Box Score

HARWICH, Mass. – Junior Sean Buckland (Lynn, Mass.) tossed a complete-game two-hitter to lead Salem State University to a 6-2 victory over Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Division III New England Baseball Regional on Wednesday at Whitehouse Field.

With the win, Salem State (26-13) will play in the winner’s bracket tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. while MIT (25-13) will play in an elimination game at 10 a.m.  The victory for the Vikings is their first in the NCAA Division III Tournament since 2006 and second overall, when they dispatched Southern Maine, 8-5, in their Harwich Regional opener.

Buckland was masterful in securing his fourth win of the season, striking out eight and retiring 24 consecutive batters between the second and ninth innings. Offensively, the Vikings were led by sophomore Colton Fontaine (Newburyport, Mass.) and senior Ryan Beliveau (Lynn, Mass.), who combined to go 3-for-7 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI.

The Engineers started the game with momentum right away, as John Drago (Peoria, Ariz.) led off the inning with a walk. Freshman Austin Filiere (Chandler, Ariz.) continued with a double down the left field line off Buckland.

Drago scored the first run of the game on a sac fly by Parker Tew (Chapel Hill, N.C.). Senior Hayden Cornwell (Newport Beach, N.C.) then drove in Filiere with a ground ball through the right side of the infield.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth inning that the Vikings were able to answer back. Dan Connors (Danvers, Mass.) started the inning with a walk, which was followed by a Fontaine hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Beliveau put the Vikings on the board with a base hit, scoring Connors from third. On the ensuing play, Fontaine scored on an error by Filiere, and a sac fly by Andrew Deloury (Andover, Mass.) capped the inning for another run for the Vikings.

In the bottom of the fifth, K.J. Parent (Knoxville, Tenn.) took over in relief for MIT and induced a ground ball with the bases loaded. Filiere tagged third base but overthrew the first baseman, allowing a run to score. A second error on the play resulted in another Salem State run and the Vikings would make it 6-2 on a Beliveau single.

MIT threatened in the top of the ninth as the first two batters reached base, but Buckland ended the game with a strikeout for his second consecutive complete game.

Courtesy of ECAC Sports Information