BOX SCORE

Reading, Pa. (May 17, 2008) – Senior catcher Dale Curry (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and outfielder Tim Carroll (Bensalem, Pa./Conwell Egan) both hit three-run homers for top-seeded Alvernia College (32-12) and senior closer Andrew Long (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) threw a two and a third inning save to send the Crusaders into the championship final of the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Region baseball tournament with a 7-6 win over #4 Washington & Jefferson (23-17) Saturday afternoon at Alvernia.

The Crusaders, playing their final games on their campus field before next season's move down the street to Angelica Park, went up 6-0 through two innings on the two home runs and added a single run in the third for a 7-0 lead and needed every bit of it to hold off the Presidents.

Carroll led off the game for the Crusaders with a softly hit infield single to short and with Carroll on the move freshman Tim Ahlquist (Millville, N.J./Millville) reached on a catcher's interference. Freshman Chris Stoudt (West Lawn, Pa./Governor Mifflin) moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt and Curry hit a no-doubt home run to left center for the early lead.

Freshman Reid Martin (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) and senior Eric Focht (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) both reached on back-to-back, one-out bunts in the second inning and Carroll smoked a ball over the fence just right of center to double the lead.

Junior James Geosits (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) doubled to start the third, took third on the balk, and scored on a bloop double to center off the bat of Brendan Barry (Franklin Square, N.Y./St. Mary's).

Alvernia freshman Chuck Nicholas (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) went six innings and struck out four, but he also walked four and was hurt by three errors. He stranded a pair in the second inning when W&J had runners at second and third with one out, and left another at third with a double play ball in the fifth.

The sixth started with an error, but after a walk Nicholas had two out with two on. He hit pinch hitter Eric Chimenti (Moon Twp., Pa./OLSH) to load the bases and forced in the first run for the Presidents with a bases loaded walk to the nine-hole hitter. The Crusaders failed to end the inning on back-to-back ground balls up the middle and Nicholas finally ended the inning on a ground ball off his glove the Ahlquist fielded and threw to first.

Nicholas left after six with a 7-3 lead and eventually picked up his ninth win of the season to no losses. He also lowered his team-leading ERA to 0.95.

The Presidents put three more runs on the board in the seventh off freshman reliever Jeremy Hausdorf (Floral Park, N.Y./St. Mary's) on the strength of three base hits. The inning started with a double off the bat of Frank Quirin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and after Michael Kennedy (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) singled in a run Alvernia went to Long for his longest outing of the season.

Long's first pitch got through Curry's mitt for a passed ball allowing W&J to scored its sixth run, but he got Geoff Flowers (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) on a grounder to third stranding Kennedy at third.

Long struck out the side in the eighth and ended the game on a foul pop to Martin sending the Crusaders back to the ECAC Final.

Carroll, Curry, Barry, and Martin all had three hits for the Crusaders with Carroll crossing the plate twice. Carroll and Curry both finished with three RBIs.

#1 Alvernia 7, #4 Washington & Jefferson 6