SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The American International College baseball team nearly came all the way back after the bullpen got touched up for eight runs in the final three innings as it dropped a wild 13-10 Northeast-10 Southwest Division contest to No. 21 Southern Connecticut State University Sunday afternoon at AIC Park.

The Owls improved to 29-14 overall, 16-9 in the Northeast-10 and 11-6 in the Southwest Division, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 14-24-1 overall, 6-18-1 in the NE-10 and 3-13-1 in division games.

The two teams traded runs and were tied 5-5 through the first five innings before sophomore Dave Clark (West Springfield, Mass.) launched a two-run homer in the bottom of sixth to give AIC a 7-5 lead. SCSU got one run back when senior Greg Pacelli (Hamden, Conn.) scored from third on classmate Bryan Dorsey's (Cheshire, Conn.) ground out to second in the top of the seventh before exploding for five two-out runs in the eighth to take the lead for good.

The Owls had runners on second and third with two outs before senior Tim Bailey (Chicopee, Mass.) intentionally walked senior Sam Greenberg (Guilford, Conn.) to load the bases. Senior Kyle Cummings (Hamden, Conn.) then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game and sophomore T.K. Kiernan (Wallingford, Conn.) drove in freshman Nick Baviello (Orange, Conn.) and Greenberg with a single to right center to put SCSU ahead 9-7.

Dorsey then crushed a two-run homer to give the Owls an 11-7 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. Junior Michael Cleary (West Boylston, Mass.) then led off the top of the ninth with a solo blast to right and Greenberg later drove in Cummings with a suicide squeeze that gave Southern Connecticut a 13-7 lead.

The Yellow Jackets didn't go down quietly in the bottom of the ninth, scoring two runs on sophomore Cam MacDonald's (Weymouth, Mass.) single through the right side, and on the same play Clark scored from third on an errant throw from RF to pull AIC back within three, 13-10. Senior Julian Concepcion (Woodstock Valley, Conn.) then struck out looking to end the threat and the game.

The Yellow Jackets also had a golden opportunity to score some runs in the bottom of the eight after giving up five runs in the top of the frame with the bases loaded and no outs, but freshman Pat Egan (Aberdeen, N.J.) was able to settle down and fanned each of the next three batters to escape without any damage done. AIC stranded a total of 12 base runners in the game, nine of which were in scoring position.

Egan earned the decision after tossing one and two-third scoreless innings with four strikeouts, improving his record to 3-1 for the season junior Kevin Madera (Newington, Conn.) got the start and was chased after allowing five runs (four earned) in just three innings of work.

Freshman Steve Pino (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) took the loss after allowing two runs in one and one-third. It was the first time in 15 appearances that he was in the decision. The AIC bullpen gave up seven runs in the final three innings after senior John Hanna (Dudley, Mass.) allowed six runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings.

Senior Ryan Geffert (Plymouth, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Dorsey finished 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and three driven in. Greenberg went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one run driven in, while Baviello was 3-for-5 with a run scored and Cummings was 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored.

Sophomore Dan Asselin (Chicopee, Mass.) went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two runs driven in, while Clark went 3-for-6 with two RBI and scored two runs. MacDonald was 2-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs, while freshman Lucas Vallas (East Northport, N.Y.) was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored.

The Yellow Jackets will next travel to Le Moyne College Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. Northeast-10 Southwest Division contest.