the rally with a two-run single to right center.

After the AMCATS scratched across another run in the bottom of the fifth, the Colonels managed to get to Rafferty for three runs in the sixth. Curry loaded the bases on a hit batsman, a walk, and a bunt single before groundouts by Drew and Stevens plated a pair of runs. O'Neill then cut the Anna Maria lead to 10-3.

However, that is as close as the Colonels came to getting back in the game. The AMCATS added two more runs in the bottom half of the seventh while Diamantopoulos came in to close out the 12-3 victory with three impressive innings of scoreless one-hit ball.

The AMCATS will advance to play Roger Williams University on the road in a Friday afternoon contest starting at 3:00 pm.

Photo Courtesy for David Sheridan for AMC Sports Information