SETTERS DROP DOUBLEHEADER TO SAINT ANSELM IN NE-10 OPENERS

PLEASANTVILLE, NY- The Setters drop a tough pair of games to the Hawks of Saint Anselm College in both team's Northeast-10 Conference openers. The Hawks took game one 3-2 with a ninth inning rally and completed the sweep with a 2-1 win in 13 innings. The Setters drop top 5-11-1 on the season and 0-2 in the NE-10, while the Hawks improve to 5-9 and 2-0 in conference play.

In the opener, the Hawks pushed across a run in the fifth inning and another one in the eighth to take a 2-0 lead heading into the ninth inning. The Setters would rally in the final at-bat as Vinny Dammann (Mullica Hill, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) (Mullica Hill, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Chris Spatkowski (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) would single with one out and Dammann would advance to third as the ball went past the left fielder to set up a first and third situation. Following a groundout, pinch-hitter Tyler Hart (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) came through for Pace with a two-run game-tying single to center to knot the score at two.

In the Hawks' ninth, James Garrigan (Plymouth, MA) would lead off the inning with a double and advanced to third in a sacrifice bunt. Dan DeCoste (Chelmsford, MA) would single past the drawn-in infield for the game-winning hit as the Hawks took the opener 3-2.

On the mound, Guiseppe Granito (Bronx, NY/Concordia College) would toss seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, while striking out nine. Steven D'Angelo (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains) (Scotch Plains, NY/Scotch Plains) would go one inning, allowing one run on one hit, while fanning one. Eric Brown (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) (0-1) pitched the 1/3 of an inning in the ninth, allowing one run on two hits.

Excellent pitching was again the story in the nightcap as both starters went deep into the game as Setter hurler Zach Dayton (North Falmouth, MA/North Falmouth) tossed 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run on seven hits, while fanning seven. For the Hawks, starter Sean Hayden (Haverhill, MA) went 8 2/3 innings allowing one run on seven hits, while striking out three.

The Hawks would push a run across in the bottom of the eighth inning, while Spatkowski would tie the game a one as he drew a two-out bases loaded walk to force in the tying run. The Hawks would start off the 13^th with back-to-back walks. A groundout moved both runners up a base and the following batter was intentionally walked to create a bases-loaded one-out situation. The Setters would attempt to turn a double play on Eric Baca's (Franklin, NH) grounder to short but it was not in the cards as the ball was mishandled by the second baseman on the exchange, allowing the winning run to cross the plate for the Hawks.

On the mound in relief, Michael Franza (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) (two scoreless innings) and Frank Luongo (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) (2 1/3 scoreless/five K's) kept Saint Anselm off the board in the extra frames. Salvatore DePaola (East Meadow, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) (East Meadow, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) (0-2) walked both batters he faced in the 13^th, while Richard Sullivan (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) faced three batters, recording one out.

The Setters and Hawks wrap up their three-game series with one final game on Sunday, March 22 at Finnerty Field on Pace's Pleasantville campus at 1 pm.