Bayer, Trinity Defense Shut Down Southern Maine in New England Baseball Regional
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.
