NORTHFIELD, Vt. — Scoring came early and often from both sides Thursday afternoon as the Southern Vermont College baseball team was downed 14-7 by Norwich University in non-conference play at Garrity Field.
SVC used a three-run second to tie the game at 4-4 before adding a lone run in each of its next two at bats to take the lead. Norwich came back with a seven-spot in the bottom of the fourth, however, and the Cadets then tacked up three more over the next two innings. The Mountaineers got one back in the eighth, but it would not be enough as NU finished off the inner-state showdown.
Southern Vermont (11-13) turns right around for a home doubleheader on Friday, hosting the University of Maine at Presque Isle for a twin bill scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
Mountaineer senior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Perth, N.Y.) went 2-for-5 at the plate, stealing two bases and scoring two runs on the paths. Freshman designated hitter Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.J.) was 2-for-4 with a run scored while sophomore left fielder Luigi Magliocca (Broadalbin, N.Y.) worked two walks and had a pair of RBIs in the effort.
SVC sophomore third baseman Rob Spatafore (Mahopac, N.Y.) turned in a 2-for-5 performance from the batter's box while scoring a run, and junior catcher Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Mercuri extended his hitting streak to eight games with his base knock on the day.
Junior right-hander R.J. Henle (Plantation, Fla.) was strapped with the loss (1-2), striking out a pair in his 3.2 innings with the start for Southern Vermont.
Sophomore Niko D'Agnese (Mahopac, N.Y.) got on base in the first with the help of a two-base Norwich error before moving up to third with a wild pitch. SVC sophomore shortstop John Arancio (Oradell, N.J.) then came through with the run-scoring single to first, putting his team on top 1-0 right away. The lead would not last for long, however, as NU came back with four of its own to pull ahead.
The Mountaineers had an answer of their own, tying the game with three in the top of the second. Mercuri tagged a lead-off single to left to get onboard, and SVC would then go on to load the bases with no outs for freshman Danny Grammel (Leominster, Mass.). He worked a walk, and a Cadet pitching change didn't help as an ensuing Magliocca base on balls scored Mason from third. D'Agnese then sent a fly out deep enough to center for Spatagore to tag up and score, tying the game at 4-4 before Norwich got itself back in the dugout.
The visitors regained the upper hand in the next inning with a single run, Mercuri coming around to score with another bases-loaded walk as the Cadets were one out away from ending the frame. SVC got a little more separation in the fourth, Pingitore turning a lead-off single into a run as he stole third after moving up on a passed ball; he subsequently scored on a sacrifice fly to center by freshman first baseman Joe Braim (Schuylerville, N.Y.).
Down 6-4 going into the bottom of the fourth, NU recorded seven runs in the box to go back in front. The Cadets then made it a 12-6 lead in the fifth win a lone run, and they padded their cushion with another pair in the sixth.
SVC's attempt to climb back into it saw the Mountaineers cross the dish once in the eighth, all of their action coming with two outs. Pingitore singled to the Norwich pitcher, and he would later score on a pinch-hit single to left off the bat of freshman Peter Schmidt (Stewartsville, N.J.). That would be all Southern Vermont would manufacture in the inning, and a Grammel single in the top of the ninth would prove harmless to the Cadets as they wrapped up the win.