BENNINGTON, Vt. – Splitting a pair of tightly-contested seven-inning games Sunday, the Southern Vermont College baseball team won the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) season series over Newbury College at Bill Epstein Field.
The Mountaineers took the first game 4-3 with a dramatic play-at-the-plate finish before falling 2-0 in game two. SVC moves to 3-3 in the NECC, 7-10 overall, and the Nighthawks now stand at 3-4 in conference play and 8-11 on the season.
In the day's first game, Southern Vt. junior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) went 2-3 at the dish, collecting the two hits he needed to become the eighth Mountaineer to join the 100 hits club.
GAME 1: Southern Vt. 4, Newbury 3
Newbury jumped out to an early lead with a run in the top of the first, but SVC put up one of its own in the bottom of the box to tie it up. The Mountaineers added two more in the third and another in the fifth before the Nighthawks chipped away at the lead with one in the sixth. NC then loaded the bases in the top of the seventh and nearly tied it with a base hit to center. One run came around to make it 4-3, but the trail runner was gunned down at home by SVC junior captain Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) to end the game.
Mountaineer starting hurler Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) pitched a gem to improve his season record from the bump to 3-1 with help from sophomore left-hander Erik Johansen's (Rosendale, N.Y.) second save in as many days. Hay gave up just two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks in 5.1 innings of work, striking out six in the outing. Nighthawk starting righty Cameron D'Agostino (Salisbury, Mass.) suffered the loss (2-2) from the hill.
LaBadia scored a run and knocked in another in the first game while SVC sophomore third baseman Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) also had a 2-3 performance at the plate with a double and a run scored. Sciara went 3-4 with a run and a stolen base, and sophomore second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) was 1-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Freshman catcher Tony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) also collected a pair of hits in his 2-3 showing at the bat.
No Nighthawk could muster multiple hits off Hay, but freshman center fielder Ian Hruniak (Lutz, Fla.) was able to work three walks out of the lead-off spot. He scored a run in the game and stole a base while freshman shortstop C.J. Ingraham (Georgetown, Mass.) went 1-4 with an RBI and another run scored. Senior catcher David Dubay (Farmington, Conn.) added a 1-3 performance to go with a stolen base and a run batted in.
A lead-off walk to Hruniak to start the game would not come back to hurt Hay as the runner was retired with some defensive help. After Hruniak moved up to third from second on a passed ball, he was thrown out at the plate by sophomore left fielder Quinten Scott (Ashaway, R.I.) who fired a one-hopper after catching a shallow fly-out. NC would make its way onto the board before the inning ended, however, when the Nighthawks went for the double steal with runners at the corners. The throw down to second was deflected into the outfield, making way for Ingraham to trot in for the 1-0 lead.
Southern Vt. threatened to respond with a big inning in the bottom of the box, loading the bases with a pair of singles followed by a Nighthawk infield miscue. D'Agostino worked a strikeout and a subsequent grounder to third where junior Steven Broy (Gorham, Maine) scooped up the ball and fired home to get the force-out. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Rios to speed home and slide in for the equalizer; Dubay collected the loose ball and fired down to Broy for the third out, but it was just after Rios touched the plate for the run to count as the inning ended.
The Mountaineers did not stay out in the field long in the second with Hay retiring the side in order with the help of two strikeouts. D'Agostino answered with a 1-2-3 inning of his own, also working a pair of K's to end the frame. Team trips to the plate continued to be short-lived with Hay again sitting down the side consecutively in the top of the third. In the bottom half of the inning, Southern Vt. tacked on its second run when Sciara turned a single into two with a stolen base. Pingitore then hit a two-out base hit to center, brining Sciara around to go up 2-1. LaBadia smacked a ball into center over Hruniak's head, but the ball stuck in the soft grass for the long single. Still, it was enough to see Pingitore move across the dish for the 3-1 advantage.
The Nighthawks were able to get a hit in the fourth on a come-backer at Hay who quickly pondered grabbing it with his bare hand. The freshman hurler decided to let his infielders make a play on it, but the ball's soft roll allowed senior right fielder Michael Dwyer (Hamden, Conn.) to leg out the single. He would move up on a passed ball but get stranded at second when Hay pounced off the mound to grab a soft chopper to his left and made the flip to first to retire the side.
In the bottom of the fourth, SVC nearly got on the board again with runners at the corners and a one-out squeeze attempt. D'Agostino charged and flipped to Dubay who applied the tag for the second out. After the Mountaineers loaded the bases, the Newbury battery again hooked up as Dubay chased down a passed ball and tossed to his junior righty at the plate, retiring Cahoone at home to end the inning. Hay was again efficient in the top of the fifth, putting down the Nighthawk side in order to preserve the 3-1 lead.
