PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Senior starter
Dylan Mouzakes (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills) continues a phenomenal start to his 2016 campaign on Friday, as he went the complete nine innings and shutout Southern Connecticut State University, leading the Pace University baseball team to a 1-0 victory over the Owls in the Setters' Northeast-10 Conference opener at Peter X. Finnerty Field. Pace improves to 12-7 overall and 1-0 in NE-10 play, while the Owls drop to 6-10-1 and 0-1 against the conference.
Mouzakes opened the game by fanning the first five batters he faced, eventually finishing with a season-high 11 strikeouts to improve to 4-0 on the year. He allowed just four hits and walked one batter through his nine frames. He now has two shutouts on the season, and holds a 1.46 ERA through 37 innings.
Mouzakes needed just one run from the offense to get the win, and he got it in the bottom of the fifth. Junior right fielder
Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton) opened the inning with a double to left-center. Junior designated hitter
James Wynne (North Salem, NY/North Salem) then took a ball off the arm to reach base. Senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Graduate shortstop
Brett Bittiger (Saylorsburg, PA/Pius X) then came through with a sacrifice fly to left, plating Capaldi for the only run of the game.
Mouzakes found himself in trouble in the top of the eighth after giving up a leadoff double to third baseman Tyler Criscuolo. Criscuolo moved over to third with one away on a wild pitch after narrowly beating Mayo's throw. Mouzakes pulled it together to strike out the next batter, and then get the inning-ending out on a grounder to second.
Bittiger went 2-for-2 on the day with the only RBI of the game. Capaldi hit 1-for-3 with a double and the game's only run scored.
Owl starter Brandon Rentas suffered a hard-luck loss in Friday's matchup, going the full eight innings and allowing just one run. Center fielder Kyle Hart went 2-for-4 with a double, while McNeill Finnegan hit 1-for-2.
The Setters and Owls will match up two more times on Saturday at Peter X. Finnerty Field. The Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m.
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