BUZZARDS BAY — On April 14th, the Massachusetts Maritime baseball team found itself in the middle of the pack of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference standings after splitting a doubleheader with rival Bridgewater State.
The Massachusetts Maritime baseball team is set to host its first-ever collegiate baseball championship tournament series starting Friday, May 1 and playing throughout the weekend.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
But just 10 days later, and after sweeps of MCLA, Framingham State (on an improbable two out, two strike, three-run homer) and Westfield State, the Buccaneers found themselves basking in the glow of their first league championship in 33 years. And tomorrow, they will prepare to host the conference tournament for the first time in school history on their beloved Commodore Hendy Field.
Head Coach Bob Corradi has captured lightning in a bottle in the waning days of his glorious 43-year tenure, as Massachusetts Maritime has earned the top seed in the 2015 MASCAC Championships that begin in earnest Friday with double elimination play. The Buccaneers, who finished regular season play at 17-10 overall, shared the conference regular season crown with both Salem State and Worcester State in posting identical 10-4 marks, but last week’s sweeps of Framingham State and Westfield State provided Corradi’s crew with the tiebreaker that has made Buzzards Bay a choice destination for diamond fanatics this weekend.
Massachusetts Maritime will begin its quest for the MASCAC tournament title and the first NCAA championship berth in school history (in any sport) Friday afternoon by hosting fourth-seeded Framingham State in second round action at Hendy Field beginning at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Friday’s other second round match-up will take place on Salem State’s Alumni Field at 3:30 p.m. EDT, as the host Vikings will tangle with third-seeded Worcester State.
Saturday will be a busy day along the banks of Buttermilk Bay, as Friday’s losers will meet in an elimination game to start the action at 9:30 a.m. EDT, followed by the winner’s bracket game at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The day concludes with the winner of Saturday’s first game taking on the winner’s bracket loser at 3:30 p.m. EDT, and the winner of the final May 2nd game advances to take on the tournament’s undefeated squad on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. EDT for the 2015 MASCAC championship. If necessary, a second championship game will be played 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first contest.
You have to go all the way back to 1982 to find the last Massachusetts Maritime squad that captured a regular season title, as Corradi guided the Buccaneers to a school record 28 victories that spring as well as the ECAC New England championship in his 10th season at the helm. Now nearly two full generations later, a new group of Bucs is looking to continue to write a storybook ending that even Hollywood couldn’t have fathomed a few short weeks ago.
Logan Sullo arrives home safely to his teammates’ delight.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
Freshman Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass./Bishop Stang), who was named yesterday as the 2015 MASCAC Player & Rookie of the Year, paces Massachusetts Maritime at the plate with a .492 batting average that includes eight doubles, six triples, two homers and 18 RBI. Sullo has recorded a whopping .905 slugging percentage to go with a .582 on-base percentage, as he earned league Player of the Week honors twice during the regular season while amassing four Rookie of the Week accolades.
Fellow freshman Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass./Pope John Paul II) at a .316 clip with 25 hits and 11 RBI, while senior Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) and junior Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass./Barnstable) each batted .297 during the regular season. Rosano earned all-MASCAC honors for the third straight season at shortstop for the Buccaneers, as he scored 26 runs and stole 14 bases, while Walsh chipped in with 22 hits. Senior Greg Downs (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), named yesterday as the first-team all-MASCAC first baseman, batted .295 with eight doubles, a triple, two homers and 15 RBI for Massachusetts Maritime in 26 contests.
Junior lefthander Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) ranked among the conference leaders in wins during the regular season, as the second-team all-MASCAC performer was 6-2 with a 2.81 earned run average in nine appearances (eight starts) and recorded 42 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings pitched to date. Fellow junior Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn./Nonnewaug) earned all-conference accolades for a second straight campaign, as he posted a 3-1 mark with a 1.91 ERA and four saves to go while holding opponents to a .215 batting average in 13 appearances. Junior Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and sophomore Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass./Blackstone Valley) combined for a 6-1 record and 46 strikeouts for the Buccaneers, while senior Zac Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) tied for the conference lead with six saves and struck out 41 in 34 2/3 innings of work for Corradi, who was voted by his peers as the MASCAC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career yesterday.
Framingham State enters Friday’s second round clash with an overall mark of 25-16 under second year Head Coach Michael Gedman, as the Rams finished 7-7 in MASCAC play and advanced to the double elimination format of the tournament with a 5-1 victory over fifth-seeded Westfield State earlier today at the New England Baseball Complex in Northboro, Mass. Senior Mark Mainini (Hull, Mass./Hull) paces Framingham State at the plate with a .384 batting average that includes 13 doubles, a triple, three homers and 25 RBI, while fellow senior Billy Derosier (Shrewsbury, Mass./Holy Name) follows at .365 with 11 doubles, 11 homers and 38 RBI. Senior Zack Kirby (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester) earned MASCAC Pitcher of the Year accolades this spring for the Rams, as he has posted a 6-2 mark with three shutouts while striking out 99 batters in 76 innings pitched.
The 2015 MASCAC tournament champion will earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championships and a spot in the New England Regional, which begins on Wednesday, May 13th at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Mass.
2015 MASCAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 30 – Single Elimination Round
Game #1: #4 Framingham State 5, #5 Westfield State 1
Game #2: #3 Worcester State 7, #6 Fitchburg State 1
Friday, May 1 – Second Round/Start of Double Elimination Format
Game #3: #4 Framingham State (25-16) at #1 Massachusetts Maritime (17-10) 3:00 pm
Game #4: #3 Worcester State (24-14) at #2 Salem State (22-12) 3:30 pm
Saturday, May 2 – Semifinal Round
Game #5: Game #3 Loser vs. Game #4 Loser 9:30 am
Game #6: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #4 Winner 12:30 pm
Game #7: Game #5 Winner vs. Game #6 Loser 3:30 pm
Sunday, May 3 – Championship Round
Game #8: Game #6 Winner vs. Game #7 Winner 11:00 am
Game #9: Game #6 Winner vs. Game #7 Winner (if necessary) 30 min. after
— Massachusetts Maritime Academy Director of Sports Information Jim Seavey provided this report. Edited by Capecod.com Sports Editor Sean Walsh
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