Dominican Baseball Wins First Ever ECAC Championship

DOMINICAN BASEBALL WINS FIRST EVER ECAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Chad Duesler Named MVP of the Tournament

May 20, 2005

Blauvelt, NY (05/20/05)    Dominican College (27-19) defeated New Jersey Institute of Technology (22-20) twice en route to winning their first Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship today in Orangeburg, NY.

In game one, the Chargers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth, highlighted by a three run-homer by junior Chad Duesler (Northville, NY).  The inning started with a one out single by junior Eliezer Nunez (Brooklyn, NY).  The Highlanders walked the next batter and sophomore catcher Pete Gilardo (Cornwall, NY) got the RBI single, putting the Chargers up 1-0.

The Highlanders fought back in the fifth, scoring two unearned runs.  Freshman Mike Turner (Whitehouse Station, NJ) doubled and later scored on an error by Dominican.  Designated hitter Derrick McCain (Piscataway, NJ) followed with a RBI single, cutting the Charger lead, 4-2.

Charger pitcher Joe Catanese (Huntington, NY) got the complete game win, allowing nine hits and striking out seven.  Highlander Chris Legiadre (Manalapan, NJ) suffered the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out eight Chargers.

The Chargers dominated game two, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after three innings.  NJIT fought back with a run in the fourth, but Dominican exploded for four runs in the fifth, followed by a two run seventh and added three runs in the ninth for a 12-1 victory.  Junior Mike Zani (Goshen, NY) and freshman Joe Kubanik (Stony Point, NY) both went 2-5 with 2 RBIs in the game, while sophomore Keith Gebert (Brooklyn, NY) went 3-4 with a RBI and three runs scored.  Junior shortstop Joe DiMicelli (Staten Island, NY) went 3-5 with a RBI and two runs scored.

The Highlanders were led in the game by Turner, who went 2-3 with the team’s only RBI.  Catcher Philip Resciniti (East Hanover, NJ) had a 3-4 game while Kwesi Mitchell (Piscataway, NJ) added two hits.

Charger pitcher Matt Dilgen (Staten Island, NY) got the win, going seven innings, allowing six hits and striking out three.  NJIT starter Zach Porcello (Chester, NJ) went six innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits and striking out eight batters in the loss.

Dominican College junior Chad Duesler was named Most Valuable Player of the 2005 ECAC Tournament.

2005 ECAC Baseball Champions - Dominican College