Flushing, N.Y. - The Golden Lions repeat as
East Coast Conference Baseball Champions with a 7-0 win over the
University of Bridgeport Purple Knights this afternoon at Jack
Kaiser Stadium on the campus of St. John's University.
The Golden Lions wasted no time with a run in the top of the first
inning. Andrew Abreu led off with a single through the right
side and was brought in on an infield hit by Sean Craig.
Dowling added three in the top if the third. Joseph Candela
and JC Brandmaier were hit by pitches and with two outs the UB
shortstop airmailed a ball into right field in an attempt to get
the runner going to second allowing Candela to score. A heads
up double steal moved the runners up to second and third where Rob
Veltre's 2 RBI single to center plated both runners for a 4-0
lead.
DC extended their lead with another run from an RBI by Rob Veltre
who drove in Craig who led off the inning with a double to
left. In the top of the ninth, they added a little extra
breathing room when Craig's third hit of the day was followed up by
a walk to Brandmaier. Another double steal put both runners
in scoring postion where a groundball by Ian Schneider and a wild
pitch put Dowling ahead 7-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth
where Tyler Badamo retired the Purple Knights in order for the
complete game win.
Craig finished with three hits, two RBIs, three stolen bases and a
run scored to lead the Golden Lions at the plate.
Dowling's starter Badamo was near perfect allowing just two hits
and two walks while striking out seven through nine innings was
named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.
The Golden Lions receive an automatic bid into the NCAA East Region
Tournament. The remaining teams will be named later in the
week.
Provided by the Dowling Sports Information Department.