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Championship Central

#1 CSI - 13 vs. #2 Baruch - 5

It might not have been as exciting as last year, and that's exactly how the Staten Island Dolphins wanted it, brushing aside Baruch 13-5 in this years finals. It was an all around team effort behind the play of Glenn Glennerster, who was also named tournament MVP. His effort is what really propelled Staten Island to not only an early lead but also to a back-to-back championship.

"Last year really taught us a lot, number 1, you never give up and number 2, we had a great group of guys that knew what it takes to get here, and we were the number one seed and everybody is out to get us. We saw everybody's best pitchers, it wasn't easy, and they were able to come through and put runs on the board and bring home a championship, I couldn't be more proud of my guys." said coach Michael Mauro from the Staten Island Dolphins.

This year's championship went through a two day rain delay due to poor weather at the College of Staten Island but that did not stop MVP Glenn Glennerster and the rest of the team from staying sharp and putting runs on the board, and eventually another championship. "We did a lot of work in the cages, and the rain stopped us but we had to get our work in, and we knew we had one job and that was to finish everything today, after the comeback last year, and the comeback yesterday, we know we just want to beat Baruch, and that's what we've done. This year as a whole has been incredible, and I can't explain the feeling."

Both Baruch pitcher Ryan Smith and Staten Island pitcher Ryan Kennedy started out Game 1 of the championship game very strong. In the top of the 3rd inning Baruch John Paul Cattaro started off the inning with a double that barely stayed fair down the right field line. The following batter, LF Nicholas Calabrese laid down a bunt that advanced Cattaro to third base and later scored off a sacrifice fly ball to center field giving Baruch a 1-0 lead.

However, Staten Island did not take long to retaliate, starting off the bottom of the 3rd inning with a double from the Josh Mercado, followed up with a single from Robert Drake. Mercado scored after Frank Sconzo hit into a 6-4-3 double play to tie the game up at 1-1 after 3 full innings. Again in the bottom of the 4th inning, Staten Islands bats kept the hits coming. Leadoff batter Joe Palmeri hit a double into right-center. The next batter, Frank Smith reached first base on an error by the 2nd baseman and also advanced Palmeri to third base. Glenn Glennerster hit a stand up bases clearing double that drove in 2 runs. The Dolphins were not ready to finish off the inning there though. 3rd baseman Anthony DiMarco doubled, and brought Glennerster home. Josh Mercado reached first base on an error from the 3rd baseman, which sent DiMarco to third base and later scored off a single by Robert Drake, giving the Dolphins a 5-1 lead.

Baruch's bats came alive in the top of the 5th inning, with a leadoff single from Nicholas Calabrese, followed by a single from both Altamirano and McGroarty, who grounded into a fielder's choice leaving men on 2nd and 3rd for 1B Jasdeep Buttar who hit a RBI double down the 1st base line. Edwin St. Hilaire reached first base on a missed tag by the first baseman that scored Altamirano, followed by an RBI single by 2nd baseman Matthew Ballone that scored McGroarty, to make the score 5-4 in favor of CSI heading into the bottom of the 5th inning.

The Dolphins continued to hit the ball as Joe Palmeri singled to lead off the inning. Frank Smith doubled to put men on 2nd and 3rd, before LF Glennerster hit a sacrifice fly ball to the right fielder to score Palmeri before the end of the inning to make it 6-4 Dolphin, and they kept the momentum on their side with 3 straight outs in the top half of the sixth.

In the bottom of the 6th the Dolphin's offense continued to produce as 3rd baseman Anthony DiMarco started the inning with a walk, and advanced to 2nd base on a bunt by Mercado and later scored with a single from Drake. Sconzo hit a single into right field, giving Staten Island men on 1st and 2nd, when they executed a double steal to move both runners to 2nd and 3rd. Palmeri hit a sacrifice fly ball to centerfield to score Drake and give the Dolphins the 8-4 advantage heading into the top of the 7th inning.

Bottom of the 7th and 8th inning were not much different as Staten Island could not be stopped Francis Munez doubled to left field to start the bottom half of the 7th, and was driven home by an RBI single from Anthony DiMarco. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Drake started off with a walk, and advanced to 2nd base after an error by the of a hit by C Sconzo. Delprete advanced both runners after another error by the loading up the bases with no outs. Palmeri hit an RBI sacrifice fly ball to center field to score Drake. Pinch hitter Phil Ciprello reached 1st base on an error by the and pinch hitter Greg Manassa hit an RBI double to score 2 additional runs. Francis Munez also hit a sacrifice flyball to left field that scored Ciprello, giving the Dolphins a 13-4 lead, before eventually winning the championship 13-5.