LEICESTER, Mass. – Southern Vermont College was able to score twice in the top of the ninth but couldn't scratch across the tying run as the Mountaineers lost 6-5 Sunday afternoon to Becker College at Rochdale Park in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball series rubber match.
The Hawks improve to 12-11 on the season with the win, 9-4 in the conference. SVC drops to 3-6 in NECC play, 8-14 overall.
Southern Vt. took to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Becker answered with two in the bottom half of the frame to go ahead. The Hawks added another three in the third for a 5-1 advantage and scored their sixth run in the bottom of the fourth. SVC tallied one in the next half inning to make it a 6-2 ballgame before scoring once again in the seventh. The 6-3 score stood until the top of the ninth when the Mountaineers crossed the plate twice to close it to 6-5. They couldn't get the tying run home to extend the game as Becker finished the series sweep.
Southern Vt. out-hit the Hawks 14-5, and both teams registered four errors apiece on the afternoon.
SVC junior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) went 3-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored out of the lead-off spot while sophomore second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) was 3-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Freshman designated hitter Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) had a 2-4 showing at the plate, and sophomore third baseman Quinten Scott (Ashaway, R.I.) went 2-5 with a run batted in.
Senior pitcher Tony Cantalupo (De Pere, Wis.) took the win from the hill (2-0), giving up three runs in eight innings while striking out three. Junior closer Jason Silbor (Uxbridge, Mass.) picked up his second save of the day, and SVC freshman starter Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) took the loss (3-2).
Southern Vt. got on the board when it manufactured a run in the top of the first. Sciara led-off the game with a single to center field. After a stolen base and ground ball to the right side of the infield put him at third, a Pingitore grounder to short allowed Sciara to come in for the first run of the game.
The Hawks responded in the bottom of the first when they loaded the bases. Senior Tom Natoli (Suffern, N.Y.) hit a sharp grounder that skipped past the shortstop, allowing Chris Testa (Providence, R.I.) and Mike Smith (Warner, N.H.) to score and give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
After Smith earned a one-out walk in the bottom of the third, Matt Consigli (Whitinsville, Mass.) roped a triple into the right-center field gap to put Becker in front 3-1. Natoli followed with a ground ball to short which, as the throw sailed into the stands, allowed Consigli to cross the plate with the Hawks' fourth run. After Natoli advanced to third on a wild pitch, he would score on a Mike Marcello (West Haven, Conn.) RBI ground-out.
The Hawks made the score 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Trevor Read (Colorado Springs, Colo.) successfully executed a safety squeeze to score classmate Randall Minogue (North Kingstown, R.I.) from third base.
The Mountaineers chipped away at the deficit in top of the fifth when sophomore Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) scored from third on a double steal.
Southern Vermont cut the Hawks' lead to 6-3 in the top of the seventh with a Pingitore single to bring home Sciara.
The Mountaineers made one last push in the bottom of the ninth when they scored two more runs on RBI singles by Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) and Scott, but Silbor got a fly-out to left field to put out the fire and end the game.
The Mountaineers try to bounce back on Tuesday when they visit Nichols College for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference first pitch. Becker next lines up against Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. home game.