Warriors rally to top Seahawks in extra inning, 8-7

MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior third baseman Chad Adams (Ware, MA) recorded his second walk-off hit in the last nine days, his two-out single plating junior rightfielder Pat Sirois (Cromwell) from third base in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team an 8-7 non-conference victory over Salve Regina University Thursday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

In its home-opener, Eastern (9-5) rallied to tie the game 7-7 in the ninth inning when Adams scored from third on freshman DH William Coleman's (Northford) infield single with two out, and won it in the tenth when No. 9 hitter Sirois walked with one out, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Adams' game-ending, two-out single over the second base bag.

The lead changed hands four times in the game, the Warriors rallying from 3-1, 5-4 and 7-6 deficits to end a three-game losing streak and hand Salve (5-7) its first loss in four games. Eastern is ranked No. 3 in New England.

A late-inning replacement, Coleman brought only five collegiate at-bats into the game, but he capped a two-out rally that gave the Warriors a 6-5 lead in the seventh with a single that drove in junior centerfielder Alex Zachary (Enfield) with the tying run, with an outfield error allowing the go-ahead run to score.

Salve took its third and final lead of the game in the eighth, 7-6, when senior leadoff hitter Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, NJ) socked his third home run of the season – a two-run shot to left that plated No. 9 hitter Brody Santilli (Lincoln, RI), who had walked with one out.

Each team used five pitches, with Salve junior righty starter Frank Lemieux (Marshfield, MA) exiting in the fourth with his team trailing 4-3, and Eastern junior lefty starter Ron Buchetto (Clinton) leaving while Salve was scoring the tying run in the fifth.

Eastern freshman righty John Parker (Brunswick, ME) was credited with his first win against a loss when his scoreless tenth inning set the stage for the Warriors' winning rally in the bottom of the inning.

Salve sophomore lefty Jimmy Fitzgerald (Canton, MA) was the most effective of the game's ten pitchers. Fitzgerald retired nine straight beginning with a strikeout to strand two runners in the fourth, before Zachary's two-out double ignited Eastern's two-run seventh inning with gave the Warriors the lead.

Adams reached safely five times with three singles and two walks, scored twice and had the game-winning RBI, with Zachary going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Coleman delivered RBI singles in his two at-bats.

The top four hitters in the Salve ordered combined for ten of the Seahawks' 13 hits. Kelly was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI; sophomore second baseman John Militano (Miller Place, NY) 3-for-6 with two runs, sophomore first baseman Alex Perry (North Attleboro, MA) 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI and freshman DH Tristan Dacey (Wyckoff, NJ) 2-for-5.