NASHUA, N.H. — Southern Vermont College notched the most wins in a season since 2011 as the visiting Mountaineers topped Daniel Webster College 17-11 Sunday afternoon to finish their 2015 campaign in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball rubber match.
SVC ends the season with a 16-18 overall record while going 7-11 in league play.
The Mountaineer bats were explosive on the afternoon, accounting for eight doubles and 22 total hits throughout the lineup. Southern Vermont crossed the plate 10 times in the top of the second for a comfortable cushion that the Eagles would not be able to overcome. Both teams scored three runs in each the third and seventh frames while adding one more apiece in the eighth as SVC took the series decider.
A handful of Mountaineers ended their collegiate careers on Sunday, doing so while ranking highly in program records across the board. Senior Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) had a 3-6 showing at the plate with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored, giving him exactly 100 hits in his three-year tenure at Southern Vermont; he joins two teammates who also collected their 100th career hit this season, senior Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) and junior RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) both accomplishing the feat earlier in the year.
Senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) was 3-5 on the afternoon with three runs scored and two more batted in. He finishes his time at Southern Vermont with 140 total hits, ranking him third on the all-time SVC list. Classmate Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) went 3-6 at DWC with three runs batted in and a run scored, pushing him to second in Mountaineer history with 161 career hits and fifth in all-time runs scored with 89; he also knocked in the second-most runs in his four years as a Mountaineer, tallying 114 RBIs while his career batting average of .361 is the best ever for an SVC player with at least 240 at bats.
Pingitore had a 2-6 showing at the dish on Sunday, recording a pair of RBIs and two runs scored in the win; he currently ranks fourth for all-time best batting average with a .320 and has amassed 115 hits in just three years at Southern Vermont. Classmate Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) was 2-4 with two walks and four runs scored while freshman catcher Joseph Buonemani (Phoenix, Ariz.) and senior AJ Watt (Sharon, Conn.) were both 3-6 with three RBIs and a run scored.
Southern Vermont stayed true to its running ways against the Eagles, swiping five bases on the day with Rios stealing a pair. The Mountaineer career stolen bases list was drastically changed with the 2015 season, seeing three players make their way to the top five list: Sciara finished his collegiate tenure with 45 to keep him at second while Pingitore now sits at third with 41. Rios is next in line at fourth with 40 after just two seasons at SVC, and Nicastro rounds out the list at fifth with 36.
Despite not playing on Sunday, Sciara concluded his career on a handful of program record lists. He tallied the fifth-most hits in SVC history with 136 and sits at third with 103 career runs scored. The senior captain worked the second-most walks (65) while being plunked the second-most times (40). He registered the fifth-best batting average at .312, and his .444 on-base percentage currently ranks as the second-best in program history.
Mountaineer freshman Nick Hartman (Hartland, Conn.) tossed five innings with the start on the bump Sunday for his second win of the season (2-1).
Top performances from the mound this year saw freshman Jean-Carlos Berasgoico (New York, N.Y.) turn in the fourth-best single season earned run average with at least one inning pitched per team game (3.25), and senior Dustyn Marfyak (Torrington, Conn.) concludes his career tied for the third-most wins in team history with six, three coming this year. Sophomore hurler Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) has already climbed up to be tied for the fifth-most victories on the hill with five.
Daniel Webster took to the scoreboard first on Sunday with a pair of runs in its first trip to the plate. The Eagle lead did not last for long, however, as SVC went up big with a crooked 10 spot in the following half inning. Rios started things with a lead-off single to center, and Hernandez then tagged his first double of the day to get the Mountaineers' scoring started. Watt then knocked a one-out single to tie the game, and a bunt single loaded the bases for Nicastro. The senior captain launched a two-run double to left, and Pingitore followed with another two-bagger to score a pair. With two down, a fielder's choice scored one run and kept the pond full of ducks for Buonemani; he brought them all in to score with the fourth SVC double of the frame, putting Southern Vermont up big at 10-2.
The Mountaineers added to their lead in the third with three more runs, LaBadia driving in two on a one-out single. Hernandez would notch his second double, bringing home his senior teammate for the 13-2 advantage. DWC answered with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the third, and the Eagles continued to chip away in the fifth with two more.
SVC extended its upper hand in the seventh with three scores, the first coming on a run-scoring single to left by freshman Eric Fields (Lakewood, Calif.). Watt batted in two more with two down, only to see Daniel Webster respond with three of its own in the home half of the box.
LaBadia went out on a high note, his last collegiate plate appearance being a run-scoring double to right in the top of the eighth. DWC scored a lone run in the bottom of the frame, but it made a minimal difference as the visitors capped the big win to conclude the season.