CCC Baseball: No. 1 Salve Regina vs. No. 3 Western New England in best of three series

MAY 11 | 12 and 3:30 p.m. COMMONWEALTH COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS • NEWPORT, R.I.
WESTERN NEW ENGLAND GOLDEN BEARS (29-13, 11-5 CCC)	SALVE REGINA SEAHAWKS (25-13, 12-4 CCC)
SERIES Western New England leads, 27-8 LIVE STATS http://www.salveathletics.com/ LIVE VIDEO http://bit.ly/1hxigxh DIRECTIONS http://bit.ly/Wcjx1D
INTERACTIVE BRACKET | PRINTABLE BRACKET

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University baseball team, two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champions, seeks its third straight title and second consecutive as the No. 1 seed. The Seahawks (25-13, 12-4 CCC) advanced to the championship series final with a pair of wins over No. 4 Endicott College, 17-5 on Saturday and 6-5 in 13 innings on Monday. No. 3 Western New England University (29-13, 11-5 CCC) has played three games in the tournament, winning back-to-back games on Saturday against No. 6 Gordon (10-2) and No. 2 Roger Williams (18-8) before finishing off the Fighting Scots at home on Monday (17-2). The Golden Bears swept a regular-season pair from the Seahawks on Reynolds Field in March, 16-2 and 4-0.

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LAST TIME OUT FOR SALVE REGINA - SALVE REGINA ELIMINATES ENDICOTT  - MAY 7, 2018

NEWPORT, R.I. - In the bottom of the 13th inning, Salve Regina University junior Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn.) blooped a single to shallow right center that brought home freshman Anthony Cieszko (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) from second base with the winning run as the Seahawks outlasted the Gulls of Endicott College, 6-5, in the Pod A Final of the 2018 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships. Top-seeded Salve Regina (25-13) will now host third-seeded Western New England University (29-13) in a best-of-three series this weekend (May 11-12) at Reynolds Field for the conference championship. It's the third-straight season the Seahawks have reached the championship series and they are going for a three-peat for the title as well.

Cieszko singled to right field with two outs in the final frame. He stole second and, after teammate Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) received his second intentional walk in extra innings, Cieszko was on the move to third on the 1-2 pitch to Smith who lifted it into the outfield and landed it between Endicott second baseman Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) and center fielder Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.). Cieszko crossed the plate to make reliever Andrew Roman (Monson, Mass.) the winning pitcher (2-1) and Cooper Sanibal (Bedford, N.H.) took the loss (1-3).

Salve Regina senior catcher Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) had two hits and three runs batted in, included the game-tying and go-ahead runs on a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth. DeDonato had an infield pop single in the top of the ninth and was sacrificed to second. With two outs, freshman Nicholas Perkins (Nashua, N.H.) singled to right field to tie the game at 5-5.

Sophomore right fielder Dylan Ketch (Clinton, Conn.) had three hits to extend his career-best hit streak to 22 consecutive games. He was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the third Seahawk run, making it 3-1 at the time. Colton Eremian (Boca Raton, Fla.) followed Ketch with a sinking line drive to Endicott shortstop Matthew McKinley (Hudson, N.H.) who turned the catch into a triple play by stepping on the bag at second and throwing to the vacated first base.

Salve Regina starter Michael Mathews (West Hartford, Conn.) went 6.1 innings allowing two earned runs on five hits, three walks, and striking out one. Jonathan Lynch (Cumberland, R.I.), Zach Dionne (Tolland, Conn.), and Roman succeeded Mathews, with Dionne nearly matching innings pitched (5.1) along with pitch count (Mathews - 89, Dionne - 81).

Endicott third baseman Jacob Thibeault (Methuen, Mass.) led off the seventh with his second home run of the season to cut the deficit to 3-2. Senior catcher Hunter Boyce (Bangor, Maine), who entered the game defensively in the bottom of the third after starter Brendan McDonald (Quincy, Mass.) suffered an injury in his second plate appearance, singled through the left side to tie the score at 3-3. After a wild pitch moved Gulls on the base paths to second and third, back-to-back walks gave Endicott its first lead over Salve Regina.

The Gulls (26-16) had won twice over Wentworth Institute of Technology over the weekend, but were eliminated by two losses to the Seahawks (17-5 on Saturday; 6-5 today). Western New England swept a season-opening conference pair from Salve Regina in March at Reynolds Field.

Full Recap: http://www.salveathletics.com/sports/bsb/2017-18/releases/20180507wu2jow

CCC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – No. 1 seed Salve Regina and No. 3 seed Western New England both won on Monday afternoon to advance out of pod play and earn spots in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Baseball Tournament Championship Series. The best-of-three series begins on Friday, May 11, at 12 p.m. in Newport, R.I.

Both Salve Regina and Western New England came into the pod finals needing to lose twice to be eliminated. The Seahawks needed 13 innings to claim their spot in the CCC Championship Series as it faced a tough battle against No. 4 seed Endicott. Eventually the tournament top seed was able to push across the winning run and earn the 6-5 walk off victory. WNE's destiny was less in doubt as the Golden Bears jumped out to an early lead against No. 6 seed Gordon, putting up 11 runs in the first two innings. They would go on to win 17-2.

The entire CCC Championship Series will be hosted by Salve Regina as the higher seed. Two games will be played Friday afternoon beginning at noon. Western New England will be the home team in the second game only; Salve Regina is the home team in the first and, if necessary, on Sunday for the title clinching game at 1 p.m.

The winner of the CCC Championship Series will be named the CCC Tournament Champion and will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2018 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Tournament.

TODAY'S SALVE REGINA BASEBALL FACT(S) YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT