Molloy baseball's season ends after another loss to Southern New Hampshire in the NCAA Division II Super Regional
Molloy baseball’s season came to an end Saturday after they fell, 12-10, to Southern New Hampshire in Game 2 of an NCAA Division II Super Regional in Hooksett, New Hampshire.
Sean Welsh of East Meadow went 2-for-5 with a homer, five RBIs, and two runs. Freshman Joe Burriesci of Farmingdale went 3-for-4, with a run and an RBI.
Molloy led 9-3 after four innings and, just one day after squandering a six-run lead, suddenly found itself on the back foot once again. Southern New Hampshire’s Dylan O’Sullivan — who went 2-for-4 with six RBIs, a walk, and a run — hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to cut the Molloy lead to 9-7 and sophomores Jake Pisano and Jake Risedorf added two RBIs each in the sixth to give Southern New Hampshire an 11-9 lead.
Molloy outhit the Penmen, 11-8. Junior JJ Devito of Wantagh's fielders choice drove in Patrick Sanchez in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to 11-10, but Gavin McAlonie popped up to end the threat. After Southern New Hampshire scored once in the ninth, Molloy was retired in order to end the game.
Molloy junior southpaw JC Kiss struck out six over 5 1⁄3 innings. The Hicksville graduate allowed 10 runs, five hits, and walked seven.
Free passes continued to plague the Lions, much like it did it Game 1. Kiss and righty reliever Mike Knapp combined to walk nine batters after Molloy walked 10 on Friday. Knapp, a sophomore from Division, struck out six across 3 ⅔ innings, while allowing three hits.
Only 13 of the 34 players on the Lions’ rosters are seniors or graduate students. They have budding stars in Welsh, Burriesci and Calhoun graduate Charlie Imhof, a freshman. Kiss will also return to the mound after winning eight of his 11 starts as a junior.
Molloy (42-14) ends its season after playing in its second Super Regional series in the last three seasons. Southern New Hampshire (36-17) will await re-seeding in the Elite Eight, with its double-elimination series beginning June 1 in Cary, North Carolina.
