BOX SCORE
Boyertown, PA (May 17, 2006) – In a game of firsts, Kean senior Keith Edgar (Carteret, N.J.) smacked the first two home runs of his career as the third-seeded Cougars posted three runs in the bottom of the ninth to top #6 Alvernia College, 6-5 in game three of the 2006 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at Bear Stadium Wednesday afternoon.
Edgar tomahawked a letter-high, 0-2 pitch over the rightfield fence in the fourth inning to give the Cougars (30-15) a 3-0 lead and hit a two-run homer to left center with one out in the ninth to tie the score at 5-all. Sophomore Eric Ammirata (Hamilton, N.J.) delivered a two-out single to the right center gap to plate Mark Blevins (Edison, N.J.) with the game-winner giving the Cougars their first NCAA Regional Tournament victory.
Kean advances to the winners bracket and will face upset-winner Frostburg St. on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Alvernia will move to the losers bracket and face Montclair St. in the tournament’s first elimination game Thursday morning at 9:30.
Kean sophomore Ryan Clark (Livingston, N.J.) led off the home half of the first inning reaching on a single and the Cougars loaded the bases with no one out. Clark scored on a double play ball off the bat of Mike Shymanski (Edison, N.J.) and Alvernia starter Jason Zeigler (Shillington, Pa.) limited the damage getting a fly ball to left to end the inning.
The Cougars scored a single run in the second with a leadoff double and back-to-back sacrifice bunts, and pushed the lead to 3-0 on Edgar’s fourth-inning home run.
Kean starter Joe Augustine (Highland Park, N.J.) held the Crusaders offense, the top-hitting team in Division III, to just two hits over the first five innings, but the bats came to life in the sixth. Sophomore Edwin Tavarez (Reading, Pa.) led off with a single and Augustine retired the next two. With two down Eric Bonds (Lancaster, Pa.) and Zeigler both singled with the later plating the Crusaders’ first run. Junior transfer Chris Raniere (Manalapan, N.J.) smoked a double off the wall in leftfield to plate Bonds and Steve Burdan’s (Pottstown, Pa.) single to center brought home Zeigler and Raniere as the Crusader grabbed a 4-3 lead.
Zeigler, recharged by his team’s comeback, set down the Cougars in order in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, and the Alvernia offense scored an unearned run in the top of the ninth. Senior catcher Dan Myers (Mount Joy, Pa.) singled with two out and Tavarez followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Myers scored on a passed ball and Tavarez made it all the way to third when the catcher’s throw bounced off the collision of Myers and Augustine at the plate. Tim Carroll (Bensalem, Pa.) walked to put two on and Zach Lutz (Mohnton, Pa.), who missed most of the game with a hip injury, grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Zeigler retired Perry Schatzow (Ocean, N.J.), his 12th straight, before allowing a walk to Derek Gianakas (Edison, N.J.) in front of Edgar’s home run. Blevins hit a fly ball down the rightfield line with one out that Ryan Zimmerman (Breinigsville, Pa.) couldn’t come up with and Andrew Long (Pottstown, Pa.) came in to relieve Zeigler. Long got Clark on a fly ball to Zimmerman before Ammirata’s cutting line drive found room in the gap.
#3 Kean 6, #6 Alvernia 5
