SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Pace University baseball team made significant strides toward earning a Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament berth on Saturday by sweeping Le Moyne College in a doubleheader at Dick Rockwell Field on Sunday. The Setters picked up victories by scores of 10-3 and 5-4. Pace improves to 20-15 overall and 7-8 in NE-10 play with the wins, while Le Moyne drops to 20-11 and 8-3.
The Setters jumped into third place by themselves in the Southwest Division after improving to 6-3 in divisional matchups. They sit behind the College of Saint Rose (4-1) and the University of New Haven (4-2). The Setters will take on both of those teams in the coming week. Le Moyne falls to 3-3 in the Southwest, dropping the Dolphins to fifth place behind Adelphi University (5-4).
Game 1: Pace 10, Le Moyne 3
The Setters recovered from Saturday's 15-inning affair to pick up a 10-3 win over the Dolphins in Sunday's opener. Le Moyne struck first in the game, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on shortstop Dylan Swetman's RBI single. The Setters then rallied back in the top of the fourth, bringing four runs across to take a 4-1 lead.
Sophomore left fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) was hit by a pitch to lead off the fourth. Later, junior first baseman
Garrett De Lotto (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) blasted his second home run of the season over the right-field fence, bringing in the first two runs of the game for the Setters. Pace later loaded the bases with two down in the inning, and Kukura smacked a single up the middle, bringing in two runs to make it a 4-1 game.
Pace put runners on the corners in the top of the fifth, allowing senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) to bring in a run on a sacrifice fly to right, giving the Setters a 5-1 lead. Le Moyne loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, and first baseman Nick Place brought in two runs on a double to left-center, cutting Pace's lead down to two.
The Setters put the game away in the top of the seventh with a five-run rally. De Lotto brought in the first run, doubling in Gulino to make it 6-3. Senior third baseman
Nick LoBello (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) then legged out an infield single with runners on the corners, scoring De Lotto. Junior designated hitter
James Wynne (North Salem, NY/North Salem) brought in LoBello and Mayo on a single up the middle, and he later scored on a single by Kukura that gave the Setters a 10-3 advantage.
Graduate starter
Tim Deegan (Levittown, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) got the win for Pace, going 5.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs. Senior
Michael Forgione (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) picked up his second save of the season after tossing 3.2 innings in relief without giving up a run. Le Moyne's Zach Place took the loss after yielding five runs in five innings.
De Lotto went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs scored, a home run, a double and a stolen base in a huge game for the junior. Kukura also batted 3-for-5, plating three runs. Gulino scored three times in a 1-for-2 outing. LoBello hit 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Wynne scored twice and knocked in two more runs after going 1-for-4.
Nick Place batted 1-for-4 with two RBIs for Le Moyne. Swetman hit 2-for-4 with an RBI, while third baseman Pat Wright scored a run in a 2-for-4 effort.
Game 2: Pace 5, Le Moyne 4
The Setters completed the sweep with a gutsy performance in game two. Both teams traded the lead early on in Sunday's finale, but the Setters were able to take the lead for good in the middle innings.
Nick Place knocked in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, putting the Dolphins up, 1-0. LoBello then put Pace ahead with a two-RBI single down the right field line in the top of the second, scoring Mayo and De Lotto to make it a 2-1 game.
Place brought in another run for the Dolphins in the bottom of the third, doubling to center to score third baseman Gabe Levanti. Catcher Trey West then scored Place on a single through the right side, putting the home team up by a run.
It was not long before the Setters tied the game. In the top of the fourth, Mayo singled to center, plating junior right fielder
Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton) to knot things up at 2-2. In the visitors' half of the fifth, Kukura smacked a single to right, bringing senior second baseman
Andrew Coffey (Greenwich, CT/Old Avon Farms) around to score and put the Setters up, 3-2. The Setters brought in one more run in the seventh when LoBello scored on a wild pitch. This proved to be the winning run, as Le Moyne added one more on an error in the bottom of the eighth.
Senior
Mike Sweeney (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) picked up the win after tossing four innings in relief on Sunday. He allowed just one unearned run and one hit during his four frames. Wynne came on to pitch the final five outs, and did not allow a baserunner to pick up his first save. Le Moyne starter Sam Walsh took the loss, his first of the year, after yielding four runs (three earned) in five innings.
LoBello knocked in two runs and scored once himself after going 2-for-3 in Sunday's finale. Mayo batted 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run and a double. Kukura went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, while Coffey hit 1-for-3 with a run and a double.
Place went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run for the Dolphins. Wright hit 2-for-5 with a run in the game, while center fielder Donato DiNorcia scored a run after going 1-for-5.
The Setters have another crucial divisional game in their next matchup. They will host New Haven on Tuesday, April 19, in a 3:30 p.m. matchup at Peter X. Finnerty Field.
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