Southern Vt. would increase that margin in the bottom of the fifth when LaBadia recorded his 100th on an infield single. After he moved up to second on the throw to home that recorded an out at the plate, LaBadia trotted home on a well-hit single to center by SVC junior right fielder Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) that made it a 4-1 ballgame.
Newbury finally got its most offense since the first in the top of the sixth, started by Hruniak's second base on balls of the game. He easily stole second when the transfer was bobbled and then scored when Dubay tagged a double down the left field line. After Dubay swiped third, Hay's day ended with a one-out walk to put the tying run at first. SVC notched the second out as Broy was gunned down trying to steal second, and Johansen then got his team off the field with a strikeout on the outer edge of the plate to end the threat.
Southern Vt. couldn't manufacture much in the bottom of the sixth, sending Johansen back out to finish it up. It would not be an easy save, however, as he hit the lead-off batter to put the tying run at the plate. A walk put a pair of ducks on the pond for Newbury, and the Nighthawks then placed both runners in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. The southpaw helped himself with a strikeout but followed with another walk to load the bases. Ingraham came to the plate and roped one out to center, allowing D'Agostino to trot home and make it 4-3. Perillo was not far behind, trying to score from second to tie it up; Sciara came up throwing, however, and sent it right to Mercuri who was blocking the plate and made the tag for the final out. It was the second time of the season that SVC won on a game-ending assist from center by Sciara.
GAME 2: Newbury 2, Southern Vt. 0
Runs were hard to come by in game two with neither team making its way across the plate until the top of the seventh when Newbury put up the only two scores of the game in its last at-bat. Southern Vt. couldn't answer in the bottom of the inning, being shutout for the doubleheader split. It was just the first time all season that the Mountaineers failed to notch at least one run.
LaBadia was the only Mountaineer to reach twice with another 2-3 showing at the plate, one hit being a double, while he added a stolen base to his line. Rios and Hernandez were both 1-3 with a double each as three of the four SVC hits went for extra bases.
Newbury freshman second baseman Brian Rhone (North Haven, Conn.) was 1-3 in the win, but that lone hit drove in the two Nighthawk runs that proved to be the difference-makers. Dwyer and D'Agostino were both 1-3 with a run scored while Hruniak made his way on base twice, going 1-3 with a walk.
A tremendous complete-game shutout performance by Newbury freshman Ethan Forrest (East Bridgewater, Mass.) helped better his record from the mound to 2-2 on the year. He went all seven innings, surrendering just four hits and no walks while striking out six. SVC senior left-hander Kurt Kowalczyk (Amsterdam, N.Y.) had a solid appearance of his own, giving up just the two runs on five hits and three walks; the southpaw recorded four strikeouts in his seven innings of work while suffering the loss (1-1).
Neither side's offense could amount much at the start of the back-end as no more than one base runner reached safely in any half inning through the first three. Both teams saw lead-off hits to start their respective ends of the fourth; Newbury couldn't make anything of it, and LaBadia got caught up in a rundown heading to third on a chopper back to the mound. The scoreless streak continued though fifth with Forrest getting help from two nice plays at the corner by Broy that sent the Mountaineers back out to the field for the sixth.
Kowalczyk again made quick work of the Nighthawks, giving up just a walk before inducing two ground-outs to end the top half of the inning. Southern Vt. was equally hard-pressed to make anything happen at bat, stranding LaBadia at second after he roped a two-out double down the left field line.
Newbury would finally end the stalemate with a pair of runs in its last scheduled at-bat. With one out, Dwyer laid a bunt down the first base line; as Kowalczyk's momentum from his follow-through carried him to the right, he couldn't maneuver quickly enough back to his left while Dwyer legged out the single. He then moved up to second on a hit to left by D'Agostino, and a subsequent walk then loaded the bases for the Nighthawks. Rhone slapped a two-out seeing-eye single the other way through the right side of the SVC infield, scoring the two lead runners who were off on contact.
Despite action in the NC bullpen, Forrest returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh with his 2-0 cushion. That lead would never be in danger as the freshman righty put away all three Mountaineers he saw in the frame to take home the rubber match and prevent the series sweep.
Southern Vt. turns back to non-league play with a Wednesday doubleheader at Keuka College beginning at 2 p.m. Newbury looks ahead to its Thursday non-conference game at Rivier College slated to start at 7 p.m.