Brooklyn, NY -- It took a little over six hours, 18 innings, and 40 total runs, but the College of Staten Island took home their 14th CUNY Athletic Conference / Municipal Credit Union Baseball Championship title, knocking off the No. 4 seed and defending-champion Baruch College Bearcats in a twinbill played at MCU Ballpark in Brooklyn, New York, earlier today. The Dolphins, undefeated heading into the final day of the double-elimination tournament dropped the opener, 10-8, to the Bearcats, before bouncing back and earning the title via a 14-8 win in the nightcap. With the split CSI improved to 30-10 overall, while the Bearcats conclude their season at 14-21.
Dramatics and heavy bats were the theme throughout the day, and the opener provided an indication that the CUNYAC Championship would promise to be well-earned no matter who the winner.
"There's nothing sweeter that winning a championship," said second-year CSI head coach Mike Mauro. "The program's going in the right direction, we just earned our 30th win of the year. I think that's hard for the NCAA selection committee to ignore." The Dolphins are seeking an at-large bid to the Division III Championships, when the field is picked in two weeks.
CSI went with starter Nick Tingos, while Baruch, needing two wins to secure the title, sent Jason Valentin on the hill in his first CUNYAC start of the season.
After a scoreless first, the runs came fast and furious. The Bearcats tallied first, plating two runs in their half of the second inning on a two-run single by Jules Alonzo, who was tagged out trying to extend his hit to a double, ending the inning. The Dolphins cut the lead in half during their turn at the plate, when a Devon DiCasoli RBI single scored Matt Oetting, who started the rally earlier in the inning with a two-out walk. CSI left two runners on base, however, three of 12 runners total left on base in game one.
But CSI scored a huge inning in the third, where for the fourth time in the tournament, they posted a 5+ run inning. Pat Gale and Joe Cassano each earned walks to start off the inning, and a Sal Todaro single promptly plated Gale to make it 2-2. Todaro was called out trying to leg his single into a double, but Cassano did advance to third, and scored on a Cory Sullivan single one batter later to give CSI the lead. After Mark Glennerster reached via a fielder’s choice, Matt Oetting stroked an RBI single to score Sullivan. Then, in a bizarre twist, Baruch opted to intentionally walked Steve Hession to load the bases for CSI senior Devon DiCasoli, who came into the day batting a healthy-.415. DiCasoli made the Bearcats pay by lining a two-RBI single through the left side, making it 6-2 Dolphins.
That’s how the game stayed until the fifth inning, when Baruch touched Tingos for another pair of runs. The first run scored without the benefit of a hit, as Alonzo walked with one out, stole second and third and trotted home on an Oetting error on the throw to third base. Two walks later, a Thomas Daly single plated David Chestnut to make it 6-4. Tingos managed to get Richard Melendez to fly out to end the inning with CSI still ahead.
CSI was able to get the two runs back via a single insurance run in both the sixth and seventh innings. A Cassano sac fly did the honors in the sixth while a Hession RBI groundout made it 8-4 in the seventh.
But Baruch refused to go quietly and never gave in. Back-to-back doubles by Melendez and Peter Dinolfo started the inning, and Tingos was lifted for CSI reliever Chris D’Antuono with the score now 8-5. D’Antuono hit a batter, but was able to get out of the inning unscathed, forcing a double-play to eventually end the inning.
Baruch reliever Jason Berliner got CSI down the eighth, setting up for a dramatic ninth inning finish.
Aldo Altamirano, pinch-hitting, was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and a Bejamin Riofrio single put the tying run at the plate for Baruch. Chestnut followed and drilled a shot to deep in the middle infield that shortstop Glennerster was able to knock but not make a play on, loading the bases with no one out. It was then D’Antuono’s turn to answer, and the sophomore closer got Thomas Daly to strike out looking and Melendez to strike out swinging to get to within one out of the championship. That set the stage up for Dinolfo, who hit a towering shot to centerfield that went over the head of a diving Hession, clearing the bases, and tying the score with a triple. Baruch wasn’t done there. John Avona followed with a single that a diving DeWaters could not catch up to, and the Bearcats took a 9-8 lead. After Avona stole second and a walk was issued, Avona then stole third, and came in to score on a wild pitch in what was a five-run, four-hit inning for Baruch. D’Antuono finally got Alonzo to pop out to first base to end the top of the inning.
As the home team, CSI did get their final turn at the plate and weren’t able to go down without a fight. Sullivan led the inning off with a single to right field, but was later out at second via Glennerster's ground-ball fielder’s choice. Oetting then flied out to put two away, but Hession followed with a single to left, and DiCasoli followed that by legging out a deep ground ball to the shortstop for an infield hit, loading the bases. Kellin Bliss then came on in place of Berliner, and Thomas DeWaters was up at the plate. DeWaters worked a full count and was called out on strikes on what he thought was ball four, as he trotted off to first base in vain. The win sent the Bearcats and their fans into frenzy, while the dismayed Dolphins were one loss away from elimination.
