Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Junior right fielder Dillon Fontaine (Amenia, N.Y.) hit a three-run homerun down the right field line in the bottom of the seventh as the American International College baseball team upset Adelphi University Tuesday afternoon in a Northeast-10 contest.

The Yellow Jackets improved to 6-15 overall and 3-5 in the Northeast-10 with the win while snapping a five-game losing streak. The Panthers, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region Poll, dropped to 18-7 overall and 5-3 in the NE-10.

AIC trailed 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh when Fontaine drove an 0-1 pitch over the right field fence with two on and one out to give the Yellow Jackets a 4-3 lead they would never give up.

AIC put together another scoring rally in the eight to open a 7-3 lead, scoring runs on RBI-singles from junior third baseman Dan Mooney (Bennington, Vt.) and sophomore shortstop Sean McClelland (Chicopee, Mass.) and an RBI-double from redshirt second baseman Chris Amate (Hanover, Mass.).

Adelphi tried to rally in the top of the ninth, but managed to score just one run when freshman Nick Pomo-Roman (North Bellmore, N.Y.) scored on a wild pitch. Sophomore reliever Geoff McCowat (Sterling, Va.) settled down after that and got the final two outs to end the game.

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a sac-fly to left center from senior first baseman Anthony Anzalone (Rocky Point, N.Y.) and an run-scoring single to left off the bat of sophomore left fielder Robert Eysel (Staten Island, N.Y.), who was gunned down at second trying to stretch his hit into a double.

The two teams traded runs in the third inning. Junior catcher Richard McCarren (Seaford, N.Y.) led off the top half of the inning with a solo homer to right and junior center fielder Mike Tranghese (Springfield, Mass.) singled up the middle to plate Mooney in the bottom half of the frame.

Sophomore starter John Hanna (Dudley, Mass.) improved his record to 2-2 after giving up four runs on 13 hits with three strikeouts in eight and one-third innings, while McCowat earned the save without surrendering a hit to close out the ninth. Junior reliever Salvatore Persico (Staten Island, N.Y.) was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs while recording just one out in the seventh.

Mooney went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored for AIC, while McClelland went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. McCarren went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one driven in for Adelphi, while senior left fielder Juntin Ciamillo (Sayville, N.Y) went 3-for-5 with one run scored.

The two teams will meet again Thursday at Adelphi for a 3:30 p.m. Northeast-10 contest.