NEW HAVEN, Connecticut - The American International College baseball team split a two-game Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division series at Southern Connecticut State University, topping the Owls 4-1 and falling 16-7 on Friday, April 19.
FAST FACTS:
Scores: AIC 4, Southern Connecticut 1; Southern Connecticut 16, AIC 7
Records:The Yellow Jackets now stand at 15-17 overall, 8-9 in NE10 games, and 6-3 in divisional play; the Owls sit 16-22 in total, 7-11 in the NE10, and 5-6 in the division.
Location: The Ballpark at SCSU, New Haven, Connecticut
STATS LEADERS:
Game One:
AIC:
Matt Costanza: 2-for-5, one run, two RBI
Matt Elliott: 1-for-4, two-run double
Josh Aviles: 1-for-2, three walks
Joe Pepe: Win (4-3), 9.0 innings, one run, three hits, no walks, three strikeouts
Southern Connecticut:
Jim Palmer: 2-for-4, one run
Ronnie Rossomando: No decision, 7.0 innings, one hit, five walks, 10 strikeouts
Mike Ferrett: Blown save, loss (0-1), 0.1 innings, three runs, three hits
Game Two:
AIC:
Brendan Carter: 2-for-2, two runs, four stolen bases
Cam DeFeo: 2-for-3, one triple, two runs, one walk
Josh Aviles: 1-for-4, two RBI
Joe Kemlage: Loss (4-3), 2.1 innings, seven runs, six hits, four walks, three strikeouts
Southern Connecticut:
Mike DeMartino: 2-for-5, one run, three RBI
Mac Finnegan: 2-for-4, one run, three RBI
Connor Redahan: 3-for-5, four runs, two doubles, two RBI
Nick Lamberti: 3-for-4, four runs, two doubles, four stolen bases
Joe Nemchek: No decision, 3.2 innings, four runs (three earned), three hits, four walks, nine strikeouts
Jared Henry: Win (1-0), 3.1 innings, no runs, two hits, one walk, six strikeouts
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases in the first inning on a trio of walks but failed to push a run across. The Owls, by contrast, did score in the first, with a single, stolen base, groundout, and sacrifice fly combining for the small-ball run.
- Both pitchers settled in nicely after the first; junior Joe Pepe rolled through the Owls lineup, while his counterpart, Ronnie Rossomando of Southern Connecticut, sat the AIC hitters down with nearly equal ease.
- In the seventh, the Owls pulled their starter, and the Yellow Jackets pounced, as rookie Cam DeFeo lined a double to left to start the inning. Two batters later, junior Matt Costanza drove him in with a single through the left side. Junior Matt Krause and sophomore Anthony Clark each singled to load the bases for senior Matthew Elliott, who smashed a two-run double to give AIC a 3-1 lead.
- In the home half, the Owls bats were stifled thanks to the glove of junior Brendan Lavallee, who made diving catches at third on back-to-back shots down the left-field line.
- In the ninth, AIC added to the lead as redshirt senior Reed Phillips singled and stole second before being driven home by Costanza.
- Pepe allowed a leadoff double in the ninth, but collected the next three outs to finish the complete game win.
- In game two, two Owls reached home safely in the first, with a leadoff triple starting a mini-rally for the hosts. Nick Lamberti, who reached on a fielder's choice, swiped second, third, and then home to get his team ahead 2-0.
- Elliott put AIC on the board in the second inning, a frame where AIC did not have a hit; he was hit by a pitch, then stole second and advanced to third on a bad throw, ultimately coming home on a wild pitch. One frame later, the Yellow Jackets tied the contest at 2-2 as DeFeo tripled and Aviles drove him in with a sacrifice fly.
- The home team exploded in the bottom half for five runs, opened by a hit batsman and a single, with Mac Finnegan driving both runners in on a double and scoring himself on a triple.
- AIC tried to claw back into the game, scoring twice in the fourth as senior Eugene Quirk reached when he was hit by a pitch, stole second, and was driven in by LaVallee, who scored later in the frame on a wild pitch, but the Owls responded with three in the home half of the inning to lead 10-4 and tacked on three in each of the following two innings.
- AIC added two more in the eighth as senior Brendan Carter singled and stole two bases before being driven in by Aviles; Phillips later drove DeFeo in to cut the deficit to 16-6.
- Carter singled and stole two more bases in the ninth and scored again, but that was the last run for AIC as the Yellow Jackets settled for a split.
NEXT UP:
- The Yellow Jackets host No. 19 Adelphi University for one game on Monday, April 22 at 3:30 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED:
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