Box Score Game 1  Box Score Game 2

BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College baseball team split it’s doubleheader against NECC foe the Becker College Hawks winning game one 11-7 and losing game two 9-1 Saturday afternoon at Epstein Field. The Mountaineers kept its NECC Championship hopes alive with Becker Split and wrap up the regular season tomorrow as the Hawks host at 12:00 p.m.

The Mountaineers improved to 12-19 overall (6-8 NECC), while the Hawks walk away 12-16 overall (8-6 NECC).

Southern Vermont got on the board early when sophomore Pat Warrington laid down a textbook bunt sending junior captain Dave Gage to third. Hawks freshman pitcher Joe Franchi tried to field the play but sent a late throw over the first basemen giving Gage an easy pass home to make it 1-0. Franchi’s nerves did not recover as he threw three wild pitches that sent Warrington around to make it 2-0 SVC.

The Mountaineers patience at the plate loaded the bases for sophomores Corey Briggs and Keith Diotte who each walked to give SVC a 4-0 lead after one inning.

After a scoreless second for both squads the Hawks chipped away the Mountaineers lead with a two run single to right field by freshman Austin Phillips to make it 4-2. SVC tacked on another run in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Gage.

Hawks centerfielder Joe Corey hit an RBI single and Phillips hit another two run single to even up the game at 5-5 heading into the bottom of the fourth. Junior captain Adam Northup knocked a sacrifice fly to the warning track in leftfield that sent home Warrington who had walked earlier in the inning.

Senior Brett Pawlak, playing his final games at Epstein, crushed an RBI single that knocked off the glove of the Hawks diving third baseman to make it 7-5. A few batters later with the bases juiced sophomore Eric Wells singled to center sending home two more Mountaineers to make it 9-5 after five innings.

In the sixth inning SVC starting pitcher Connor Murray got in a jam early when he hit a batter, walked the next, and gave up an RBI double to junior Keith Krandel to make it 9-6. Skipper Don Schaffer brought in Gage to finish the game with two Hawks on base. Gage walked the first batter to load the bases but a double play by third baseman Max Ginter gave the Mountaineers a way out. SVC only gave up one more run to head into the bottom of the sixth with a 9-7 lead.

Diotte’s sac fly and Gage’s RBI single in the sixth gave SVC a three run lead as the Mountaineers went on for the 11-7 game one victory.

Murray (1-4) got the win for SVC pitching five innings and striking out one, while Gage got the save, his fourth of the year. Jeff DiLorenzo got the loss and fell to 2-2 overall as he gave up five runs for the Hawks.

Gage (2 RBI) and Warrington each had two hits for the Mountaineers. Phillips led Becker going 2-for-4 with four RBI’s and Kandel had a game high three hits at the leadoff spot for the Hawks.

In game two the Hawks scored first on a sac fly by Corey in the first frame. A five run second inning for the Hawks sent Northup (3-4), the starting pitcher for SVC, packing only after one and two thirds. Wells came in out of the bullpen and got the Mountaineers out of the jam heading into the bottom of the second with the Hawks winning 6-0.

SVC’s only run of the game came in the third inning when Pawlak hit Diotte in on a fielder’s choice to make it 6-1.

The Hawks tacked on several more runs winning 9-1 behind a complete game by junior pitcher Errick Maddern (3-3) as he struck out four and walked only two.

Wells pitched two and a third striking out three and only giving up one run for SVC. Ginter closed out the last three innings for the Mountaineers striking out three and only giving up two runs for a solid outing.

Pawlak went 2-for-4 with an RBI in his last game on Epstein field. Corey went 3-for-4 with two RBI’s and Phillips knocked in three more runs to give him seven on the day.

The Mountaineers wrap up the regular season tomorrow on the road against Becker with the first pitch at 12:00 p.m.