Baseball Knocks Off No. 4 Rochester, Advances in USCAA Small College World Series

HAMPTON, Va.—The No. 9 St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team used a big fourth inning and rode a strong pitching effort to take a 6-4 victory over No. 4 Rochester College in a losers bracket matchup at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series on Thursday evening at War Memorial Stadium.

The Bears (23-17) advance in the double-elimination tournament and will face No. 3 Tennessee Temple University in another elimination game tomorrow 9 a.m.

St. Joseph's grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the first as Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) led off the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to 24 games and later scored on a Brian Luebcke (Astoria, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) base knock followed by a Francis Rapp (Baldwin, N.Y./Oceanside) sacrifice fly that scored Michael Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) who also singled earlier.

The Bears then padded their advantage with a four-run fourth to take a 6-0 lead. Domenick Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) started the scoring with a single down the left field line and Vinny Rossi (Bayside, N.Y./Holy Cross) successfully executing a squeeze play, eventually knocking out Rochester starter Ryan Balazy, who took the loss giving up all six Bears runs in 3 2/3 innings.

St. Joseph's scored two more runs with two outs as M. Camerada highlighted a two-hit game, delivering with the bases loaded with a two-run single to left field.

Bears starter Rosario DiLorenzo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) silenced the Warriors (19-15) bats through the early frames, limiting to one hit through three, before they gained two runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Rochester threatened for more, but DiLorenzo worked out of a bases-loaded jam.

The Warriors picked up another run in the sixth to clip the deficit to 6-3 and M. Camerada's inning-ending diving catch in center helped save another run and preserve the three-run lead.

After DiLorenzo issued a leadoff walk to start the seventh, Head Coach Jerry Sidman made a call to the bullpen to Connor Pasetti (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) to pick up the save. Pasetti was promptly greeted by Brandon Dupuis who lined a ball to the left field corner for a triple, scoring a run and bringing the tying run to the plate. Dominic Raona nearly tied the game with a deep drive that sailed over the left field wall, but just foul, but Pasetti beared down and struck out Raona and the next two Warriors to close out the victory for his first save of the season and his program-leading third of his career.

DiLorenzo would earn his second win of the season improving to 2-4, allowing six hits and four runs, striking out three and walking three over six innings of work.

St. Joseph's knocked 10 hits in the contest with M. Camerada, Luebcke and Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) recording multi-hit games with a pair of hits each.

The victory clinches the Bears best finish at the USCAA National Championships in their third straight appearance in the tournament.