PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Noah Plantamuro drove in a pair of runs as part of a four-run sixth inning to lead the second seed Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 4-2 win over third seed University of Southern Maine in the sixth game of the 2023 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament hosted by Rhode Island College at Pontarelli Field.
Eastern Connecticut is the lone undefeated team remaining in the 2023 LEC Baseball Championship. The Huskies are still alive and will face top-seed Rhode Island College in an elimination game at 9 am on Friday.
THE SERIES:
Today's game marked the 130
th meeting between the University of Southern Maine and Eastern Connecticut State University. The Warriors, ranked 14
th nationally, took two close games against the Huskies in the regular season, 3-2, 2-0, and ECSU leads the overall series 76-54.
THE BASICS:
Records:
No. 3 Southern Maine (18-20)
No. 2 Eastern Connecticut (32-10)
Score: Eastern Connecticut 4, Southern Maine 2
Pitching – Southern Maine vs. Eastern Connecticut – 2023 LEC Championship, Game 6
Winning Pitcher: EC, Dan Driscoll (8-3), 7.0 IP, 9 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher: SM,
Clay Robbins (5-3), 5.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 6 walks, 3 strikeouts
Save: None
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Eastern Connecticut
- After a scoreless five innings, Eastern Connecticut broke through for four runs in the top of the sixth. The Warriors used four hits and a pair of walks to break up the deadlock. Josh Cofranceso and Ray Leonzi led off the inning drawing back-to-back walks before the Warriors strung together four consecutive hits. Brent Cosculluela singled, and Cofranceso nearly scored the first run but the Huskies' defense cut him down at home. However, Plantamur hit a two-run triple to the gap in right to make it 2-0. Zach Donahue and Jason Claiborn followed with an RBI triple and an RBI single for the 4-0 lead.
- The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the ninth when the Huskies began to rally. Down to their last out, the Huskies hit three consecutive extra base hits to score a pair of runs. Freshman Chris Quigley led the rally with a double to the gap in left and then scored on an RBI double from senior Tom Vesosky (Colchester, Vermont). Vesosky scored the Huskies second run as freshman Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) laced a triple to left, but Eastern was able to get the last out of the inning for the 4-2 final.
2023 Little East Conference Tournament Seeds:
- Rhode Island College 28-11 (15-1 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut 30-8 (12-4 LEC)
- Southern Maine 17-19 (12-4 LEC)
- UMass Boston 22-16 (10-6 LEC
- UMass Dartmouth 19-16 (8-8 LEC)
- Castleton 17-20 (6-10 LEC)
2023 LEC Championship Format
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Game 1: No. 1 Rhode Island College vs. No. 6 Castleton – RIC, 10-0 (7 inn)
Game 2: No. 2 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 5 UMass Dartmouth – ECSU, 10-3
Game 3: No. 3 Southern Maine vs. No. 4 UMass Boston – USM, 14-4 (7 inn)
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Game 4: No. 6 Castleton vs. No. 5 UMass Dartmouth – Castleton, 3-2
Game 5: No. 1 Rhode Island College vs. No. 4 UMass Boston – UMass Boston, 9-3
Game 6: No. 2 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 3 Southern Maine – ECSU, 4-2
UMass Dartmouth is eliminated
If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Friday, May 12, 2023
Game 7: No. 1 Rhode Island College vs. No. 3 Southern Maine - 9:00 a.m.
Game 6 Game 8: No. 6 Castleton vs. No. 4 UMass Boston - 11:30 a.m.
Game 5 Game 9: No. 2 Eastern Connecticut vs. Winner Game 7 - 2:00 p.m.
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary: Same teams as Game 10 - 3:00 p.m.
If three teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 3:00 p.m.
-cac-
