Cucchiara Pitches Molloy Past Goldey-Beacom, 3-2, on Third Day of NCAA East Regional
RINDGE, N.H. (May 29, 2021) -- Sophomore right-hander Charlie Cucchiara fired a five-hitter and struck out eight on Saturday evening, to pitch third-seeded Molloy past fifth-seeded Goldey-Beacom, 3-2, on the third day of the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Franklin Pierce. Sophomore Mason Maxwell socked a pair of solo home runs to account for the only Goldey-Beacom offense in defeat.
With the win, Molloy improves to 23-9, and will take on top seed SNHU in an East Regional semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. With the loss, Goldey-Beacom falls to 21-8 and will face elimination in Saturday’s third game, slated to start 45 minutes after the SNHU/Molloy contest.
Cucchiara (5-2) needed 116 pitches (82 strikes) to dispatch the Lightning. He surrendered just two runs on five hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out eight.
Maxwell bookended the scoring with a 365-foot opposite-field solo shot to left-center in the bottom of the first and a 335-foot solo homer to straightaway right in the last of the ninth.
In between, Molloy scored single runs in the fifth, eighth and ninth to take the victory. In the fifth, sophomore David Franchi yanked an RBI double down the right-field line. In the eighth, junior Thomas Brady went up the middle for an RBI single. Senior Peter Theodorellis provided what proved to be an important insurance run with a sacrifice fly to left.
Junior right-hander Mitch Guerrieri threw the first 6.2 innings and did not factor in the decision for Goldey-Beacom. He allowed one run on five hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out two. Freshman right-hander Luke Taylor (1-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits over two innings of relief and suffered the loss.