SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College baseball team swept the Adelphi Panthers, first winning 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth and then posting a 5-2 win in a seven-inning contest on Sunday, April 23.
With the sweep, the Yellow Jackets improve to 14-22 overall and 8-12 in the NE10, while Adelphi drops to 21-17 overall and 11-8 in the NE10.
Game one of the doubleheader saw the Yellow Jackets and Panthers battle it out until the bottom of the ninth.
The Panthers wasted no time getting on the board, scoring three of their five runs in the first inning. A single up the middle with the bases loaded scored a runner to make it 1-0. A runner hit by a pitch brought the second run in, as the third run was brought home on a fielder choice hit to second base.
AIC saw its first run of the game come in the bottom of the third, as Brendan Carter walked with one out. Carter made it to third base after stealing second and advancing on a wild pitch. A hard-hit double down the left field line from K.J. White scored Carter, making it 3-1.
Neither team was able to produce a run until the bottom of the seventh, where the Yellow Jackets went off for three runs. Eugene Quirk started the inning off with a double down the left field line. Matt Costanza walked, giving AIC runners on first and second. A sac bunt moved runners to second and third, where a fielding error by Adelphi's third baseman allowed Josh Aviles to reach base and score Quirk. Matt Krause walked, loading the bases and setting up a two RBI single from Mike Wroth to center field to make it 5-4. A hard-hit ball from Chris Starcun produced another fielding error at third, allowing Krause to score, tying the game at 5-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Yellow Jackets started with Aviles singling past the second baseman for a leadoff single. Krause was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Both runners moved over a base on a wild pitch, as Wroth sent a walk off single towards the third baseman, scoring Aviles from third.
Ryan Bruning was given the start, where he went six innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, striking out six Panthers. Dean Streich faced three batters, getting one out and letting up two hits and two runs. Joe Pepe (W, 2-1) came into pitch the rest of the game, dealing 2.2 innings of work. Pepe allowed three hits and struck out three batters.
In game two, the Yellow Jackets got off to a hot start, with two runs scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Travis Seymour singled to second base with one out. White walked to put Yellow Jackets on first and second. A wild pitch saw Seymour advance to third and then score as Adelphi tried to pick off White advancing to second, White made his way to third on the proceeding throw to get Seymour out at home. A ground out by Wroth scored White, making it 2-0.
AIC didn't score again until the third inning, where Owen Wosleger doubled to left field with one out. Seymour moved Wosleger to third on a ground out to first. A single by White was all it took to score Wosleger, pushing the Jackets' lead to three. Adelphi prevented the shutout in the top of the fourth with a deep single to right field, scoring a runner from third.
In the bottom of the fourth, Andrew Ciacciarelli doubled with one out to start the inning. Nick Lavin walked, and then a walk by Trent Dillon loaded the bases. A fielding error by Adelphi's second baseman allowed Wosleger to reach base before advancing to second on the proceeding throw to get Dillion out at third after reaching second. Lavin and Ciacciarelli both scored, moving the Yellow Jackets' lead to 5-1.
Adelphi scored another run in the sixth inning on a deep single to left field to score a runner from third, making it 5-2.
Matt Costanza (W, 4-4) went the distance, pitching all seven innings, and only allowing two hits, two runs and striking out five runners.
AIC concludes its six-game home stand with a visit from Post University on Wednesday, April 26 at 3:30 p.m.
