PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team was passed Saturday afternoon for a 9-3 loss to Lesley University at Plymouth North High School in the first of a three-game New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) series between the two squads.
Southern Vermont (6-8, 1-3 NECC) put up a pair in the top of the second before LU (7-13, 4-4 NECC) grabbed one of its own to cut the lead in half. Both teams then tacked up a single run in the third to keep the game tight. Trailing 3-2 after five innings, the Lynx tallied three runs in the sixth and added four more in the top of the eighth to give them the six-run lead for the win.
The two teams will complete their regular season series tomorrow as they square off in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Mass.
Senior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) led the Mountaineers' offensive attack as he finished 2-4 with a run scored from atop the SVC lineup while classmate Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Junior Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) and freshman Niko D'Agnese (Westchester, N.Y.) also recorded hits for Southern Vermont.
Lesley's offense was paced by a 4-5 performance by senior David Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H.) who finished with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Fellow seniors John Gosnell (Toronto, Ontario) and Tyler Plourd (Canton, Conn.) also knocked in a pair of runs and scored one of their own for the Lynx while classmate Rob Parson (Commack, N.Y.) finished 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Lynx freshman Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) kept the Mountaineers off balance all game long, allowing only three hits after the third inning while collecting the win (4-1); his 11 strikeouts are the second most in Lesley program history. Mountaineer starting sophomore Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) pitched well for the visitors, striking out three and allowing just three earned runs (two unearned) in six innings of work during the loss (0-2).
SVC put runs on the board first as they took advantage of some Lynx miscues in the top of the second. Hernandez led the inning off with a single, moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt, and then scooted to third after Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) drew a walk and ball four skipped to the backstop. Hernandez didn't stay there long as he then scored on the second passed ball of the inning. Two batters later, Nicastro crossed the dish on a wild pitch to put the Mountaineers up 2-0.
After the Lynx scored a run in the bottom of the second to cut the SVC deficit to 2-1, Hernandez was once again involved in some SVC offense as he put the Mountaineer lead back to two runs with a sacrifice-fly to left field that scored Sciara.
Once again, the Lynx had an answer in the bottom of the third as Parson led-off the inning with a double before Hersey sent a two-out single up the middle to bring the speedy centerfield around to score.
The score would stay 3-2 in favor of the Mountaineers until the bottom of the sixth where the Lesley bats were able to string several hits together. Junior Gustavo Polidor (Caracas, Venezuela) started the rally with a single to center before he moved into scoring position following a walk by senior Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.). Polidor then came around on a Plourd single to right center while Muratore moved to third. Plourd then advanced to second on a stolen base, but a failed pickoff attempt by the Mountaineers at second allowed Muratore to come in and Plourd to move to third base. The Lynx registered their third run of the inning when Parson beat out a slow ground ball to third that allowed Plourd to score, putting the hosts up 5-3.
Lesley's bats were not done, however, as they added four more in the bottom of the eighth to open up the game. Hersey recorded his second RBI of the day with a single to left center before Gosnell knocked in a pair with a single to center. Polidor capped the scoring with a wall-ball double to left field as the Lynx took a commanding 9-3 advantage that they would carry to the victory.