WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team began its annual spring trip Sunday afternoon, falling 13-9 to Vassar College in 10 innings to start the RussMatt Baseball 2015 Central Florida Invitational at Chain of Lakes Park.
The win gives Vassar its first of the season (1-1) while Southern Vermont drops to 1-2 with the loss.
Mountaineer junior catcher Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, California) went 3-5 at the dish while stealing a base, and senior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, New York) added a 2-4 performance with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. Senior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, New York) was 2-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs while swiping a base from the leadoff spot. Both Sciara and senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, New Jersey), who was 2-5 at the dish, tallied a double in the game.
VC was led by junior right fielder Nick Johnson (San Francisco, California) who went 4-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored while junior designated hitter Cory Wuenschell (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) added a 3-5 performance with a pair of doubles, a walk, three runs knocked in, and another two runs scored. Junior catcher Dakota Sagnelli (Rumson, New Jersey) was 3-5 with four RBIs and a walk in the triumph.
Brewer junior Connor Cucalon (San Francisco, Florida) picked up the win (1-0) after throwing 1.1 innings, leaving after the ninth before Vassar took the four-run lead. Mountaineer senior Dustyn Marfyak (Torrington, Connecticut) suffered the loss (0-1) after pitching the 10th. SVC sophomore righty Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, New York) went six innings with the start, giving up just two earned runs and striking out three.
SVC led for most of the game, but Vassar was able to come back to take a two-run lead in the ninth. Southern Vermont scratched across two runs in the bottom of the last frame to force extras, only to see the Brewers put up four in the 10th for the win.
Hay was able to record the first two outs of the game, one on a called-third strike, before walking junior first baseman Brooks English (Milton, Massachusetts) for VC to get a runner on. The Brewer moved up to second on a passed ball, and he then came around and scored the first run of the game when Johnson hit a high chopper to the left side, over the head of freshman third baseman Jake Sisk (Tallahassee, Florida). Johnson made it up to second when the throw went home in an attempt to gun out English, giving Vassar another runner in scoring position. Wuenschell then hit a solid single to left, causing Johnson to round third and head for home. SVC freshman Eric Fields (Lakewood, California) scooped up the ball and fired a one-hopper to the dish where Rios grabbed it and applied the tag to retire the side.
Vassar didn't hold its lead for long as SVC came back in the bottom of the frame with a tally of its own. Sciara and Nicastro worked their way on before LaBadia drove the ball up the middle with one out; Sciara got on his horse and completed the 180-foot sprint to home, beating the throw to tie the game.
VC was able to work a runner to third in the top of the second, but a deep fly to left center by senior shortstop Jason Garfinkel (Encino, California) ended the box and brought the Mountaineers back to the plate. That's where they tacked up three runs to grab their first lead of the day. After senior right fielder Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, California) wore a pitch on his back, Fields roped a two-strike triple to right center to score the tying run. SVC then made some noise with two down as Fields came in on a wild pitch before Nicastro singled to the middle infield, allowing Sciara to score from second after he had swiped the bag.
The third inning saw the first scoreless frame of the day as a Rios single to left accounted for the only base runner between the two sides.
The Brewers had a chance to put some runs on the board in the top of the fourth, but the Southern Vermont defense stayed sharp to get Hay back in the dugout. After the righty threw seven straight balls to put Wuenschell on first and give freshman third baseman Bobby Kinne (Great Barrington, Massachusetts) a 3-0 count, he threw two called strikes to load the count. Kinne connected on the next pitch, however, ripping a single to the right side past a diving junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, New York); as Wuenschell rounded second and headed for third, Hernandez picked up and fired the ball to Sisk who applied the tag for the second out. Nicastro then corralled a hardly-hit ball to the left side and made the throw to first look easy for the final out.
