Junior outfielder Dan Pregno
5/15/2010 5:03:28 PM
MADISON, NJ - Junior pitcher Fred Luchetti (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) tossed 6.1 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out 11 to lead the top-seeded College at Florham Devils to a 12-7 win over fourth-seeded Stevens in the Semifinals of the ECAC Metro Region Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Sixth-seeded Richard Stockton knocked off seventh-seeded Rutgers-Camden, 7-6, in the other Semifinal.
With the win, the Devils improved to 33-10 while the Ducks finished their season with a record of 21-19.
The Devils started fast, opening up a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a RBI triple by sophomore shortstop Steve Seminerio (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) and a RBI ground-out by senior third baseman Joey Santillo (Budd Lake, NJ/Mt. Olive). FDU added two more runs in the bottom of the third when junior outfielder Dan Pregno (Stanhope, NJ/Lenape Valley) and Seminerio executed a double-steal of third and second base, respectively, and then scored when the Stevens catcher threw it into center field. The Devils plated four in the fourth inning to grab an 8-0 advantage on RBI singles by Pregno and sophomore outfielder Matt Joiner(Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham) and a two-run single by senior designated hitter Greg Geran (Brick, NJ/Red Bank Catholic).
Stevens got on the board with a run in the fifth inning and three more in the seventh inning to pull to within 8-4 but FDU made it 9-4 in their half of the seventh on another RBI single by Pregno. The Devils tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to grab a 12-4 edge on a three-run double by junior outfielder Alex Sariyan (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills). The Ducks tried to mount a rally in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs to cut it to 12-7, by senior pitcher Bill Buckless (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) came on to retire the side and which allowed FDU to advance to the Finals.
Pregno finished the game 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs scored and two RBI while Seminerio went 3-for-5 with a triple, a stolen base, three runs scored and a RBI. Sariyan was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, a run scored and three RBI.
The Devils return to action on Sunday, May 16, 2010, at home against sixth-seeded Richard Stockton in the Finals of the ECAC Metro Region Tournament beginning at noon.