MANCHESTER, N.H.- Michael Tamburino (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) tossed a complete game but the Setters came up short to the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University 3-2 on Day 2 of the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament. The Setters fall to 33-16 overall and will face Franklin Pierce in the 11 am game on Saturday, May 18. The Penmen improve to 35-17 on the season.
The Setters got on the board in the opening inning as Chris Gili (Manorville, NY/Eastport-South Manor) (Manorville, NY/Eastport-South Manor) was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first. Two outs later, Brandon Martineson (Prospect, KY/Warwick (NY)) (Prospect, KY/Warwick) laced a double in the right-center gap to score Gili from first.
In the third, Southern New Hampshire rallied with one out as they loaded the bases on three straight singles. After the second out of the inning was recorded on a line-out, the Penmen scored on three consecutive wild pitches to pull ahead 3-1.
Pace got one run back in the bottom half of the inning as James Pjura (Shelton, CT/Shelton) (Shelton, CT/Shelton) singled to lead off the inning but was erased on a Martineson fielder's choice. Martineson moved to second on a ground out and scored as Bobby Horn (Stamford, CT/Westhill) (Stamford, CT/Westhill) singled to center field to slice the score down to 3-2.
The Setters got runners in scoring position in the fourth and sixth innings, while putting runners on first and second in the final two innings. Pace was unable to put across the tying run as they left 11 runners on base for the game.
For Pace, Martineson went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while Horn went 3-for-4 with a double. Jon Kovel (Schenectady, NY/Scotia Glenville) collected two hits in three at-bats for the game. On the hill, Tamburino (2-4) turned in a complete game effort, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out six.
The Setters will take on Franklin Pierce in an elimination game on Saturday, May 18 at 11 am at Penmen Field on Day 3 of the NCAA Regional. Follow @PaceUAthletics on Twitter for further updates on the Setters.
