LOWELL, Mass.- The Setters took a pair of games from the UMass Lowell River Hawks in a Northeast-10 Conference twin bill. Pace rallied in extra innings to take game one 10-8 and completed the sweep with a 10-5 win in the nightcap. Pace improves to 18-9 on the season, while the River Hawks fall to 16-12-1 on the season.
The Setters got off to an early lead as James Pjura (Shelton, CT/Shelton) (Shelton, CT/Shelton) drove in a pair of runs with a double in the first inning. The River Hawks rallied with three runs in the second as they took a 3-2 lead. Pace answered in the third with three runs to go back in from 5-3. Brandon Martineson (Prospect, KY/Warwick (NY)) (Prospect, KY/Warwick) tied the game with an RBI single, while Joe Solomeno (Holbrook , NY/Sachem East) (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) gave the Setters the lead with a two-run double.
UMass Lowell rallied with three runs in the third and a pair of runs in the fifth as they jumped ahead 8-5. The Setters rallied back in the eighth as Tom Midolo (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in one run. Pace tied the game later in the inning as they capitalized on a River Hawks error to pull even at 8-8 and forced extra innings.
In the tenth, Bobby Horn (Stamford, CT/Westhill) (Stamford, CT/Westhill) drove in the go-ahead run with a fielder's choice, while Paul Iasiello (Westborough, Mass/Westborough) (Westborough, MA/Westborough) drove in an insurance run with a single.
On the mound, Michael Tamburino (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) got the start, going three innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits and struck out four. Ryan Mihalkovitz (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) tossed 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits. Eddie Byrne (Yonkers, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) (Yonkers, NY/Archbishop Stepanic) got the win in relief, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and struck out three. Byrne (2-1) closed the door on the River Hawks in the tenth, retiring all three batters to give Pace the win in the opener.
In the nightcap, Chris Gili (Manorville, NY/Eastport-South Manor) (Manorville, NY/Eastport-South Manor) put the Setters up 1-0 with an inside the park solo homerun to lead off the game. Pace tacked on three runs in the second as Charlie Galasso (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) and Martineson drove in runs with a single, while the Setters added a third run on a River Hawk error to take a 4-0 lead.
UMass Lowell answered with three runs in the third to cut the score to 4-3. Martineson drove in a run in the fourth with a single but the River Hawks hung around as they kept it a one run game with a run in their half of the fourth.
The Setters broke the game open in the fifth David Pepe (Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) (Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) drove in two runs with a single, while Galasso added a two-run double. Mike Rooney (Carmel, NY/Carmel) (Carmel, NY/Carmel) capped the rally with an RBI single for a 10-4 Pace lead. UMass Lowell got a run back in the ninth but the Setters were able to complete the sweep over the River Hawks.
For the Setters, Galasso went 3-for-6 in the nightcap with three RBI's, while Pepe went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI's. On the mound, Dylan Mouzakes (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills) (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills) started, going five innings, allowing four runs on nine hits, while striking out two to improve to 3-0 on the season. Nick Sammartano (Huntington Station, NY/Huntington) (Huntington Station, NY/Huntington) pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and struck out one. Mike Sweeney (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) tossed the ninth inning, allowing one run on two hits.
The Setters are back in action on Wednesday, April 10 for NE-10 Southwest Division action as they travel to New Haven for a 3:30 pm start time.
