(Game 1) / (Game 2)
Senior Tom Connelly (Media, PA) hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give Widener the lead for good en route to winning the Commonwealth Conference title with a 9-5 victory over Elizabethtown following a 12-6 win to open the day in West Lawn, PA.
The conference title is Widener's seventh in school history, first in the Commonwealth Conference and first since taking the 1999 Middle Atlantic Conference crown. Widener was the top seed coming off its first regular-season league title since taking the MAC Southern Division in 1978.
Widener wasted no time taking the lead in the first game. Sophomore Sean Saverio (Horsham, PA), who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, hit a two-run long ball to right center to make it 2-0 in the top of the first. With two on and two out, senior Colin Keelan (Ellicott City, MD) drove a three-run blast to right, giving sophomore starting pitcher Jason Ferrie (Royersford, PA) a five-run lead before taking the mound.
Sophomore Dan Sieracki (Cherry Hill, NJ) gave Widener its third home run of the game in the second inning, another three-run round tripper to center for an 8-0 lead. Saverio along with juniors Tom DeAngelis (Pottstown, PA) and Alex Oliver (Lebanon, NJ) each added RBI doubles in the third to make it 11-0.
Elizabethtown got one back in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Matt Vinagro. Dillon Tagle, Matt Reade and Ben Yeager each drove in a run in the sixth, and the Blue Jays cut the lead to 11-5 with an RBI single by Brian Kiernan in the seventh, but that was as close as they would get.
Ferrie (8-2) struck out six over seven innings. Saverio and Oliver each finished with three hits and three runs.
After three scoreless innings to begin the second game, Elizabethtown opened the scoring in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Yeager. They added another in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Tagle for a 2-0 lead.
Widener took over the lead in the bottom, breaking through for four runs. Saverio hit his second home run of the day, a three-run shot to center, and freshman Dennis Hocker (Coral Springs, FL) laced an RBI single to center.
Jake Hoffstein, Vinagro and Kiernan all drove in runs in the top of the sixth to help the Blue Jays regain the lead at 5-4.
The Pride (25-11) tied it in the bottom on an RBI single by Oliver and Connelly gave them a lead they would never relinquish with his home run.
Sophomore Joe Sessa (Broomall, PA) struck out three, allowing just one hit and one walk over 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to improve to 3-1.
Matt Vinagro had five hits on the day for the Blue Jays (24-16).
Saverio finished the tournament with a .444 batting average, a 1.222 slugging percentage, 10 RBI and eight runs.
The Pride enter the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history and await the selection show, which takes place Sunday, May 16.
Widener is back in action on Monday, when it hosts Gwynedd-Mercy at 2:00 pm.
