From staff reports
Adelphi topped Southern Connecticut State 7-1 to advance to the championship round of the NCAA Division II East Regional at Rindge, N.HS. Saturday.
SCSU played Franklin Pierce late Saturday night with the winner earning a spot in the championship round.
Senior right-hander Jonathan Gonzalez fired a complete-game six-hitter, holding Southern to just one unearned run in the eighth inning. The only real threat the Panthers faced was in that eighth inning when the Owls stranded two runners, after a line-drive double play back to Gonzalez ended the frame.
On the offensive side for Adelphi hitters, the first through sixth spots in the lineup combined for 13 of the team’s 15 hits. Graduate student right fielder Omar Velazquez, junior left fielder Justin Farnum, and junior designated hitter Jaime Liebowitz combined for six runs scored. That proved to be all the offense the Panthers would need as they scored in every inning from the third through the sixth.
For the Owls, senior right-hander Steve Simon surrendered six runs and nine hits over five innings. In relief, junior Sean Leahy threw four innings of one run ball to finish the game.
With the win, Adelphi remains the only undefeated team in the regional and will move to Championship Sunday.