PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Bryan Bessler (Everett, Mass.) singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday evening and second-seeded Johnson & Wales University went on to a 7-6 victory over third-seeded Lasell Univerity in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament elimination game at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.
After three lead changes in the first three innings, Lasell was forced to battle back from a 6-3 deficit. The Lasers plated single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to deadlock the score at 6-all, but the Wildcats regained the lead in the eighth on a leadoff double by senior Joe Maracic (Syosset, N.Y.) and Bessler's clutch RBI single to right center. The Lasers put the tying run on base in the top of the ninth inning but couldn't push it across the plate and JWU held on for the win.
The Wildcats, 10-13, advance to a best-2-out-of-3 championship series this weekend against top-seeded Anna Maria College (18-8), which will take place Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass. The Amcats advanced with a 6-2 victory Thursday over fourth-seeded Albertus Magnus College. The Lasers wind up their season at 8-19 overall.
Thursday's outcome spoiled a strong relief pitching performance by Lasell freshman CJ Mills (Waltham, Mass.), who pitched five innings and allowed just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out nine. He did not allow a hit in his first four innings of work while Lasell was making its comeback.
Senior Wyatt Sihvonen (Lebanon, Conn.) collected two hits and scored two runs to lead the Lasell hitters. Graduate student Joe Sullivan (Sandwich, Mass.) clouted his fourth home run of the season and the eighth of his career, setting the Lasell career record for home runs, bettering the mark of seven by Conor Cavanagh (2009-12).
Lasell struck early with a first-inning run as Sihvonen and senior Charlie Danaher (Guilford, Conn.) led off with back to back singles and Sihvonen scored on an infield groundout. JWU answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single by Maracic.
The Lasers regained the lead in the top of the second when senior Brian Cipolla (Cranston, R.I.) laced an RBI double to left field and later came home on a passed ball. The Lasell lead lasted just one inning until the Wildcats put four runs on the board in the bottom of the third, the big blow coming on a three-run home run by senior Kevin Duffy (Levittown, N.Y.).
Lasell did not go down without a fight, battling back to tie the game on a fourth-inning RBI single by senior Justin Banks (Corona, Calif.), Sullivan's leadoff homer to right in the sixth, and an unearned run in the seventh. But the Laser comeback fell short when JWU scored the game-winning run in the eighth.
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