WENHAM, Mass. – Southern Vermont College defeated Gordon College 10-6 Thursday afternoon in game one of a non-conference baseball doubleheader before the Fighting Scots held on to a late 5-4 lead to avoid the sweep at J Tec White Field.
The Mountaineers move to 9-15 on the season with the split, and Gordon is now 14-13 this year.
SVC sophomore second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) had a 4-6 day with three RBIs and two runs scored while junior pitcher Dustyn Marfyak (Torrington, Conn.) picked up his second win in as many starts on the mound to move to 2-2 on the year. Junior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the opener, but that would be as far as the streak would go when he didn't record a hit in game two.
GAME 1: Southern Vt. 10, Gordon 6
The Mountaineers got the scoring going quickly as they put up a lone run in the first, Pingitore scoring on a throwing error after swiping second. Gordon came back, however, and responded with one of its own to tie it up in the bottom of the inning. SVC stayed consistent and scored once in both the second and third innings to go up 3-1; a GC miscue in the second brought in the go-ahead run, and Pingitore then knocked a sacrifice fly to score junior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) in the third. The lead wouldn't last long as the Fighting Scots scored twice in the bottom of the third to again tie it up.
GC took its first lead in the following inning with a single run, only to have Southern Vt. come back in the top of the fifth with two for a 5-4 advantage. A pair of Gordon errors and two bases-loaded walks in the top of the seventh led to a five-run inning for the Mountaineers as they went up 10-4. Gordon junior third baseman Carlos Pichardo (La Romana, Dominican Republic) closed it to 10-6 with a two-out, two-run homer in the final frame, but the rally would be ended on a called-third strike for the SVC win.
Pingitore went 2-2 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. LaBadia was 1-2 with a pair of walks, a run batted in and a run scored, and Nicastro scored three times and stole a base.
Marfyak allowed four runs (three earned) in his six innings of work, striking out three in the process. Sophomore right-hander Scott Hall (Weymouth, Mass.) suffered the loss (3-2) for the Fighting Scots after giving up five runs off five hits and a walk in six innings from the start.
Pichardo finished 3-4 for Gordon while junior first baseman Travis Pullen (Las Vegas, Nev.) and junior right fielder Alonzo Martinez (El Paso, Texas) were both 2-4 with two runs scored.
GAME 2: Gordon 5, Southern Vt. 4
The Fighting Scots threw a run on the board to take an early lead in the first inning of game two, Martinez knocking a run-scoring double down the line in left. SVC then came back with three in the third with help from RBI singles by Nicastro and Pingitore. GC trimmed the lead in the fourth when a sacrifice fly to foul territory in left field plated junior third baseman Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.), making it a 3-2 game.
Southern Vt. cushioned its lead in the top of the fifth, Nicastro knocking in his second run of the game to put his team ahead 4-2. The Mountaineers wouldn't stay up for long, however, as Gordon used a three-run bottom to take the slight 5-4 advantage. A Fitzgerald sac fly that made it 4-3 allowed Pichardo to come up and put his team in front, tagging a two-run double to left center for the eventual game-winning run. The Fighting Scots were able to keep SVC off the board through the final two innings to preserve the win.
Nicastro went 2-3 with the two RBIs and a run scored in the back-end of the twin-bill while Pingitore was 2-4 with a run batted in. Sophomore third baseman Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) was 1-3 with two stolen bases and two runs scored.
GC junior righty Wesley Arning (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) improved his season record from the hill to 6-1 with the win, striking out six batters in his seven-inning complete-game victory; Arning allowed two earned runs on nine hits and no walks. Mountaineer freshman reliever R.J. Henle (Plantation, Fla.) took the loss (0-3), giving up the go-ahead run during his two innings of work.
Martinez went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Fighting Scots, and Pichardo had a 1-2 showing at the plate, both of his hits being doubles; Pichardo also walked and knocked in two in the win.
Southern Vt. returns to New England Collegiate Conference play with a three-game weekend home series against Lesley University, kicking off Friday with a 3 p.m. single game at Bill Epstein Field. Gordon next faces Lesley on Monday when the Fighting Scots host the Lynx for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference tilt.