Worcester, Mass. – Keystone senior Bray Curreri (Eldred, N.Y.) rapped out an RBI walk-off single to help lift third-seeded Keystone to a 4-3, 11th-inning triumph over sixth-seeded Mitchell in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament at Clark University's Granger Athletic Complex.

With the victory, the Giants improve to 33-10 and will face the winner of tonight's match-up between second-seeded Oswego State and seventh-seeded Suffolk tomorrow at Whitehouse Field with an 8 p.m. start. Mitchell falls to 30-9 in the setback and will play the loser of Oswego-Suffolk at 1 o'clock.

After a walk by Medina to start off the bottom of the 11th, sophomore Adam Kelly (Beach Lake, Pa.) followed with a bunt-single and senior Eric Drzewiecki (Hellertown, Pa.) put both runners in scoring position on a ground out. With two outs, an 0-2 deficit at the plate, Curreri diced a single through the right side to end the contest.

Drzewiecki snapped a scoreless game with a solo home-run to right field to put Keystone ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the third. In the fifth, the Giants tacked on another score on an RBI single up the middle by junior Chris Panzarella (Hazle Township, Pa.).

Mitchell erased the 2-0 deficit by taking advantage of a key miscue by the third baseman in the top of the seventh. Junior Steven Pagan (Oceanside, Calif.) crossed home plate on the play and senior Jack Finnegan (Old Saybrook, Conn.) came around to score the tying run on a passed ball in the very next at-bat.

With the score knotted 2-2, both squads had a frustrating time at the plate over the next four frames as the Mariners left three in scoring position in the eighth, ninth and tenth, as the Giants stranded a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth.

In the top of the tenth, Mitchell senior Kyle Hartenstein (Meriden, Conn.) tried to score from second base on an infield single, but junior Jani Pena (New York, N.Y.) kept the game right where it was with a laser beam from shallow right field.

Keystone senior Troy Terzi (Wallingford, Conn.) yielded two unearned runs in the no-decision as he fanned five and issued two free passes over nine frames of work.

Senior Tyler Widitz (Pillipsburg, N.J.) hurled two scoreless innings for the Giants, allowing just two hits with one walk and two punchouts. Widitz saw his record improve to 2-2 on the campaign.

Freshman Michael Santiago (Wethersfield, Conn.) matched the effort on the hill as he hurled nine innings for the Mariners. Santiago gave up two earned runs to go with six strikeouts and three walks.

Junior Brian Ricker (Rocky Point, N.Y.) absorbed the loss for Mitchell as his record fell to 3-3.

Kelly was the lone multi-hitter for Knights while junior Eric Marriott (Niagara Falls, Ont.) went 3-for-5 for Mitchell. For the Mariners, Pagan and senior Garet Griffin (Moosup, Conn.) also contributed with two base-knocks.

Mitchell outslugged Keystone, 11-7, as Drzewiecki's solo blast in the third was the only hit for extra bases in the contest.

Steven Miller