2003 CUNYAC / Burger King Baseball Final

CSI Strikes Down Lightning For The Title
May 3rd, 2003
 

BOX-SCORE

●Lehman - Staten Island

Staten Island, NY - In each of his nine seasons, College of Staten Island head coach Bill Cali's team has reached the CUNYAC Championship final, but for only the fourth time during that span, the Dolphins rewarded Cali with a title, beating Lehman College 8-3, on their home field.

"It's a great win for our program,” claimed Cali. "This is one of the most tightly knit teams that we've had and we hope that we can keep the momentum going into the Knickerbocker playoffs next week.”

The Dolphins (20-14) led 1-0 after the bottom of the second inning when sophomore SS Anthony Hillery (Staten Island, NY) scored when senior catcher Michael Guarneri (Staten Island, NY) grounded into a double play.

The Lightning (10-18) evened the score in the top of the stanza when junior 3B Carlos Ramirez (New York, NY) tripled to lead off the inning and scored on a single from sophomore catcher Johary Burgos (Bronx, NY).

But CSI took the lead again in the bottom of the third when junior 2B Andrew Fraschilla (Staten Island, NY) rounded home on a groundout by junior CF Eric Zinke (Staten Island, NY). Lehman bounced back in the top of the fifth with two runs. First junior OF Jonathan Duran (Bronx, NY) hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Ramirez who doubled, then Burgos, who singled scored on an infield error, as Lehman held a 3-2 lead.

The home team struck right back getting three runs in the next half inning. First sophomore DH Chris Hemmes (Staten Island, NY) scored on an error by the catcher, followed by an RBI single by Zinke that plated sophomore 1B Tom Wohlfit (Staten Island, NY). Zinke came home for a 5-3 lead on a wild pitch by Lehman junior starter Daniel Calcano, who yielded only six hits and three earned runs over six inning.

After that inning the Lightning couldn't stop the bleeding, giving up three more runs in the next two innings. In the seventh frame, a double by sophomore RF Jason Filoramo (Staten Island, NY) sent Zinke home. Two batters later, Hillery singled to score Filoramo. In the eighth, Zinke knocked in his third run of the game on a sacrifice fly. The 5'9” centerfielder finished 2-4 with two runs and three RBI in the championship game. Combine that with an excellent performance in the semifinals against Baruch and Zinke was 3-5 at the plate, while reaching base three more times via walks, with six runs and four RBI and two stolen bases.

"I just felt real comfortable at the plate today,” said Zinke, the Tournament Most Valuable Player, who actually won a CUNY championship in 2001, as a freshman at Baruch, before transferring to his native borough school. "We've been building towards this all season. We've had some struggles this season and now we're ready to make a run in all the playoffs.”

CSI senior righthander Lino Isabel (Staten Island, NY) got the start, striking out five over 4 1/3 innings, surrendering all three Lehman runs. Then a duo of sophomores, Kevin Biesty (Staten Island, NY) and Nick Secchini (Staten Island, NY) shut down the Lightning over the final 4 2/3 innings, yielding only 4 hits combined and no other baserunners. Biesty earned the victory (3-0) while Secchini pitched the final two innings in relief, allowing only one hit and striking out three. With the team's first CUNYAC title since 2000, the Dolphins now turn their attention towards the Knickerbocker playoffs this week. CSI will host Manhattanville on Tuesday at 7:00 pm in the semifinals, with the winner earning the right to play for the Knickerbocker's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament the following week.

 

BOX SCORE
School	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Lehman	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0		3	11	4
Staten Island	0	1	1	0	3	0	2	1	x		8	1	2

CUNYAC / Burger King Baseball All-Stars

Jaquez (Telecommunications HS / Brooklyn, NY) led CUNYAC in batting for the second straight season. His .532 average was .124 points higher than the second place hitter. He also led the league in RBI (1.29 per game), Runs scored (1.14), doubles (0.34), triples (0.31), home runs (0.14), total bases (115), slugging (.927) and stolen bases (35-37).

Secchini (Tottenville HS / Staten Island, NY) led CUNYAC with a 6- 1 mark and a 1.32 ERA. He had six complete games, three shutouts, 78 strikeouts and only three walks in 54.2 innings.

Rookie of the Year Mike Centeno (Monsignor Scanlan HS / Bronx, NY) led Lehman with a 3-3 record and a 4.50 ERA with six complete games with 31 K's and 16 walks in 46 innings of work.

Staten Island head coach Bill Cali led the Dolphins to the CUNYAC title for the fourth time in his nineyear tenure.

 2002-2003 CUNYAC BASEBALL YEAR IN REVIEW