Brockport ousts Devils in ECAC semifinal
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Baseball
(BOX SCORE: BROCKPORT 6, FREDONIA STATE 2)
(BOX SCORE: ST. JOHN FISHER 12, BROCKPORT 3)
FREDONIA, N.Y. - Fredonia State's winningest season came to a end Sunday with a 6-2 loss to Brockport in the semifinal round of the ECAC Upstate Baseball Championship.
Later in the day, St. John Fisher claimed the tournament title with a 12-3 victory over Brockport. The champion Cardinals (23-17) went 3-0 over the three days of competition.
In Sunday's opener, Brockport right-hander Kris Gentzke held the Blue Devils (26-12) scoreless until his team built a 6-0 lead in the late innings. Fredonia State senior right-hander Tom Hausler and Gentzke matched zeroes until the sixth inning. That's when the Golden Eagles (23-23) took a 3-0 lead with three unearned runs capped by Tom McCormick's two-run double.
The Golden Eagles took a 6-0 lead with three more runs in the seventh inning. A wild pitch scored one run and Todd Allen lined a two-run homer to left.
Gentske made pitches when he needed them. He induced an inning-ending double play in the third inning, then pitched out of a first-and-third jam in the fifth. With runners on first and third, Gentzke fielded a hard grounder headed back up the middle and trapped the runner off third for the second out. He then got the third out to end the Blue Devil threat.
The Blue Devils broke through for two runs in the seventh. Singles by Bryan Bongiovanni and Jeremy Borst put runners on first and second with one out. A walk to Joe Kephart loaded the bases before Jordan Basile singled off the shortstop's glove for the first run. A passed ball scored the second run, then Gentzke induced a groundout to second to end the threat. Brockport freshman right-hander James Williamson retired six of the seven batters he faced to keep the Blue Devils off the board the rest of the way.
Bongiovanni had two singles, the lone Blue Devil with more than one hit. It was the final game in a Blue Devil uniform for eight Fredonia State seniors - Basile, Hausler, Ricky Carlson (who pitched two scoreless innings of relief), Jeremy Borst, Eric Dietrick, Sam Tuzzeo, Matt Saeva, and Pete Lusk.
In the championship final, St. John Fisher connected for 16 hits, including three each by Phil Pettinella and Teagan Barresi. Matt Klock had three RBI and Geoffrey Martone was the winning pitcher. Pettinella was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.