AMCATS headed to semifinals after 8-5 win over #2 Roger Williams

BRISTOL, R.I. – Anna Maria College advanced to the semifinal round of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Championship Friday with an 8-5 win over the Roger Williams University on Friday afternoon.

With the win, Anna Maria improves to 24-19 and will face Endicott College tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in a rematch of Monday's opening round game, in which the AMCATS lost 5-0. Roger Williams bows out of the TCCC Tournament and closes out the season with a record of 22-21.

The game opened with a scoreless first, primarily due to a diving catch in center by Mike Guarneri (Wallingford, Conn.) to end the inning and strand runners at first and second. The AMCATS would then put two on the board in the top of the second. Carlos Ortiz (Worcester, Mass.) earned a bases-loaded walk to bring in Jeff Kodys (Holden, Mass.) for the first run of the game. Michael Galvin (Rutland, Mass.) would later sacrifice to center, scoring Justin Hyland (Spencer, Mass.).

Jeff Scafidi (Worcester, Mass.) knocked a leadoff homer to right in the third, followed later by a sacrifice fly to center in the third to make it a 4-0 AMCAT lead. In the following inning, Kodys would score two more with a two-RBI single with two outs to put Anna Maria on top 6-0.

The AMCATS tacked one more on in the top of the fifth and nearly added two more in the inning, as a ground-rule double by Andy Fallon dropped inches short of being a two-run homer. In the bottom of the frame, the Hawks would make their way on the scoreboard. John Oppenhimer (Westport, Conn.) drew a two-out walk and would score on the next at-bat on an RBI double by Zach Porter (Middleboro, Mass.).

Trailing 8-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Hawks chipped away at the deficit, with Trevor Manzi (Beverly, Mass.) and TJ Oliver (Manchester, Vt.) scoring on a two-RBI single by Oppenhimer to make it 8-3. After a scoreless eighth, Oliver led off the ninth with a leadoff single and would come in on two-run homer by Manzi to right to pull within three. Porter collected his fourth hit of the day with two outs to bring the tying run on deck, yet a force out at second on the following at-bat gave the AMCATS the win and put an end to the Hawks' championship hopes.

Scafidi picked up the win for Anna Maria, going seven innings while giving up three runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Kodys finished a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Andrew Dupre (Northbridge, Mass.) was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI, while Galvin and Fallon added two hits and a run scored each.

Sam Podbelski (East Greenwich, R.I.) took the loss for the Hawks, allowing six runs (four earned) in four innings on nine hits and two walks with a pair of Ks. Porter finished 4-for-4 at the dish with an RBI. Manzi went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while Oliver picked up three hits in four at-bats with a run.

With the season coming to an end for the Hawks, a couple of team records for a single season fell in the process. Oppenhimer set a new mark for most assists in a season with 126, while the fielder's choice for Mike Pascarella (Milford, Conn.) in the ninth was his 169^th at-bat of the year, setting a new single-season record. Tyler Pogmore (Lebanon, Conn.) pitched the final 1.2 innings while giving up only one hit to lower his opponent batting average to .151 and his ERA to 0.36. Both marks are the lowest in a season for a Hawk pitcher to toss at least 25 innings.

Release Courtesy of Roger Williams University Sports Information

Photo Courtesy of David Sheridan for AMC Sports Information