BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team continued its march to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) postseason tournament Wednesday afternoon as the hosting Mountaineers defeated Newbury College 13-4 and 7-2 in a league series-opening doubleheader at Bill Epstein Field.
SVC used five runs in both the fourth and fifth innings of the first game to stage a comfortable lead that it would carry to the first victory, and the Mountaineers then scored twice in the third before tacking up three insurance runs in the sixth to finish off the sweep.
Southern Vermont improves to 17-14 overall on the year with six wins in the team's last seven games; the Mountaineers are also 10-4 in NECC play, tying their 2011 mark for SVC's most wins in the league since its inception for the 2009 season. Southern Vermont broke another record set by that 2011 squad on Wednesday, now having tallied the team's most home wins in program history as the Mountaineers are a strong 9-1 at The Bill this season.
Newbury falls to 12-20 on the 2016 campaign and 2-14 in Conference play.
The Mountaineers next hit the road Thursday to visit Colby-Sawyer College for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference first pitch. Newbury gets set to next host Becker College on Saturday for the Nighthawks' Senior Day, playing a 5:30 p.m. NECC twin bill at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.
SVC and Newbury will line up for the series final next Tuesday, April 26 with a 7 p.m. first pitch at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass. to cap the Conference regular season schedule.
With the pair of victories on Wednesday, Southern Vermont tied the all-time series with NC at 12-12.
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 13 – Newbury 4
Both teams scored one run in the opener before SVC took a 2-1 edge in the third. The Mountaineers then pulled away with five runs in the fourth and then five more in the fifth after Newbury got two back. Southern Vermont added one run in the bottom of the sixth and let up a meaningless solo tally in the seventh.
Mountaineer junior designated hitter Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored while sophomore left fielder Luigi Magliocca (Broadalbin, N.Y.) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and another batted in on a squeeze play. Sophomore third baseman Rob Spatafore (Mahopac, N.Y.) registered a 1-for-3 showing at the plate with three RBIs and a run scored, and freshman catcher Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.J.) turned in five RBIs with a 1-for-3 performance in the box.
SVC junior right-hander Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) continued to be stellar from the hill, improving to 6-1 on the year with his fourth complete-game victory in as many starts. The righty gave up just six hits and two walks while striking out five on the afternoon.
Newbury senior third baseman Ryan Zahornasky (Shelton, Conn.) went 3-for-3 at the dish while junior center fielder Ian Hruniak (Lutz, Fla.) was 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot with two runs and two RBIs, tagging a solo homer on the day. Sophomore Mitchell Walsh (Westport, Mass.) was 1-for-2 off the NC bench, recording an RBI and a run scored in the effort.
NC senior Craig Barnett (Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia) suffered the loss (2-5) from the hill after going 3.2 innings with the start, letting up seven runs on six hits while striking out three Mountaineer batters.
The Nighthawks pushed the opening run of the day across the plate in the top of the first, only to see Southern Vermont answer in the home half of the frame when senior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Perth, N.Y.) flew one deep enough down the line in left for freshman center fielder Zack Stacey (Saratoga, N.Y.) to tag up and score the equalizer from third.
After Angelo put up his second straight 1-2-3 inning of the day, Mason registered his first RBI in the bottom of the third with another sacrifice fly before the Mountaineers extended their upper hand to 7-1 in the fourth with five runs. Spatafore notched the hosts' third straight sac fly to get the scoring started before Mason cranked a two-out double to left center to clear the bases and bring in three more runs.
Newbury came back with two runs in a response, Walsh singling to right before Hruniak knocked a two-out single to second for his teammate to come in from third. The 7-3 score wouldn't stand for long as SVC chalked up another five runs in the home half of the fifth to go up by nine. Mercuri and Spatafore registered back-to-back run-scoring singles, and a Magliocca base hit then plated Mercuri to make it a 10-3 ballgame. Stacey and Mason both recorded RBIs in the box for the Mountaineers to stake a comfortable advantage.
SVC got the benefit of a Newbury error in the sixth for Mercuri to score before Hruniak knocked his home run over the fence in right during the top of the seventh. Angelo would get the next batter, however, to put away his fourth league victory of the year.
GAME 2: Southern Vermont 7 – Newbury 2
SVC put up two runs in the bottom of the first in game two, but the Nighthawks came right back to tie it with two of their own in the second. Southern Vermont then went back on top with another pair in the third before adding three in the sixth to pad the separation which would hold until the final out.
Spatafore and sophomore shortstop John Arancio (Oradell, N.J.) were both 2-for-3 with a run scored in the second matchup, Spatafore adding two extra-base hits and two RBIs while Arancio tallied one. Pingitore went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, and Stacey had a 1-for-3 showing with a walk and two runs scored.
Mountaineer junior righty Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) moved to 4-4 from the mound with the win, going the distance while letting up just the two runs on six hits and four walks. He also struck out three Nighthawks as he got just one victory away from tying for second on the program's all-time wins list.
NC freshman Cesarin Baez-Lara (Brighton, Mass.) went 1-for-3 with a run scored while junior second baseman Brian Rhone (North Haven, Conn.) was also 1-for-3 with a run batted in. Freshman catcher Radinsky Baez (Roxbury, Mass.) batted in the second Nighthawk run as freshman first baseman David Center (Medford, Mass.) scored one of his own.
Newbury junior Ethan Forrest (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) was strapped with the loss (1-4) on the hill, striking out seven in the outing.
Pingitore tagged his two-run home run the opposite way in the bottom of the first, clearing the right field wall with his third career dinger to make it a 2-0 lead in the early going. NC came back with two runs in the top of the second, Rhone knocking a single to right for Center to score before Baez grounded down to first for Baez-Lara to come in and tie the game.
The rest would be all Southern Vermont, however, as Hay and his defense were able to keep Newbury from crossing home again. Mason tagged a single to right in the third for Magliocca to trot home with the go-ahead tally before Arancio slapped a two-out single up the middle to bring home Stacey and make it a 4-2 Mountaineer lead.
Hay got the Nighthawks to go down in order in both the fifth and sixth innings, striking out three visiting batters in that stretch. SVC put up three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, Spatafore cranking a two-run triple to center before Magliocca pushed home the Mountaineer runner with an RBI squeeze play.
An NC lead-off single in the seventh would be erased as the next Nighthawk grounded into a double play, and Hay induced the final out to come on a pop up to short for Southern Vermont to finish off the game and take the series.