CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The second-seeded and No. 1 ranked Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team captured its fifth NCAA Division III Baseball National Championship after twice defeating fourth-seeded Salisbury University Tuesday by final scores of 11-6 and 3-2 in the best-of-three championship series. It’s the Warriors third national title win as a member of the Little East Conference, and its first since capturing the 2002 national championship crown.
FAST FACTS
- Eastern Connecticut Final Record: 49-3
- Eastern Connecticut National Championships: 1982, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2022
- Eastern Connecticut 2022 NCAA Tournament Record: 10-0
- Little East Conference DIII Baseball National Champions: Eastern Connecticut (1998, 2002, 2022), Southern Maine (1997)
- The Little East Conference first sponsored baseball as a conference sport in 1997
- Salisbury Final Record: 39-12
- Salisbury 2022 NCAA Tournament Record: 9-4
- Salisbury national ranking: No. 7 (D3baseball.com), No. 11 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper)
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Eastern first baseman Josh Tower was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball College World Series after batting .474 (9-19) with eight RBI and six runs scored over the Warriors’ five CWS wins, which saw him go 6-for-8 with a double, six RBI and four runs scored in today’s sweep of the Sea Gulls. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Eastern starting pitchers Bryan Albee and Billy Oldham, shortstop Zach Donahue, and designated hitter Jack Rich.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors never trailed in the opening game of the series, which saw them score 11 runs on 18 hits. John Mesagno’s RBI-double in the top of the first plated Ryan Bagdasarian to open the scoring in the game. A pair of RBI-singles from Donahue coupled with RBI-singles from Bagdasarian and Tower and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Jason Claiborn grew the Eastern lead to 6-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth.
Salisbury got back into the game in the bottom of the fifth frame with three runs, trimming Eastern’s lead to 6-4. Kavi Caster drove in two runners with his double to left before heading home himself on Jacob Ference’s sacrifice fly.
That was as close as the Sea Gulls would get the rest of the game as the Warriors scored three runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth to pull away. Tower drove in four of those runs, plating two in the seventh with his double to left and pushing two more runs across in the eight with a single to left. He also scored a run in the seventh on Claiborn’s single to right.
Albee improved to 12-0 on the hill for Eastern after allowing four runs on 10 hits while striking out five over his six innings of work. Jack Wallace did not allow a hit over the final two innings of the contest for the Warriors.
It was Salisbury that scored first in the nightcap, putting runners on first and third with one out in the top of the second before Zach Geesaman singled to right to plate Ben Anderson and advance Scott Cameron to third. The scoring threat was short lived as Oldham got Luke Weddell to ground into a six-four-three double play to end the inning.
The Sea Gulls had another chance to pull away the following frame, loading the bases with two outs in the inning before Oldham got Anderson to fly out to Claiborn in right for the third out.
Eastern went on to score all three of its runs in the bottom of the fifth after loaded the bases with one away. Rich headed home from third as Donahue grounded out to shortstop to knot the score at 1-1. Claiborn and Tower were both left in scoring position on that play, and would score on Bagdadsarian’s single to the gap in left.
The Sea Gulls pulled back within one in the top of the seventh as pinch-hitter Mitchell Wentzlaff drove in Weddell from third with his one-out single to right. That same play saw Cameron Hyder throw out trying to go from first to third for the second out of the inning, and Caster’s fly out to Bagdasarian in center capped the frame.
That would be the last scoring threat of the game for Salisbury, as Tommy Benincaso recorded three quick outs in the eighth and ninth innings to seal the win and secure the national championship for Eastern.
Oldham improved to 12-2 on the hill after allowing two runs on four hits and four walks while fanning six over his 6.1 innings of work. Benincaso notched his second save of the year after yielding two hits while striking out three batters over the final 2.2 innings.
Jimmy Adkins took the loss on the mound in the opener for the Sea Gulls after getting roughed up for six runs on 11 hits and two walks in 4.1 innings, dropping his record to 7-2. Benji Thalheimer took the loss in the second game after giving up three runs on six hits and a pair of walks over six innings, dropping his record to 7-1.
