Box Score NORWICH, Conn. – James Cooksey pitched a complete game two hitter, allowing just one run, and the Sacred Heart baseball team put together three runs in the top of the ninth inning, capped by Cody Doyle's go ahead two run double with the bases loaded, for a 3-1 comeback win against Wagner in the opening round of the Northeast Conference baseball tournament at Dodd Stadium on Thursday afternoon. The third seeded Pioneers move on to face four seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the winner's bracket game tomorrow at 4 pm, improving their record to 21-29-1.
Wagner starter Nolan Long was cruising through the first eight frames, giving up just three hits and producing five 1-2-3 innings, before the decisive ninth. It was Jesus Medina's lead off single up the middle that started it all. Zack Short then tied the game with a double off the left field fence, scoring Medina and putting an end to Long's day. Steven Bloodworth walked the first batter he faced, Victor Sorrento, before a wild pitch put runners on second and third. He would comeback to strikeout the next hitter he faced though, setting up the decision for Wagner to intentionally walk PJ DeFilippo and bring Doyle to the plate. The freshman came through with the double down the left field line, bringing in Short and Sorrento to give Sacred Heart the 3-1 lead. SHU had an opportunity to add more, but DeFilippo was thrown out at the plate on a Keaton Flint grounder and Kenny Byram was narrowly thrown out on a spectacular one-handed play by third baseman Sean Mazzio on a bunt.
Cooksey did allow his second base hit of the day, a one out single by Ben Ruta, but retired the next two hitters on a pop up and ground out to put an ending the comeback. It capped an effort in which the junior had six 1-2-3 innings, walked just two batters, struck out five, and threw 97 pitches. His lone blemish came in the fourth inning when Trey Nicosia led off with a bloop single into right field. A walk and groundout then moved the runners to second and third, leading to the decision to walk Nick Dini and load the bases for Tommy Mazurkiewicz. The first baseman popped up to shallow right, which proved to be deep enough as Ted Shaw back tracked back to make an over the shoulder catch but could not turn around and put full momentum into his throw home. The only other occurrence in which a Seahawk got into scoring position came in the fifth after an error allowed the leadoff man to reach. He was sacrificed to second, but Cooksey stranded him there by retiring the next two batters, which included a groundout in which Sorrento made a spectacular pick.
SHU had two opportunities to take an early lead. The first came in the third, when Doyle led off with a walk and Flint singled. Byram executed a sacrifice bunt with two strikes to move both runners up, but Doyle was thrown out at home by the shortstop in the next at bat. Long then escaped his first jam with a fly out to center. In the fourth, Sorrento and Shaw singled back-to-back with one out. Once again, Long buckled down, inducing a fly out before he struck out the next batter to end the inning.
In a game that lasted just an hour and 58 minutes, Long ended with a final line of eight plus innings pitched, giving up two earned on five hits. He walked one and hit another while striking out two. The second seeded Seahawks fall to 27-22-1 and will now look to stave off elimination in the double elimination tournament tomorrow against regular season champion and first seeded Bryant, who fell to Fairleigh Dickinson 7-2 in the opening game of the tournament.
Tournament Notes
Sacred Heart is now 8-1 all-time in it's opening game of the NEC Tournament.
SHU is 4-0 all-time against Wagner in the NEC Tournament.
