CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Top-seeded Salve Regina University overcame an early deficit to defeat the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team by a 12-3 score in the championship round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Cortland N.Y. Regional Sunday afternoon at Robert H. Wallace '53 Field on the campus of SUNY Cortland.
The loss ends the Presidents' season at 34-14. Salve Regina, ranked eighth in the most recent D3baseball.com Top 25 poll, improves to 36-8 overall. The Seahawks now advance to the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.
The Presidents jumped out to an early lead behind a pair of first inning home runs to take a 3-0 lead. Junior outfielder
Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./North Hills) opened the scoring with a solo home run over the right field fence. The home run, on the first pitch of the at bat, was the 10th of the season for Garth.
Following a two-out single by junior outfielder
Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/The Wellington School), freshman
Brian Feldman (Gibsonia, Pa./Eden Christian Academy) launched a home run of his own over the right field fence. The home run was the third of the season and second in as many days for Feldman. Salve Regina put its first two runners on, but freshman pitcher
Bobby Budacki (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton Area) escaped unscathed.
Salve evened the score with three runs in the third inning. The Seahawks took advantage of extra life after a foul pop up fell in, Christian Homa singled and scored two batters later when Tyler Cannoe smacked a home run over the left center field fence. The home run was the first hit of the regional for Cannoe.
The Seahawks took their first lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. A hit by pitch and an error aided Salve in scoring a pair of runs. With a pair of runners on, a bunt single by Brandon Grover loaded the bases with no outs. A pair of productive infield ground outs pushed both runs across for the Seahawks to make it 5-3.
W&J missed chances in both the fifth and sixth innings to score. The Presidents put a pair of runners on base in the fifth with consecutive singles by sophomore
Luke Alvarez (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and sophomore
Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington). However, a strikeout and caught stealing on a 3-2 pitch thwarted the Presidents' efforts to cut into the deficit.
Garth led off the top of the sixth inning with a single but was then picked off first base. Another W&J error on a potential inning-ending double play stretched Salve's advantage to 6-3 after six innings.
Salve added four more insurance runs on a pair of wild pitches, two walks and an error in the seventh inning. Those runs put the game out of reach at 10-3.
W&J put the first two runners on base, but the next three batters were retired in order to end the top of the eighth. Salve added two solo home runs, including another by Cannoe, in the bottom of the eighth to close the scoring at 12-3.
Sophomore pitcher
Nate Nolan (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) suffered the loss in relief. Nolan allowed three runs (one earned) in 2.1 innings of work.
Garth and Alvarez finished with two hits apiece in the loss.
The W&J senior class finishes their four-year run with a 140-41 overall record. The Presidents compiled an 83-10 regular season conference record and 81-15 mark at Ross Memorial Park. W&J won four PAC Championships and made appearances in four NCAA Regionals.
Notes: Earning spots on the All-Tournament Team were junior pitcher
Ethan Marszalek (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes, junior pitcher
Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and Garth. Marszalek and DiMatteo both pitched W&J into Sunday's championship round with complete game efforts in a pair of elimination game wins Saturday. Garth finished the regional by going 9-for-17 at the plate with three extra base hits. Garth went 4-for-4 in W&J's 3-1 win Saturday over host Cortland.
W&J was making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Presidents have won at least one game in 10 of the 11 NCAA Tournaments they have participated in. W&J has now advanced to the championship round of NCAA regionals four times in program history.
