NORWICH, Conn. - A Sacred Heart pitcher threw a complete game for the third-consecutive game as the Pioneers defeated the Monmouth University baseball team, 5-1, to win their second-straight Northeast Conference Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon at Dodd Stadium. Kody Kerski went the distance for Sacred Heart, limiting the Hawks to one run on five hits and two walks. Sacred Heart (25-30) now advances to the NCAA Tournament, while the Hawks end their season at 35-23.
Monmouth completed its fourth 20-win season in NEC play this season. The Hawks won 30 games overall for the second-straight year and the eighth time under Head Coach Dean Ehehalt. The Hawks' 35 wins in 2012 are two shy of the program record of 37, established in 2008.
For their contributions in the tournament, Pat Light (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) and Jake Gronsky (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) were named to the NEC All-Tournament Team.
Chris Perret (Morris Plains, N.J./Morris Catholic) had two hits to lead the Hawks' offense. Gronsky, Danny Avella (Matawan, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) and Owen Stewart (Howell, N.J./St. Rose) also added hits for the Hawks, while Ed Martin (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan [Brookdale C.C.]) drove in the Hawks' run with a groundout.
Jonathan Shippee (Waterford, N.Y./Shenendehowa) took the loss on the mound, allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk in 2.1 innings pitched. Neil Harm (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) pitched a career-high 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits and a walk. Harm struck out seven, also a career high.
The Pioneers scored three runs in the second and added another in the fourth. Two runs scored on Derick Horn's double to right center, before Troy Scribner brought Horn in with a single down the right field line. Dan Perez drove in the fourth run with a double down the left field line in the third.
SHU tacked on another run in the fifth. John Murphy doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Conor McEvoy's two-out single up the middle to give the Pioneers a 5-0 lead.
The Hawks got a run on the board in the seventh. Avella and Stewart opened the inning with singles, before Craig Sweeney (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) pinch hit and was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Martin's groundout brought in Stewart to cut the deficit to 5-1. But the Hawks could draw no closer in the final two innings.
