SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore left fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) and junior right fielder
Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton) both homered early in Friday afternoon's matchup between the Pace University baseball team and American International College (AIC), fueling the Setters to an 11-1 victory that clinched them a berth in the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Championships. The Southwest-Division win puts Pace at 10-6 in the division, securing a spot in the postseason. Pace improves to 26-19 overall, while AIC drops to 11-33 and 5-11 in the Southwest.
At 10-6, Pace becomes the second team in the Southwest Division to earn a spot in the postseason after Adelphi finished its Southwest schedule with an 11-7 record. Seeding in the Southwest Division has not been finalized as of yet. The Setters can clinch the Southwest Division Title for the fourth time in five years with a doubleheader sweep of AIC on Saturday.
Gulino kicked things off in a hurry with a two-run blast in the top of the first to put the Setters up, 2-0. An RBI bunt single by graduate shortstop
Brett Bittiger (Saylorsburg, PA/Pius X) in the second brought in another run for Pace, and then two more came in on wild pitches to make it a 5-0 game. Capaldi then capped off the second frame with a three-run homer over the left-field wall to give the Setters an eight-run lead. Gulino and Capaldi are tied for the team lead with five home runs each this season.
A two-out rally in the sixth padded the Setters' lead. Gulino hit a single into left, and then Capaldi followed up with a single of his own to get two runners on. Senior third baseman
Nick LoBello (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) made it three-straight singles, putting one down the right-field line to score Gulino from second and make it 9-0. Senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) smacked the fourth consecutive single for Pace, bringing in both Capaldi and LoBello to go up by 11 runs.
Senior starter
Josh Garran (Old Tappan, NJ/Northern Valley Regional) shined in the win, tossing seven innings without allowing an earned run to improve to 6-3. He matched a season-high with an impressive 11 strikeouts in the victory. Senior reliever
Michael Forgione (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) threw two scoreless innings, fanning four batters to close out the game. AIC starter Nick Kennedy falls to 4-5 after giving up eight runs in two innings.
Capaldi knocked in three runs and scored twice in a 2-for-5 effort that included his second-inning homer. Gulino crossed home plate three times and knocked in two runs with a home run, finishing up 2-for-4 for the game. Mayo batted 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Senior second baseman
Andrew Coffey (Greenwich, CT/Old Avon Farms) hit 1-for-4 with two runs. LoBello and Bittiger each scored once and knocked in another run.
AIC third baseman K.J. White scored the Yellow Jackets' only run of the game in a 1-for-4 effort. Designated hitter Karl Kapinos batted 2-for-3, and shortstop Eddie Ritch went 2-for-4.
The playoff-bound Setters still have a lot to play for on Saturday, May 7, when they take on the Yellow Jackets two more times to close out the regular season. Two wins will make the Setters back-to-back Southwest Division Champions, while anything less could put Pace anywhere between the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds. First pitch for Saturday's twinbill is set for 12 p.m.
For all information regarding Pace baseball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics) and Twitter (
@PaceUAthletics), and follow Pace baseball on Instagram (
@PaceBaseball).
