NEWPORT, R.I. — Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 13th inning, Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn.) notched an RBI single to right field to give first-seeded Salve Regina a 6-5 walk-off win over fourth-seeded Endicott on Monday evening in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament at Reynolds Field.
With the win, Salve Regina (25-13) will play No. 3 Western New England (29-13) in the CCC Championship Series from May 11-12. Meanwhile, Endicott (26-16) will now await a potential at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Gulls are currently positioned fourth in the latest NCAA New England Regional rankings.
Endicott forced extras in the top of the ninth with a two-out RBI single by Nickolas Perkins (Nashua, N.H.). Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) got the rally started via a leadoff infield single before Hunter Boyce (Bangor, Maine) dropped down a sacrifice bunt to put DeDonato in scoring position for Perkins.
Andrew Roman (Monson, Mass.) earned the win (2-1) with a clean 13th inning (one strikeout). Cooper Anibal (Bedford, N.H.) was dealt the loss (1-3) via 3 2/3 innings of work, three hits, one run (earned), four walks, and a strikeout.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- DeDonato eclipsed the 200 career hit mark going 3-for-7 with two runs scored.
- DeDonato now has 202 career hits total, and ranks fifth all-time in the category in program history.
- Salve Regina enters the CCC Championship Series as the two-time defending champion.
- Western New England's last CCC title came in 2012.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
