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The second-seeded Oswego State baseball team used a passed ball with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie with seventh-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University in its first game of the 2016 NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament Wednesday night at the Eastern Baseball Stadium. Eastern Connecticut stranded the tying run on third in the top of the ninth inning as Mikey Putillo picked up his fourth save of the season – three of which have come in the postseason – as the Lakers posted a 3-2 victory.
Oswego (33-9) advances to meet third-seeded Tufts University on Thursday in a winner's bracket game at 7:45 p.m. while Eastern (23-18) plays an elimination game against No. 6 Mitchell College at 1:15 p.m.
Eastern freshman righty Jordan Muchin and Oswego sophomore righty Robert Donnelly were locked in a pitcher's duel. Muchin allowed only four singles through seven innings, walking two and striking out one.
Donnelly, who had a remarkable five assists and two putouts among the first 13 outs of the game, gave up only six hits before departing with runners on the corners and two out in the eighth. In that eighth inning, a fielding error on a strikeout allowed D.J. Scavone to reach for Eastern and move Alexander White to third with two out, but Andrew Morano got a fly ball to deep center field after taking over for Donnelly to keep the score tied after eight. Althought Morano threw just two pitches, the junior picked up the triumph in relief.
Muchin was lifted after Eric Hamilton singled leading off the eighth, but on Nick Rascati's first pitch to Myles Kutscher, catcher Tim Budd threw out the runner attempting to steal. Kutscher and John Barnes then singled on each side of a deep fly to left by Jordan Giller, and Rascati lost Zach Kollar on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases with two out in a tie game, and was replaced by closer Sam Kosterich.
Kosterich, who appeared in all four of the team's Little East Conference tournament games and earned saves in the final three contests of that tournament, got two quick strikes on Eli Holton, but the third pitch glanced off the glove of Budd and Kutscher scored easily when Budd couldn't retrieve it cleanly to give Oswego a 3-2 lead.
Starting the ninth inning, Oswego closer Mickey Putillo walked Budd to open the inning. Pinch runner Ryan Hood was bunted into scoring position by Christian Budzik, but Putillo got a comebacker for the second out and a ground ball to second to end the game.
Trailing 1-0, Eastern went ahead with two runs in the fourth, scoring with two out on Alex Parkos' single to right-center on a 0-2 pitch. Both runs were unearned. The Lakers tied the game in the fifth with an unearned run on a leadoff walk to John Barnes, an infield error, sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly from Alex Brown.
