MADISON, NJ - After building a 10-1 lead after six innings of play, the top-seeded College at Florham Devils had to withstand a furious rally by eighth-seeded Ramapo before taking a 13-11 decision in the Quarterfinals of the ECAC Metro Region Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
With the win, the Devils improved to 32-10 and now hold the school record for wins in a single season. Ramapo finished their season with a record of 20-18.
The Devils started the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run single by senior catcher
Marc Hubbert (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Boro). Ramapo cut it to 2-1 in the top of the second but the Devils plated two in their half of the inning thanks to a RBI triple by sophomore shortstop
Steve Seminerio (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) and a RBI double by sophomore outfielder
Matt Joiner (Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham). FDU tacked on a run apiece in the third and fourth innings on RBI singles by senior second baseman
Chris Baldino (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) and senior third baseman
Joey Santillo (Budd Lake, NJ/Mt. Olive). The Devils thought they had blown the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI single by Joiner, a two-run single by senior designated hitter
Greg Geran (Brick, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) and a RBI single by Hubbert. The Roadrunners didn't quit though, as they plated seven runs in the top of the seventh to pull to within 10-8 before adding another run in the top of the eighth to make it 10-9. FDU added three important insurance runs in the bottom of the eight inning to take a 13-9 advantage on a RBI single by sophomore first baseman
Ryan Fandel (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) and a two-run single by freshman outfielder
Nick Core (Gloucester, NJ/Gloucester Catholic). Ramapo still wasn't done though, as they put a major scare into the Devils by scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to make it 13-11and they had runners on first and third with two outs but sophomore pitcher
Chris Laudati (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearly) got FDU out of the jam and on to the Semifinals.
Geran finished the game 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI while Joiner went 3-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases, two runs scored and two RBI. Seminerio was 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a stolen base, three runs scored and a RBI while Hubbert went 2-for-3 with a runs scored and three RBI.
Junior pitcher
Brandon Smith (Burlington, NJ/Pennington Prep) picked up the win, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits.
The Devils return to action on Saturday, May 15, 2010, at home in the Semifinals of the ECAC Metro Region Tournament against fourth-seeded Stevens beginning at 1 pm. The other Semifinal game between seventh-seeded Rutgers-Camden and sixth-seeded Stockton will be played at Rutgers-Camden beginning at 11 am