Troy, N.Y. - The Trinity College Bantams downed the Mount Saint Mary College Blue Knights, 8-6, in the sixth game of the six-team, double elimination NCAA Division III Baseball Regional at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, N.Y. With the victory, the Bantams (25-9) will take on top-seeded Cortland State on Saturday at noon tomorrow. The winner of that game advances to the Championship Game on Sunday (12pm). The Blue Knights (32-7) will face Messiah at 3:30pm in an elimination game.
The Bantams jumped out to a quick lead when senior co-captain Kurt Piantek (Wallingford, Conn.) hit his 16th home run of the year to deep left centerfield off Blue Knight starter Jason Mires (Pine Bush, N.Y.) with fellow senior co-captain Jayme Dorr (Osterville, Mass.) on first base in the first inning. The Bantams added more runs in the second inning. An error scored sophomore Bill Wise (Longmeadow, Mass.) before Dorr singled home sophomore Robert O’Leary (Easton, Mass.). Piantek then singled home sophomore Jeff Natale (Hamden, Conn.) for another run, chasing Mires from the game. Sophomore Shane Bell (Stanfordville, N.Y.) relieved and gave up a fielder’s choice that scored another run as Trinity took a 6-0 lead.
After the Blue Knights tied the game with two runs in the second and four in the third, the Bantams came back to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore Andrew Fries (Dublin, Ohio), who had walked and advanced to second base on a passed ball, scored when Wise singled to left. They added an insurance run on an RBI single by sophomore Aaron Goldstein (Edina, Minn.) in the ninth inning.
Piantek was 4 for 5, including the home run, with a run and three runs batted in. Three other players had two hits. Sophomore starter Joe Westcott (Holyoke, Mass.), who had ten strikeouts while throwing 161 pitches in 5.2 innings, improved to 4-0 with the win. Senior righty Craig Tredenick (Cornwall, Prince Edward Island) pitched the ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Trinity, Conn. (25-9) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 4 |
| Mount St. Mary (32-7) | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
BATTERY
TC- Joe Westcott, Greg Talpey (6), Craig Tredenick (9) and Andrew Fries.
MSM- Jason Mires, Shane Bell (2), Glen Visconti (9) and Erik Eltz.
WP: Westcott (4-0)
LP: Bell (6-1)
HR: TC- Kurt Piantek (16)
Offensive Highlights
TC- Kurt Piantek – four hits, three RBI, home run, Rob Dolliver – two hits,
double, Andrew Fries – two hits, two runs, double, Billy Wise – two hits, Robert
O’Leary – two hits.
MSM- Erik Eltz – two hits, two RBI, double.