Rider University Wins 2008 MAAC Baseball Championship
MAAC Sports
Trenton, N.J. ? Rider University (29-26) earned the league’s automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship with a 12-5 victory over Siena College (30-26), in the title game of the 2008 MAAC Baseball Championship at Waterfront Park.
Rider started things off with one run in the bottom of the first inning as Sean Olson hit a home run to left field.
Siena tied it up in the top of the third as Moises Rivera reached first on an error, allowing Nick Messinger to cross home plate.
Rider pulled ahead once more in the bottom of the third as Most Outstanding Player James Hayes also reached first on an error and Eric Woodrow raced home.
Two fielding errors by the Broncs allowed the Saints to take a 4-2 in the top of fourth inning, with Jason DeFilippo crossing home plate on a sacrifice fly to right field by Nick Messinger, and Anthony Giansanti scoring while Chris Klepps reached first on an error.
John Ralston scored on Jon Leise’s double down the left field line as Rider cut Siena’s lead to one (4-3) in the bottom of the fourth.
Sean Olson tied it up again for Rider in the bottom of the sixth, as crossed home plate on a groundout by Maurice Williams. A single to left center by Ralston plated Mason Heyne, and a single to left field by Leise scored Ralston to give the Broncs a 6-4 lead.
Williams added two more runs for Rider in the bottom of the sixth as sent a single up the middle to bring in David Hayes and Olson.
Chris Klepps started off the top of the seventh inning for Siena with a home run to left field to make it an 8-5 game. But Rider would take a seven-run lead in the bottom of the seventh as Woodrow scored on a wild pitch, Heyne sent a two-RBI double down the left field line and Williams knocked an RBI single to right center, en route to earning the school’s first-ever MAAC Baseball Title.
Derek Caldwell improved to 2-3 with the win. Craig Marcellus finished the year at 8-1 on the mound.
The 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 64-team field, with first-round regional pairings and site assignments, will be revealed in a live, half-hour telecast on ESPN at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, May 26.
2008 MAAC All-Tournament Team
Infield:
Alec Cabello, Canisius
Mason Heyne, Rider
Matt McCollum, Rider
Moises Rivera, Siena
Rick Seltzer, Siena
Jacob Willis, Siena
Outfield:
Adam Donato, Canisius
Kevin Nieto, Manhattan
Nick Messinger, Siena
Designated Hitter/Utility:
James Hayes, Rider
Pitchers:
Jimmer Kennedy, Rider
Craig Chaput, Siena
MOP: James Hayes, Rider