Baseball travels to Wentworth for TCCC First Round

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University baseball team has earned the No. 5 seed in the 2010 The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament and will play at No. 4 seed Wentworth Institute of Technology in Quarterfinal action Tuesday afternoon, April 27, at 3 p.m.

The Seahawks (21-16, 12-10 TCCC) closed the season winning eight of their final 12 games to posted 20 wins for the eighth time in nine seasons. They were paced by junior Alex Melcher (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) (right), who led the Seahawks with a .446 average, 58 hits, 31 runs, four triples, a .638 slugging pct., and 13 stolen bases. Senior Riley Diaz (Miami, Fla.) finished strong to the tune of a .381 average, and drove in a team-high 32 RBI. Junior Matt Capone (Barrington, R.I.) was third with a .375 average while sophomore Michael O'Neill (Pawtucket, R.I.) belted a team-high seven home runs.

On the mound, junior Craig Silva (Marlborough, Mass.) went 7-1 with a 3.65 earned run average (ERA) and three complete games. He also struck out a team-high 38 batters in 38.1 IP. Junior Brandon Bursie (Smithfield, R.I.) and sophomore Nick Politelli (Warwick, R.I.) each picked up three wins to tie for second.

The Leopards (24-12, 15-7 TCCC) won four of their final five games, including a doubleheader sweep of the Seahawks on April 20. WIT posted a 16-13 win in the opener before winning a 2-0 pitchers duel in the nightcap. Senior Tom Glynn (Woodbridge, Conn.) was the offensive star for Salve Regina in game one, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored. Pete Oggeri went 3-for-4 and plated six runs for the Leopards in the opener.

In other first round action, No. 1 seed Curry College will host No. 8 Gordon College, No. 2 Western New England College will host No. 7 Anna Maria College, and No. 3 Endicott College will host No. 6 Eastern Nazarene College. All three games will be played at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27.

The entire tournament is double-elimination format.