Just as the Boston Red Sox were putting the finishing touches on a third consecutive wild card berth this past Sunday, the Boston University club baseball team was busy clinching a playoff spot of its own in the New England Club Baseball Association South Division.
The first-place Terriers (7-1) traveled to Worcester to face The College of the Holy Cross and beat them soundly and quickly, 7-3. Holy Cross is in second place in the division, but was no match for BU’s offense, which scored in five of the seven innings.
“Everyone was having good at-bats,” said senior captain Nando Trindade. “We were swinging at good pitches and taking the walks.”
In the first inning, Craig O’Connell (3-for-4, 3 RBI) pounded a two-run double to give the Terriers an early 2-0 lead. O’Connell’s hit scored Mike Carozza (2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI) and Kevin Scheitrum (1-for-3, 2 runs). Carozza reached first on an error while Scheitrum, who is also sports editor of The Daily Free Press, reached on an infield single.
After a scoreless half inning for the Crusaders, BU came right back for another run in the second. Alex Lambert led off the second with a single and scored when Carozza got a base hit. The Terriers would have had another run, but O’Connell had to stop at second base on a hit that rolled through a gap in the fence for a ground-rule double. Even though this was unavoidable, there were times when the team missed opportunities to pile on more runs.
“We are having a problem with getting the two-out hit,” Trindade said. “Fortunately, we are still hitting well, so we are not too concerned about it right now.”
Holy Cross plated two runs in the second inning to narrow the deficit to 3-2. But two walks offered up by Crusader pitching allowed BU to answer right back in the top of the third. Dan Piorkowski and Mike Walker each walked, and Lambert drove in Piorkowski on a ground out.
With a 4-3 lead going into the sixth, the Terriers tacked on three more runs to seal the victory. Lambert and Carozza led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Scheitrum walked to load the bases. Brad Gerbus drove in Lambert with an infield hit, and Carozza scored, thanks to an infield error on a Trindade grounder. In the seventh, Walker doubled and scored on Carozza’s second hit of the game. BU turned in an excellent defensive performance, with three infield double plays.
“The defense definitely helped,” Trindade said. “Holy Cross could have easily made the game difficult for us without those plays.”
Starting pitcher Jon Koonin went five innings, giving up six hits and five walks while striking out one. Koonin started off the sixth, but allowed two Crusaders to reach base without recording an out.
Quinn Duffy entered the game in relief for Koonin and pitched masterfully, allowing just one hit in two innings after stringing out a save in the team’s last game against the University of New England, loading the bases and allowing UNE to sniff the lead.
“It was great to see him come in there and do what he can do,” Trindade said. “He had some trouble with his control last weekend, but he was solid for us this time.”
The Terriers have two games against Holy Cross next weekend and need to beat them at least once to clinch first place in their division. In order to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs, BU must win the pair.
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