BENNINGTON, Vt. — Daniel Webster College played spoiler Saturday afternoon as it split a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball doubleheader at Bill Epstein Field to dash Southern Vermont College's postseason possibility.
The Mountaineers (15-18, 6-11 NECC) scored twice in the bottom of the seventh in the day's opener to walk off with a 4-3 victory, but DWC (8-17, 3-13 NECC) came back to share the twin bill with an 11-7 win in a nine-inning day-cap.
The two squads will line up once more on Sunday at Daniel Webster's diamond for a 1 p.m. rubber match to conclude the season.
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 4, Daniel Webster 3
SVC took an early lead in game one with a lone run in the bottom of the first, but the Eagles answered with three in the second to go in front. The Mountaineers cut it to a one-run game in the fifth, sending the contest to the final frame with Daniel Webster up 3-2. Southern Vermont was able to tack up one run before a squeeze play allowed the winning score to cross the dish for the walk-off.
Mountaineer senior right fielder Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) went 2-3 at the plate with a walk and two RBIs while junior catcher Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) was 1-2 with two walks, a run scored and a run batted in. Junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) had a 1-4 showing at the dish and scored a pair of runs, and freshman third baseman Eric Fields (Lakewood, Calif.) was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Southern Vermont starting sophomore righty Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) tallied a career-high 11 strikeouts to grab his first win of the season (1-2), allowing just three earned runs in the complete-game victory. DWC sophomore reliever Nick Goodin (Dracut, Mass.), who had come in to pitch in the seventh for the close, suffered the loss (0-3) from the hill.
Daniel Webster junior third baseman Kyle Brigham (Hudson, N.H.) went 3-4 with an RBI while sophomore first baseman Dakota Williams (Hudson, N.H.) turned in a 2-3 showing at the dish with a pair of runs batted in. Junior Dan Ierardi (Dunstable, Mass.) tallied a 1-3 effort with a walk and a run scored in the loss.
The visitors got runners to second and third with only one out in the top of the first, but SVC got out of the inning unscathed before going ahead in the bottom of the frame. A lead-off hit by pitch would come around to score as Rios lined a two-out single to left for the 1-0 edge.
Southern Vermont wouldn't be in front for long, however, as the Eagles came back with three in the next half inning. DWC loaded the bases with a pair of plunked batters and an ensuing walk, and Brigham then knocked in his first run of the day with a two-out single up the middle. Williams followed, lacing a base hit to right for two more Eagles to come around and score.
The 3-1 Daniel Webster lead held until the fifth when SVC got its offense going with two down. Rios walked and quickly stole his way to scoring position, making way for Hernandez to cut into the Southern Vermont deficit with an RBI single to the gap in right center.
Hay tallied four strikeouts through the next two Eagle trips to the plate for the one-run difference to hold until the bottom of the seventh. Looking to keep it postseason hopes alive, the Mountaineers got the tying run aboard as senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) singled out to left. Pingitore then laid down a bunt to move the runner, but it was placed well enough for him to leg out a single; the DWC throw to first in the attempt to get the out was sent into foul territory, allowing both Mountaineers to move up into scoring position.
Following a strikeout, Daniel Webster chose to intentionally walk Rios to get to Hernandez and force an out at any base. The SVC senior made the decision hurt, looping a single to left to tie the game as Nicastro trotted home. Fields came to the dish next and squared around, putting down a perfectly-placed squeeze bunt that could not be fielded in time to prevent Pingitore from touching home with the winning run.
GAME 2: Daniel Webster 11, Southern Vermont 7 (9 inn.)
A back-and-forth game two saw both teams lead at points while the tilt was tied up four times following the first inning. Daniel Webster knotted it at 2-2 with one run in the top of the fourth before putting up three in the fifth for the upper hand. SVC notched one in the sixth, only to see the Eagles answer with one of their own in the seventh.
Down to its final scheduled at bat, Southern Vermont scratched out three runs in the home half of the frame to tie things at 6-6. DWC went back in front with one run in the eighth, but the Mountaineers again matched it with a single tally in the bottom of the box. Daniel Webster then chalked up four in the third extra inning and kept SVC from coming home to wrap up the split.
Rios was 2-4 with a walk and two RBIs in the effort while sophomore designated hitter Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) was 2-2 with a run scored. Freshman center fielder Niko D'Agnese (Mahopec, N.Y.) scored two runs out of the lead-off spot while Nicastro worked three walks and scored a run.
Williams tallied a 3-5 showing at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored as eight of the Eagle starting position players scored at least once in the win. Sophomore designated hitter Dan Quinn (Auburn, N.H.) and sophomore left fielder Kelvin Rodriguez (Nashua, N.H.) were both 2-5 with two runs batted in and another scored.
Eagle junior lefty Brandon Stevens (Manchester, N.H.) grabbed his first win from the bump (1-0) after tossing the last two innings from the bullpen while SVC right-handed sophomore R.J. Henle (Plantation, Fla.) was strapped with the loss (2-1).
After Daniel Webster tied the contest at 2-2 in the top of the fourth, an error and a hit batter allowed Eagles to reach in the fifth. A Quinn double brought the lead runner in to score, and Rodriguez followed with a two-run single to right for the 5-2 advantage.
Southern Vermont cut the lead down in the sixth when Rios tagged an RBI double to center, but the Eagles responded in the next half inning with a two-out single up the middle that plated Williams for the three-run separation. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Rios worked a walk to bring in a Mountaineer run. Hernandez chopped a grounder to short that was booted for another to cross and the inning to extend, and a wild pitch allowed the third SVC run of the frame to score to tie things once again.
After DWC got out of the jam in the seventh, Williams singled to third for the go-ahead run to come home. But once again, Southern Vermont answered with the equalizer in the home half. SVC senior Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) slapped a drive out to right center, a ball that found its way through the bottom of the gate to hold what would have been a triple to the ground rule double. It wouldn't matter, however, as Fields followed with a double of his own to left for Sciara to round third and score. A walk and a ground out put Mountaineers at second and third, but Stevens induced the inning-ending fly out to send his offense back to the plate.
The top of the ninth started with a hit by pitch and a bunt single before a sacrifice pushed both runners up 90 feet. A single ripped through the left side scored the first, and an ensuing two-out single scored two more Eagles. Quinn capped the DWC box with a run-scoring single to left, putting his team on top 11-7. Southern Vermont went down in order in the bottom of the inning as Daniel Webster concluded the day's share.