NEW HAVEN, Connecticut - The American International College baseball team was swept on Saturday, April 29, losing to Southern Connecticut State University 8-2 in the first game and 13-2 in the second.
With the pair of losses, the Yellow Jackets drop to 14-24 overall and 8-14 in the NE10 while Southern Connecticut advances to 24-10-1 overall and 11-1 in the NE10.
The bottom of the second inning saw the first runs of the game, with three coming in for the Owls. A single scored a runner from second base while another single through the right side scored runners from second and third to give SCSU a quick 3-0 lead.
AIC countered in the fifth inning with two runs of its own, as Matt Krause reached first base on a fielding error by the second baseman to keep the inning going with two outs. A stolen base had Krause on second, and that led up to an RBI double to right center by Mike Wroth to make it 3-1. Chris Starcun followed up with a hard-hit ball up the right side to score Wroth while advancing to second on the throw, making it 3-2.
Two more runs came across for the Owls in the bottom of the fifth, with a sac fly to right field and a single down the right field line to push the score to 5-2. The Owls scored three more in the eighth to seal the deal on game one between the Yellow Jackets and Owls.
AIC went with Ryan Bruning (L, 1-4) to begin the game. Bruning dealt 7.1 innings, giving up 10 hits, six runs, three walks and six strikeouts. Jason Coscio faced one batter as he allowed a run before giving way to Anthony Crudale, who pitched just 0.1 innings and gave up three hits and one run. J.D LeHouiller finished up the remaining 0.1 inning.
Much like the first game, SCSU were the first to find the scoreboard in the first inning of the second game, as a throwing error by the shortstop allowed a runner to score from third base, making it 1-0. The following inning saw the Owls score once again, as a single scored a runner from second, giving SCSU a 2-0 edge. For the third straight inning, the home team scored as a double and single both brought home runs, doubling the lead.
AIC saw its only two runs score in the top of the fifth. Matt Costanza started the inning with a single down the right side. Costanza made it to second base on a wild pitch before KJ White walked with two outs to put Yellow Jackets on first and second. A double by Krause down the right line scored both White and Costanza, making it 4-2 SCSU.
The Yellow Jackets were unable to find a scoring touch, as they would fall to the Owls 13-2.
Dean Streich (L, 0-3) got the start while pitching 1.1 innings and giving up one hit, two runs -just one earned - and two walks. Joe Pepe came in next to deal three innings while letting up seven hits, five runs, two walks and two strikes. LeHouiller replaced Pepe to pitch 2.1 innings, letting up six hits and five runs. Brendan LaVallee pitched the remaining 1.1 innings and allowed three hits and one runs.
The Yellow Jackets finished up their three-game series against the Owls of Southern Connecticut on Sunday, April 30 at 12 p.m.