After a short break both teams returned for the second game with a winner-take-all mentality. Baruch put senior David Chestnut on the hill, who last pitched against CSI in last Saturday’s tripleheader, when he left the game due to injury in the third inning. CSI sent out lefty James Mardikos. Neither starter was close to having their best stuff, and both were knocked around coming right out of the gate.
Mardikos got out of the first inning 1-2-3, but Chestnut was not as fortunate. DiCasoli started the first inning off with a double, and was plated one batter late on a DeWaters single to make it 1-0. Gale was next, stroking another double and plating DeWaters. Cassano then singled home Gale to make it 3-0. Todaro then singled to move Cassano over, after registering his first out, Chestnut then saw the bases loaded when Glennerster reached on an error. After getting Oetting to strike out, Chestnut then walked both Hession and DiCasoli with the bases-loaded to make it 5-0 CSI. That’s when Chestnut was lifted in favor of David Gega. He got DeWaters out to stop the bleeding but only after the Dolphins assumed control.
But the pitching woes were mutual, as Baruch then proceeded to rip off three runs on Mardikos, the last two coming unearned via a passed ball and a Mardikos error on a failed pick-off attempt.
CSI, however, was determined to build their lead, and did so with a six-run, five-hit second inning to make it 11-3 after just two innings. An Oetting two-RBI double was highlight, while Todaro, Sullivan, DeWaters and Gale all added RBI hits. The barrage also lifted Gega for Berliner, who made another relief appearance in as many games.
"It felt pretty good putting up that 11-spot early on in game two," said CSI freshman third baseman Cory Sullivan, who had 10 hits and scored eight runs in the four Dolphins Tournament games. "It was a great game to end a great tournament for us. We got the prize we werre looking for."
Berliner was the veritable hero from then on for Baruch, settling the Bearcats down and pitching the next three scoreless innings for Baruch. In the meantime, the defending-champs scored single runs in the third and fourth to draw closer at 11-5, as Mardikos was lifted in favor of Casey Mulligan.
After a couple of solid innings of relief, Mulligan also got in trouble, giving up a pair of runs in the sixth on a pair of RBI hits from Altamirano and Chestnut. That lifted Mulligan in favor of Tom Matson, who got CSI out of the jam, but now only nursing an 11-7 lead.
Recognizing the need for insurance, CSI got what it needed. A DeWaters sac fly gave CSI a 12-7 lead after their turn in the sixth, and the Dolphins then finally got to Berliner by plating another two runs in the seventh, this time via an Oetting sac fly and an RBI-double by Hession, scoring Glennerster, giving CSI the 14-7 lead.
With a flair for the dramatic, Baruch started the games ninth inning with a single by Chestnut, who was replaced on the base by Joseph Murray. Murray stole second and was plated by Daly to make it 14-8. But Matson did settle from there, getting Melendez to strike out looking and getting two consecutive ground outs to end the inning and the game, at 14-8.
The Dolphins stormed the field and claimed their medals, lifting the CUNYAC Championship for the second time in the last three years after an exhausting and emotionally and physically draining championship round at MCU Ballpark.
"Our pitching depth was the difference in winning the Tournament," continued Mauro. "We were able to use more arms in game two today than they were. Besides, it's nice to see seniors like DiCasoli and DeWaters go out with a CUNY Championship."
Batting over .680 in the tournament, freshman third baseman Cory Sullivan was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player. He was 5-of-9 on the afternoon with two RBI and three runs scored. The Dolphins had a number of players who were equally outstanding at the plate. DiCasoli went 5-for10 with 4 RBI and two runs scored, while Gale went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI, three runs scored and six walks. As a team, CSI was walked 16 times on the afternoon and scorched four extra base hits. Mulligan was credited with the win, running his record to 4-0 this season.
"It's a nice accomplishment for me," concluded Sullivan. "I've never really been singled out like that before. The best thing for me is it sets the bar for three more years."
For CSI, the season does not end on the CUNYAC Tournament’s final day, as they will await word on a possible ECAC Metro Postseason berth, with draws announced next Sunday, May 9.
BOX SCORE GAME SIX: Baruch 10, Staten Island 8
BOX SCORE GAME SEVEN: Staten Island 14, Baruch 8
2010 CUNYAC Baseball Tournament Schedule/RESULTS
Thursday, April 29
Game 1, 1:00 pm: #1 Staten Island defeats #4 Baruch, 15-5
Game 2, 4:00 pm: #2 John Jay defeats #3 CCNY, 9-8
Friday, April 30
Game 3, 1:00 pm: #4 Baruch defeats #4 CCNY, 8-5 (CCNY is eliminated)
Game 4, 4:00 pm: #1 Staten Island defeats #2 John Jay, 8-5
Game 5, 7:00 pm: #4 Baruch defeats #2 John Jay, 8-2 (JJ is eliminated)
Saturday, May 1
Game 6, 1:00 pm: #4 Baruch defeats #1 Staten Island, 10-8.
Game 7, 4:40 pm: #1 Staten Island defeats #4 Baruch, 14-8 (Baruch is eliminated)