BENNINGTON, Vt. – In a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) rubber match at a blustery Bill Epstein Field on the Southern Vermont College campus, the Mountaineers lost to the visiting Becker College Hawks 12-9 Sunday afternoon as BC avoided the series sweep.
SVC falls to 4-2 in the conference on the season (10-11 overall) while Becker improves to 2-8 in NECC play and 2-18 overall.
Three Hawk home runs helped give the visitors an early advantage they would be able to hold onto for the victory. Each team scored in its respective offensive innings through the first five as neither starting pitcher made it out of the fifth.
Becker started off strongly with a lead-off homer by senior catcher Todd Tompkins (West Haven, Conn.), but that would be all the Hawks would manage in the opening box. Southern Vermont responded right away to tie in the bottom of the inning when a Hawk error proved costly, allowing SVC sophomore shortstop Chris Nicastro (Cranford, N.J.) to come around and score.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the second, Hawk sophomore centerfielder Keon Jenkins (Nashua, N.H.) ripped a double to plate two and regain the lead. Southern Vermont then took the sure out with runners on second and third on a ball hit to short which gave way for senior second baseman Austin Phillips (Thompson, Ga.) to cross the dish and make it 4-1.
Nicastro would rope a two-RBI double of his own, however, in the bottom of the inning to cut the Becker lead back to just one. The Hawks would respond with another three spot in the third, first when Jenkins took one for the team with the bases loaded. An ensuing Tompkins single up the middle scored two more, and Becker found itself up 7-3.
The bats stayed busy in the bottom of the third when SVC sophomore designated hitter Cody LaBadia (Howes Caves, N.Y.) led off with a double and then promptly scored with a single through the left side by sophomore rightfielder Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.). Hernandez would later score on a single up the middle by replacement catcher Ryan Schuette (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) to trim the Becker lead to 7-5.
Becker added its second dinger of the day in the top of the fourth off the bat of junior designated hitter Taylor Kapulka (Worcester, Mass.). The Mountaineers made up for it instantly in the bottom of the frame when Nicastro scored on a single by freshman second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.). Southern Vermont added its second of the inning a few batters later as a single by sophomore centerfielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) would bring Pingitore in, cutting the Hawk advantage to 8-7.
Both teams would add another in the fifth with Becker's coming on the third long-ball, this time from junior first baseman Chris Flanders (Londonderry, N.H.). Nicastro added another RBI in the following box with a groundout to short that allowed Shuette to score.
The score would remain 9-8 until the bottom of the seventh when Pingitore ripped a sacrifice fly to center, giving way for senior replacement Dave Northup (Richmond, R.I.) to come in and even things at 9-9 and take Mountaineer freshman starter Zach Milton (Ft. Myers, Fla.) off the hook.
The Hawks would put themselves right back in the driver's seat in the top of the eighth, however, with a three-run inning that saw a first-and-third base running play allow junior shortstop Mike Marcello (West Haven, Conn.) to steal home for the go-ahead run. A triple by freshman leftfielding replacement Nick Lemay (Oxford, Mass.) brought in two runs of insurance to put Becker ahead 12-9. Junior reliever Trenton Gibson (Henderson, Nev.) was able to finish the game and keep the Mountaineers off the board through their final two innings at bat to secure the victory.
Gibson gets his first win of the season (1-2) by allowing just two runs on three hits and four walks in five innings of work while SVC junior reliever Kurt Kowalczwk (Amsterdam, N.Y.) suffers the loss (2-1).
Nicastro finished the day 4-6 with four RBIs and two runs scored, and Sciara was 2-3 with two walks, a run scored and another batted in. Pingitore went 2-5, scoring a run and knocking in two while also swiping a bag on the day.
Flanders was 4-5 on the day, scoring three runs and batting in one. Jenkins went 2-3 with a walk and three RBIs, and Tompkins was 2-6 with three RBIs and a run scored. Senior third baseman Tony D'Addio (West Haven, Conn.) scored three runs while going 2-5 at the plate.
Southern Vermont turns to its Tuesday non-conference visit to Mass. College of Liberal Arts for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch, and Becker goes down the road to play at Worcester State University on Tuesday at 4 p.m.