On the day after the regular season concluded, Villanova stole the headlines by firing their athletic director, Jay Beckett. The 54 year old directed the baseball program from 1871-74, as they posted a record of 124-116. Villanova also had playoff appearances in 1871 and 1872. James was not happy about the timing of the announcement, as he felt it took away from the excitement of the pending playoff match-ups.
Jay Beckett
On May 26th, Lafayette 34-26) traveled to Cornell (39-21) for Game 1 of their series. Lafayette sends Tom "The Acrobat" Drummond (21-24, 2.11) to the hill. Cornell, on the other hand, went to a different pitcher, senior Jon Mostil (7-6, 1.98). Season starter Jo Key (26-12, 2.09) was on the short leash with Manager Mitchell Workman, lasting only 1 2/3 innings in the final game of the season.
Lafayette wasted no time, scoring runs in each of the first four innings, building a 7-2 lead. The Leopards scored in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings as well, winning the game 12-5. Lafayette shortstop Colin LaMoy (.247, 1 HR, 24 RBI) led the charge by going 3 for 3, as the Leopards handed the Big Red their ninth consecutive loss.
On the same day, Brown (36-24) was on the road at Harvard (39-21) for Game 1 of their series. The Bears and Crimson had battled it out in the New England Region 14 times this season, with each team winning seven games. Blake DeMarco (29-19, 2.35) is on the mound for Brown, while Shaun Louis (28-17, 2.11) is the starting pitcher for Harvard.
After one inning, Harvard held a 3-1 advantage. Both teams scored again in the third inning, with Harvard still holding a 7-4 lead. But the Bears would score a run in the 5th and two more in the 6th inning to tie the game 7-7. Harvard would break the tie, however, in the bottom of the 8th. With two outs and the bases loaded, junior center fielder Jesse Vest (.234, 1 HR, 30 RBI) delivers a two run single to give the Crimson the lead, 9-7.
In the top of the 9th inning, Brown manufactures a run with two outs, compliments of an error and put the tying run on third base. But senior left fielder Mike Shada (.250, 0 HR, 17 RBI) grounds out to short to end the game. Harvard wins it, 9-8.