NEWPORT, RI – With bases loaded and one out, one final swing of the bat put a close to Massachusetts Maritime Academy head coach Bob Corradi’s 43-year career and his program’s best season since 1982.
Massachusetts Maritime’s Terrence Mudie belts his first collegiate home run in the fifth inning of a tough, 4-3 loss to Salve Regina in the ECAC Championship Semifinals Saturday in Newport, Rhode Island.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
Host Salve Regina eliminated the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Champion Buccaneers, 4-3, in the semifinal round of Saturday’s 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Baseball Championship tournament and with the loss the Buccaneers closed the most illustrious chapter on the school’s most storied athletic helmsman since he took over the baseball program in 1973.
Corradi ended his coaching career with 579 career victories, two MASCAC championships, 1,216 games, eight ECAC tournament appearances and the program’s ninth overall postseason appearance since 1973.
Massachusetts Maritime finished the season at 17-13.
“We certainly had our chances today, and it’s frustrating that we didn’t capitalize on all of them, but we played hard until the last out,” Corradi said following the game. “We used 18 different players in the lineup, and everyone was ready to go. It speaks to the resiliency of this team and to their attitude. I am so proud of each and every one of them, especially our seniors. No one really gave us a shot when the season started, but they ended the year as MASCAC champions.”
Corradi’s Bucs stranded 14 baserunners in this contest and one error led to a critical run scored for the hosts, but still the Maritime boys did not give up as they loaded the bases with one out, down by a score of 4-2 in the top of the ninth inning.
Senior first baseman Greg Downs (1-3/Marshfield, Mass.) ripped a two-strike single up the middle to get things going, followed by a walk issued to Everett Walsh (2-4, RBI/Marstons Mills, Mass.). Freshman William Keane (1-3/Braintree, Mass.) then walked to load the bags and freshman Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) laced a hot shot to the third base side which was bobbled and allowed Downs to score and make it a 4-3 game.
But with bases still loaded, a pinch-hit grounder for a double play up the middle ended the comeback.
Massachusetts Maritime head baseball coach Bob Corradi gets a smile and a laugh from his coaches and players during a time-out in what was the final game of Coach “C’s” illustrious, 43-year career Saturday in Newport, Rhode Island.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
Salve Regina’s Kyle Pheland notched the win in six innings of work. He allowed seven hits, struck out one and walked four while allowing two runs. Freshman reliever Tommy Seaver picked up his first save of the season. He struck out two and walked four and allowed one run.
Massachusetts Maritime’s Kyle Kennedy took the loss after five innings of work. He struck out one and walked one while allowing eight hits and four runs (three earned). Senior co-captain Zac Cooney (east Bridgewater, Mass.) threw three innings of relief, struck out three and walked none while allowing one hit.
Massachusetts Maritime started the game off with the upper hand, as Terrence Mudie (2-4, HR, RBI/Barnstable, Mass.) singled and then scored on Walsh’s single to right for a 1-0 lead.
That lead held until the bottom of the third inning when Salve Regina’s John Militano reached on an error, stole second base, then advanced to third when Kennedy snared a line drive, turned and threw the ball into centerfield in an attempt to nab Militano at second. Alec Kukich then grounded out to second base to drive Militano in and tie the game at 1-1.
A pair of Salve Regina basehits in the fourth inning made it 2-1.
Mudie tied the ballgame up at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning with his first collegiate home run over the leftfield wall and there appeared to be hope on he near horizon that the 2015 Buccaneer campaign would continue.
But in the bottom of the fifth, things became slightly off-kilter for the Maritime nine as Salve Regina notched a pair of runs on a combination of four hits and a wild pitch that caught the front of the plate and bounced over the backstop.
Mudie and Walsh each went 2-4 with one RBI for the Buccaneers. Salve Regina freshman David Neil (Randolph, Mass.) collected three hits and scored the deciding run as part of Salve Regina’s two-run fifth-inning.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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