NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After winning 2-of-3 against the same opponent this past weekend, the Southwest Division No. 4-seed Pace University baseball team traveled back to Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) for their fourth game in four days on Tuesday, and took down the Southwest Division's top seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship First Round by a score of 5-2, eliminating the Owls and sending the Setters to NE10 Championship Weekend for the second straight season.
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st – Pace
- Sophomore shortstop
Michael Salmonese (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) led off with a bloop single to center.
- Senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Salmonese over to second.
- Senior second baseman
John Kukura (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) singled past the diving third baseman, and advanced to second when the throw from left went toward the plate.
- Junior center fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) then popped out in foul territory to the first baseman. After the catch, Salmonese took off for home, where the throw easily beat him, but he deked around the catcher and dove back to the plate to score and give Pace an early 1-0 lead.
Top 4th – Pace
- Gulino singled to left to lead off the inning, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior right fielder
Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton).
- Senior left fielder
Domenick Luongo (Darien, CT/Cardinal Spellman) then singled to right, plating Gulino from second to put the Setters ahead, 2-0.
Top 5th – Pace
- Junior third baseman
Matthew Kurdewan (Neptune, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) singled with one away.
- Salmonese then doubled down the right-field line, and an errant throw allowed Kurdewan to score and give the Setters a 3-0 lead.
Bottom 5th – SCSU
- Left fielder Nolan Cloutier led off the fifth with a double, and then moved to third on a ground out by second baseman Ryan Kaplan.
- Right fielder Griffin Garabedian then dropped a bloop single into left-center, scoring Cloutier to cut Pace's lead to 3-1.
Bottom 7th – SCSU
- With two away, Cloutier reached base on a hit-by-pitch, and then narrowly stole second.
- Kaplan then singled into right, scoring Cloutier to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Top 8th – Pace
- Mayo was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth, and then Kukura and Gulino drew back-to-back walks to load the bases without an out.
- Capaldi then ripped a grounder off the third baseman that bounced into foul territory, allowing Mayo to score and make it a 4-2 Pace lead.
Top 9th – Pace
- Senior first baseman
Garrett De Lotto (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) roped a single up the middle, and was sacrificed over to second by Kurdewan.
- De Lotto advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Salmonese to right, giving the Setters a three-run lead in the ninth.
PITCHING DECISIONS
Win:
Ryan Aquino (Mamaroneck, NY/Rye Neck) (7-4)
Loss: Griffin Bremer (6-4)
Pitching Notes
- Junior starter
Ryan Aquino (Mamaroneck, NY/Rye Neck) tossed a complete game, striking out a career-high nine batters while allowing just two runs on seven hits to earn the biggest win of his career to date.
SETTER STATS
- Gulino batted 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run.
- Salmonese hit 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a double.
- Luongo also had an RBI in his 1-for-3 effort.
- Kurdewan went 1-for-2 with a run scored.
OWL LEADERS
- Cloutier hit 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
- Garabedian went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
- Kaplan finished 1-for-4 with an RBI.
TEAM RECORDS
Pace: 29-17
SCSU: 27-14-1
UP NEXT:
- Pace now heads to NE10 Championship Weekend, which will be hosted by Southwest No. 2 University of New Haven as the highest remaining seed in the Southwest Division. The three-day weekend begins on Thursday, May 11. Pace will open the weekend against Northeast No. 2 Franklin Pierce University on Thursday at 12 p.m.
For all information regarding Pace baseball, log on to www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics) and Twitter (
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@PaceBaseball).