After the Mountaineers went down in order to end the fourth, Vassar came back with two runs in the fifth to get to within one. A pair of one-out singles put Brewers at the corners before a sacrifice bunt by senior second baseman Kyle Casey (San Diego, California) brought Garfinkel in to score. The ensuing at bat saw English poke one out to center, allowing sophomore center fielder Bradley Kendall (Redlands, California) to come in from second to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
SVC answered in the bottom of the inning, making things happen once again with two outs. After Pingitore moved up to second when a pickoff attempt soared to the fence, LaBadia slapped one through the left side for his second RBI of the day. But Vassar would trim its deficit to one in the following half inning to keep things tight. A Kinne single would turn into a run when he moved up to second on a passed ball and then came in to score on a Sagnelli base hit up the middle. Sagnelli would be stranded at second as the game went to the bottom of the sixth with the Mountaineers clinging to their 5-4 lead.
A pair of VC miscues gave way for Southern Vermont to get runners on first and second with two outs, and Sciara made the most of it as he launched a ball to right center, a hit that kept fading and carrying over the Brewer outfielders before falling for the two-run double. He wouldn't get further than third as the inning ended with SVC on top 7-4.
The Brewers tacked up another run in the top of the seventh to stay within striking distance of Southern Vermont. Casey started things by popping one up down the left field line, a ball that found fair territory between Fields and Sisk as the batter made his way to second. He then scored when Johnson singled to left center, a ball between the outfielders that made for a tough field-and-throw for Fields in the attempt to gun out his second runner of the day.
Neither team could scratch across a run in its next trip to the plate despite Vassar loading the bases in the top of the eighth; Mountaineer junior Chris Bradt (Glenmont, New York) was able to get Casey to wave at a third strike, sending the game to the bottom of the frame with SVC still ahead 7-5. After Southern Vermont went down in order, Bradt returned to the hill trying to close it out.
English walked to start the inning and advanced to second on the ensuing Johnson at bat. Wuenschell then doubled down the line in left, scoring the lead runner and sending the trailing Brewer to third. A pop out preceded senior substitute Dan McCormack (Nashua, New Hampshire) getting plunked to load the pond for Vassar. That's where Sagnelli cranked a shot to center, just over the outstretched glove of Sciara to score a pair for the first VC lead since the top of the first. VC freshman reserve Matt Hernandez (Corona, California) then flied out deep enough to center for McCormack to plate, putting Vassar ahead 9-7.
Cucalon was able to retire the first two Mountaineers to kick-off the bottom of the ninth, but then SVC started to get things going with the heart of the order. Pingitore singled to short before LaBadia worked the walk, representing the tying run. Rios then singled through the left side as SVC head coach Dave Gage threw up the stop sign to keep the bases loaded. Hernandez came through with a big hit to center, allowing Pingitore to cross to make it a 9-8 affair. With Fields in the batter's box looking to extend, or even win, the game, Sagnelli made a snap throw down to first in an attempt to get Hernandez straying away from the bag; the Mountaineer's feet-first slide back to the base ended up kicking the ball to the fence, allowing LaBadia to cross with the equalizer. VC was able to get Fields to hit a grounder to the middle infield, getting Hernandez at second for the third out that sent the game to extras.
Three solid Brewer strokes to left scored two runs in the tenth as Vassar went on top once again. Wuenschell kept his hot day going, providing the double that allowed two runners to round from first and second to put VC ahead. He then made his way to third on a wild pitch and trotted home when Strickland knocked one through the right side of the infield. Another pair of hard-hit balls to the outfield scored freshman Eric Strickland (Round Rock, Texas) for Vassar to take a 13-9 advantage.
Hernandez went to the hill for Vassar and put the Mountaineers down in order, sealing the Brewers' first win of the season.
The Mountaineers continue the trip Monday with a doubleheader against Crown College of Minnesota starting at 10 a.m. Vassar next plays a Liberty League doubleheader in Florida on Wednesday to open up its conference schedule, taking on Clarkson University for a twin bill starting at 1:30 p.m.