The Husson University baseball team had its work cut out for it when it lost to SUNY Cobleskill 7-2 in the winners bracket game on day two of the North Atlantic Conference Tournament at the Winkin Sports Complex in Bangor.
But the Eagles rallied for a 5-4 win over Thomas College of Waterville in an elimination game on Monday and swept SUNY Cobleskill 16-6 and 4-1 on Tuesday to earn its fourth straight conference title.
Husson previously won the conference in 2019, 2021 and 2022. There was no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After pounding out 16 hits to beat the Fighting Tigers in the first game on Tuesday, the Eagles rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the championship game with a run in the seventh and three in the eighth to pull out the win.
Husson is now 24-17 and winner of 14 of its last 16.
It will advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will find out which regional it is playing in during Monday’s selection show.
SUNY Cobleskill ends its season with a 22-15 record.
In the title game, Chris Champlin’s two-out, run-scoring single in the sixth snapped a scoreless tie for the Fighting Tigers.
Ty Knowlton tied it for Husson in the seventh with his fourth homer of the season.
Tanner Evans started the decisive eighth-inning rally with an infield hit and Jackson Curtis followed with a double down the third base line.
Devin Lewis came on in relief of starter Tanner Wood and he walked Ethan Stoddard to load the bases.
Akira Warren broke the tie with a two-run single up the middle.
Stoddard eventually crossed the plate with an insurance run on Sully Beers’ sacrifice fly.
Matt Wallingford, Ryne Rametta, Connor Abood and Ryan Robb combined to allow nine hits and just one run with Robb earning the win. Robb tossed three innings of two-hit, shutout ball with three strikeouts and no walks. He is now 5-0.
The only repeat hitters were SUNY Cobleskill’s Frank Leger and Stephen Tejada with two hits apiece. One of Leger’s hits was a double.
In the first game on Tuesday, Husson erupted for seven runs in the first inning and pulled away with six in the seventh after the Fighting Tigers had pulled to within 9-5.
Evans, brothers Jackson and Hunter Curtis, and Colin Marshall had run-scoring singles in the first inning, while Keegan Cyr had a sacrifice fly and David York had the other RBI in the inning with a fielder’s choice.
The Eagles broke it open in the seventh on Jackson Curtis’ three-run homer, his fourth of the season, along with Evans’ two-run double and Cyr’s RBI single.
Jackson Curtis had four RBIs in game one with his homer and two singles. Stoddard had a double and two singles. Cyr knocked in four with a triple and a single. Evans doubled and singled and drove in three. Kobe Rogerson also doubled and singled and Warren had two base hits.
Champlin had three singles for the Fighting Tigers. Tejada, David Flora, Dylan Pohl and Zach Ducorsky had two base hits each.
In Monday’s elimination game, Hunter Curtis tied it 4-4 in the eighth winning with his fourth homer of the season. After an out and a walk, Cyr doubled home the winning run.
Warren produced three singles for Husson. Evans doubled and singled and Stoddard singled twice.
Nick Hutson had two singles for Thomas.
Robb notched the win with 2 ⅓ innings of three-hit shutout ball. He fanned three.
In the winner’s bracket game, Wyatt Palmer pitched a complete-game six-hitter, striking out four and walking just one as SUNY Cobleskill topped Husson.
He is now 4-2.
The Fighting Tigers erased a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth on Flora’s run-scoring single and Pohl’s two-run single.
Ducorsky had three singles for SUNY Cobleskill, Flora had a pair of singles and Logan Firment hit his fifth homer of the season and also had a single.
Warren had two singles for Husson.
In their first-round game, the Eagles rallied from a 6-3 deficit to collect the victory over rival Thomas College.
Chris Morris’ Eagles scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to climb within 6-5 and won it with three in the eighth.
Evans’ RBI single and Stoddard’s run-scoring double brought Husson within one in the seventh and, in the eighth, Rogerson’s two-run double gave the Eagles the lead and Stoddard chased home an insurance run with a base hit.
Rogerson had a double and two singles, Cyr tripled and singled, Stoddard doubled and singled and Evans had two base hits.
Matt Seymour doubled twice and singled for Thomas, and Cam Haynes contributed a double and two singles. Jason Bartlett doubled and singled.
Brandon Brunell earned the win with 1 ⅓ innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Robb earned the save with a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit.