Farrell fires shutout, Terni
sparks offense and named Regional's Most Outstanding Player as Owls
collect first regional title
RINDGE, N.H. (May 21,
2005) - Second-seeded Southern Connecticut State
University, ranked No. 29 in Collegiate Baseball magazine's
Division II poll, won its first regional title in program history
as it rode an unearned run to a 1-0 victory over top-seeded and No.
27-ranked Franklin Pierce at the 2005 NCAA Division II Northeast
Regional at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.
Southern Connecticut (31-12) will
make its first trip to the Division II College World Series at
Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala. The Owls will face the winner
of the South Atlantic Regional on Sunday, May 29, at 1 or 6:30 p.m.
(CST). No. 11 Kennesaw State University, needing just one win today
to advance to the CWS, fell to No. 4 University of North Florida
8-3 in game six of their regional, with game seven scheduled to
start at 4:35 p.m.
"I'm so proud of these guys," said
fourth-year head coach Tim Shea. "We started out 0-3 with three
lopsided defeats to a very good Armstrong Atlantic team in
February, but I told the team it isn't about how you start a
season, but it's how you finish. I'm happy for the players that we
get to advance, especially the seniors."
Southern Connecticut senior
Jeremy Terni (Uncasville,
Conn./Montville) was named the Northeast Regional's
Most Outstanding Player as he finished the regional with a .692
(9-for-13) batting average with a home run, three runs scored and
five RBI. He was nearly single-handedly responsible for the Owls
lone run of the contest.
With one out in the seventh, Terni
chopped a pitch from Franklin Pierce junior right-hander
Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford
Hills) up the third base line that looked like it may
dribble foul, but freshman catcher Matt Anderson
(Medford, Mass./Medford) played the ball on a hop and
his throw to first sailed down the right field line. Terni
scampered to second on the error and took advantage of a slow
Ravens throw back into the infield to reach third. Southern then
executed a suicide squeeze as senior Bob Pentino
(Hamden, Conn./Hamden) laid down the sacrifice bunt.
"I was just trying to first and get
a man on base," said Terni of the play. "I'm always aggressive on
the bases and when I saw the player put his head down I just went.
I was surprised they didn't get the ball in, but some time the team
will let down a little when something goes wrong."
Junior Jeff Farrell
(Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) did the rest, scattering
nine hits and two walks to go with nine strikeouts in collecting
his third shutout of the season to improve to 7-1 on the season.
"It's just unbelievable what
(Farrell) was able to do today against a great hitting club like
Franklin Pierce," said Shea. "I told the team this morning that
they were going to score runs, that we needed to be able put
together a good attack ourselves. To hold them to 1-0 is
incredible."
Farrell escaped a pair of bases
loaded jams in the game, stranding 11 Franklin Pierce base runners
on the afternoon. The Ravens loaded the bases with two out in the
fifth, but junior Mike Chambers' (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) fly ball caught up in the wind and
was caught just shy of the fence left.
"I was just trying to hit my spots
and make good pitches," said Farrell. "They hit the ball hard a few
times off me, but fortunately they were right at people. My defense
did a great job today."
After Southern forged ahead in the
top of the seventh, Franklin Pierce loaded the bases again with one
out. Farrell got Elliott Shea (Jaffrey,
N.H./Conant) to hit a ground ball to third to force
the lead runner and home, before Chambers popped to second to end
the frame.
The Ravens threatened in the ninth
as Anderson led off with a single. He was lifted for a pinch
runner, but Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) forced him out with a bunt attempt
back to Farrell. Sophomore Garrett Olson (Norway,
Maine/Oxford Hills) put a charge into a Farrell pitch
that was hauled in steps in front of the 390-foot marker in center,
and then Farrell got Shea to fly out to end the game and send the
Owls to Montgomery.
Terni was 2-for-4 for Southern,
while senior Mel Davis (Bristol, Conn./Bristol
Eastern) also finished 2-4.
Cummings was the hard-luck loser
for Franklin Pierce (6-4) as he yielded just the one unearned run
while scattering six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in his
team-leading third complete game of the season.
"This is why we play," said
Cummings of the pitcher's duel with Farrell. "It was fun to pitch
in this game. We knew it was going to come down to a play or two
here or there and they just made them today. They deserved it."
Anderson finished 3-for-4 for the
Ravens, while Fenton was 2-4 with a pair of stolen bases. Olson hit
1-3.
"Southern did a great job this
weekend and are deserving of the win," said Franklin Pierce head
coach Jayson King. "I'm just so proud of my team, but feel bad for
the guys who aren't going to be coming back. Sometimes the balls
aren't going to drop like they did yesterday, but that's baseball.
I can live with it because we came out and played hard and left it
all on the field."
Joining Terni and Farrell on the
All-Tournament team from Southern were sophomore first baseman
Nick Czekaj (Branford, Conn./Branford),
senior shortstop Tyler Call (Hopkinton,
Mass./Hopkinton) and junior pitcher Matt
Hennessey (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall).
Earning All-Tournament team honors
from Franklin Pierce were Chambers, Olson and Shea. UMass Lowell
senior Miles Page (Dracut, Mass./Central
Catholic) and freshman Tim Manton
(Swansea, Mass./Joseph Case) and Adelphi junior
Thomas Cali (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd)
were also named.
"We're going to have a good team
next year so hopefully the guys returning can remember this feeling
and build on it for next season," said King. "Just like it was our
turn two years ago, it was Southern's turn today."
Game
Boxscore and Play-by-Play
