East Providence, R.I. – The No. 3 seeded Johnson & Wales University baseball team eliminated No. 4 seed Emerson, 7-3 in the Final Four of the 2010 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Pierce Field on Saturday.

After a pitchers duel for the first four innings, Johnson & Wales broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth, including an RBI double by junior Nick Alosco (Mahopac, N.Y.) and an RBI single by junior Teddy Katz (Pittsburgh, Pa.) to take the 5-0 lead. A solo home run by senior Jonathan Melendez (Providence, R.I.) then put the Wildcats up 6-0. JWU extended their advantage to 7-0 on an RBI single by senior Mike Sarfati (North Plainfield, N.J.). Emerson finally got on the board in the top of the eighth when they tallied three runs, including an RBI single by senior Peter Karl (Wallingford, Conn.) to cut the lead to 7-3. That would be as close as the Lions would get, however as JWU held on for the 7-3 victory.

Junior Mike Murphy (Pawtucket, R.I.) was 3-for-5 with a run scored for Johnson & Wales while Katz was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in the victory for the Wildcats. Senior Nick Marine (Bristol, R.I.) was outstanding on the mound for JWU, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts in the complete game victory.

Karl went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI in the loss for Emerson. Senior Ben McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) suffered the loss for the Lions, allowing three runs on six hits in three innings of work.

With the win JWU is now 15-27 while Emerson falls to 15-20 for the year. The Wildcats will return to action later this afternoon when they host the loser of No. 1 Suffolk vs. No. 2 St. Joseph's of Maine in an elimination game of the 2010 GNAC Tournament at 4:00 p.m.