Curry Postgame Interview

HARWICH, Mass. – Freshman right hander David Griffin (Hanover, Mass.) tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout to lead seventh-seeded Curry College to a 4-0 victory over second-seeded Wesleyan University in the first round of the NCAA Division III New England Baseball Regional on Wednesday night at Whitehouse Field. Curry notched its first-ever NCAA Tournament win after two narrow losses in 2007.  

With tonight's win, Curry (24-13) will play Ramapo at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday while Wesleyan (28-10) will play in an elimination game against Castleton tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.

En-route to the biggest win in his young career, Griffin struck out 10 Cardinals, allowed just four hits and two walks in nine innings of work. He did not allow one Cardinal to get to third base as he finished his fifth contest of the year.

On the other side of the mound, Wesleyan southpaw Nick Cooney (Rehoboth, Mass.) allowed just one hit heading into the eighth inning and finished the night with three runs against and his second loss of the season.

A pitcher's duel for much of the game, the Colonels finally struck in the eighth.

Junior Philip Perez (West Covina, Calif.) came up with the clutch hit, knocking a two-RBI single up the middle to put Curry up 2-0 to score junior John Arens (Milton, Mass.) and senior Derek Pizarro (Cambridge, Mass.) on the play. In the same inning, with the bases loaded, Alex McLean (Eliot, Maine) was hit by a pitch, allowing a run to come in and moving Perez to third, who eventually scored on a wild pitch.

In a scoreless contest, Wesleyan placed runners on second with one or fewer outs for the go-ahead run, but could not capitalize on the opportunity.

Guy Davidson (New York, N.Y.) singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth. The Colonels though turned a key double play to shift the momentum the other way. Griffin also fanned his final batter after permitting consecutive walks to end the game. (Recap courtesy of the ECAC)