WINTER PARK, Fla.- The Setters saw their win streak end at seven games as they dropped a pair of games on their Florida road trip. Pace fell to Bentley 8-4 and lost to Stonehill 6-5 in their second game of the day. The Setters fall to 7-5 on the season, while Bentley improves to 7-8 overall and Stonehill advances to 12-5 on the season.
In the first game of the day, James Pjura (Shelton, CT/Shelton) (Shelton, CT/Shelton) staked the Setters to an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning. The Falcons answered with two runs in the third, four runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth with Bobby Horn (Stamford, CT/Westhill) (Stamford, CT/Westhill) adding an RBI single in the fourth as Bentley took an 8-2 lead. Pace added a run in the eighth on a Joe Solomeno (Holbrook , NY/Sachem East) (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) run scoring single along with a run in the ninth but fell short.
Charlie Galasso (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) went 3-for-4 in the game, while Pjura went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Robert Rizzitelli (Monroe, CT/Masuk) (Monroe, CT/Masuk) started, going five innings, allowing eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits, while striking out six to fall to 1-2 on the season. Josh Grant (Corning, NY/Corning Painted Post West) (Corning, NY/Corning Painted Post West) tosses three innings, allowing one hit and struck out three. Nick Sammartano (Huntington Station, NY/Huntington) (Huntington Station, NY/Huntington) retired all three batters he faced in the ninth.
In the second game of the afternoon, Stonehill rallied in the ninth inning with three runs as Pace fell 6-5. The game got off to a got start for the Setters as Brandon Martineson (Prospect, KY/Warwick (NY)) (Prospect, KY/Warwick) put Pace up 1-0 with a run scoring single in the first inning. Stonehill tied the score at one in the third but Ian Wukitsch (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) drove in two runs in the third for a 3-1 Setters lead.
The Skyhawks cut the score down to a run as they scored one in the fifth but Martineson gave the Setters a 4-2 lead as he scored on a passed ball. Stonehill rallied with a run in the seventh and took the lead with three runs in the ninth to pull ahead 6-4. The Setters capitalized on a Skyhawk error to score one run but the tying run was stranded at third base when the game ended.
For the Setters, Martineson went 4-for-4 in the game as he scored two runs and had one RBI. Jonathan Chudy (Goshen, NY/Goshen) (Goshen, NY/Goshen) turned in a solid effort on the mound, as he went 7 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and struck out five. Eddie Byrne (Yonkers, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) (Yonkers, NY/Archbishop Stepanic) tossed 1 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits as his record falls to 0-1 on the season. Mike Sweeney (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) came on in relief and recorded the final out.
The Setters wrap up their weekend trip to Florida as they will take on Stonehill on Sunday, March 17 at 11 am with the game being played on the campus of Rollins College.
