Curtis' 10th Inning Single Leads Rams Past Clarkson
#2 Farmingdale State - 2, #7 Clarkson - 1 F/10 Innings
Auburn, N.Y. - Senior first baseman Kevin Curtis (Riverhead, N.Y.) belted a one-out single down the left field line, scoring sophomore designated hitter David Zilnicki (Riverhead, N.Y.) from second base with the winning run as second-seeded Farmingdale State College defeated seventh-ranked Clarkson University, 2-1, in 10 innings last night at the 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Auburn (N.Y.) Regional at Falcon Park.
In the bottom of the seventh, Farmingdale State's Danny DeVito (Plainview, N.Y.) led off the inning with a single to right center. Junior third baseman Ryan McAllister (Miller Place, N.Y.) advanced DeVito to second on a sacrifice bunt before a Frank Yera (Manhattan, N.Y.) groundout moved DeVito to third base. In the Rams next at bat, Zilnicki struck out swinging but reached first on a wild pitch and DeVito scored, giving Farmingdale a 1-0 lead.
Junior shortstop Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, N.Y.) hit a one-out triple to right center for Clarkson in the eighth inning. Two batters later, junior first baseman David Kinney (Mexico, N.Y.) evened the score at 1-1 with an RBI single to center.
In the tenth, freshman left fielder Dan Lenney (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Kinney recorded back-to-back two out singles for Clarkson. Freshman pitcher Chris Dragone (Hicksville, N.Y.) forced the next batter to pop out to shortstop, ending the threat and keeping the game tied at 1-1.
Zilnicki led off the bottom of the tenth with a walk and advanced to second on a Terrence Bohonan (Patchogue, N.Y.) sacrifice bunt. In Farmingdale's next at bat, Curtis hit a walk-off single down the left field line, leading the Rams to victory in their first NCAA Regional game.
Junior Chris Phelan (Patchogue, N.Y.) pitched 7.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out six. Dragone (2-0) earned the victory after pitching a scoreless 10th inning for the Rams. Curtis was 3-for-4 at the plate, while DeVito was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Clarkson was led by Kinney who had three hits and a run batted in.
The contest lasted 3:44, going well past midnight (8:26 p.m. start time) and survived three rain delays (the longest lasting 31 minutes after the second inning).
The Rams (27-15), making their fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance, will face #3 Keystone College in the final winner's bracket game on Thursday, May 19th at 7:45 p.m.
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