No. 1 Castleton Eliminates No. 2 Elms College From NAC Baseball Tournament
NO. 1 CASTLETON ELIMINATES
NO. 2 ELMS COLLEGE
FROM NORTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
CHICOPEE, MA, May 3, 2008 - Castleton senior second baseman Brian Polcare (Saratoga, NY) and senior shortstop Anthony Dipietrantonio (Yorktown Heights, NY) delivered clutch two-run hits in the seventh and eighth innings to help the top-seeded Spartans rally for an 8-6 win over second-seeded Elms College in an elimination game of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Baseball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Szot Park.
With the win, the Spartans (19-18) advance to Saturday night's 9:00 p.m. elimination game to face the loser of the No. 3 Thomas/No. 4 Husson game.
Elms College, which was making its first appearance in the NAC Tournament, finished 12-20.
Trailing 3-0 in the sixth, the Spartans chipped away with two runs in the sixth on junior catcher Kyle Brooks' (Charlotte, VT) two-run single down the left field line.
Castleton then completed its comeback with three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, including Polcare's two-run single through the left side in the seventh, and Dipietrantonio's two-run double to left center field in the eighth.
Junior pitcher Rob Turner (Rutland, VT) allowed just two earned runs on seven hits in 6.0 solid innings en route to a no-decision for the Spartans.
Sophomore pitcher Mike Bieber (Wading River, NY) was also solid in his 6.0 innings of work for the Blazers, as he yielded just four earned runs on seven hits of a no-decision.
Junior right fielder Nick Mackowiak (Dudley, MA) delivered a first-inning RBI infield single, senior center fielder Joe Ferry (Palmer, MA) followed with a RBI triple in the second and freshman shortstop Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, MA) added a RBI infield single to help the Blazers jump out to a quick 3-0 lead.
Ferry finished 3 for 4 with two runs scored, while freshman left fielder Bob Reyome (Westfield, MA) went 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the loss.
Polcare, Brooks and sophomore first baseman Ted Mills (Stockbridge, VT) had a pair of hits each for the Spartans.