Baseball now alone in first

From DFP Staff reports

After winning three games this weekend, the Boston University club baseball team is on the brink of making history.

BU swept a doubleheader against the University of New Hampshire on Saturday, winning 8-3 in eight innings and 4-2, and then came back on Monday to edge Central Maine Community College, 5-4, in 11 innings.

With the set of wins, BU improved to 9-2 on the season, surpassed the club's best-ever record (which was a 7-5 mark in 2002) and clinched a share of the regular season championship. If BU wins one more game or New Hampshire loses again (the teams will meet again on Sunday), BU will win the regular season title for the first time in club history. Already, BU has clinched home-field advantage in the playoff semifinals, scheduled for Oct. 23-24 in Boston.

In Game 1 on Saturday, New Hampshire tied the game at three with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. BU came back in extra innings, though, putting up five runs on five singles in the top of the eighth. Kevin Scheitrum, who is also an assistant sports editor for The Daily Free Press, Jeff Nitz, Pete Lawn and Nando Trindade all had RBI singles in the inning.

Paul Shapiro and Todd Katz both went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Lawn went 3-for-5 for BU.

In Game 2, New Hampshire jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but BU came back with two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Lawn, who again went 3-for-5, drove in Nitz for the go-ahead run in the sixth. Trindade also went 3-for-5.

The star, though, was BU starting pitcher Benji Friend, who threw a complete game, striking out two and scattering seven hits in seven innings. It was the first complete game by a BU pitcher this season.

On Monday against CMCC, the game ventured into extra innings with the teams tied at three. In the top of the eighth, Trindade led off with single and eventually scored on a Todd Southard fielder's choice. CMCC, however, didn't give up and matched BU with a run of its own in the bottom of the eighth.

In the 11th, Anthony Piscionere reached on a walk for BU and scored when Shapiro grounded to second and the CCMC second baseman bobbled the ball, allowing Piscionere to reach home in time.

BU got a strong effort from all of its pitchers in the game, who shut down CMCC five times with runners in scoring position. Jeff Border and Quinn Duffy pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up two runs and freshman Brandon Sims earned his first win, striking out four and giving up no hits in three scoreless innings.