PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – After a crazy ninth inning that saw a combined 11 runs scored by both teams, senior center fielder
John Kukura (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Pace University baseball team past Dominican College by a score of 12-11 Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at Peter X. Finnerty Field.
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st – Dominican
- After the Chargers loaded the bases, back-to-back walks brought in a pair of runs.
- Catcher Tyler Malia then hit a sacrifice fly to left to give the Chargers a quick 3-0 lead.
Bottom 1st – Pace
- Kukura was standing on third when a wild pitch allowed him to come home and score, bringing the Setters back within two.
Bottom 5th – Pace
- With two away, senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) singled through the left side to keep the inning going.
- Senior right fielder
Domenick Luongo (Darien, CT/Cardinal Spellman) then singled through the right side, and senior designated hitter
James Wynne (North Salem, NY/North Salem) followed with another single up the middle to load the bases.
- Junior third baseman
Matthew Kurdewan (Neptune, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) then hit a grounder deep into the hole on the left side, giving him an RBI single to make it a 3-2 game.
- Sophomore second baseman
Riley Iafrate (Harrington Park, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) and Kukura each drew a walk, bringing in another two runs to put the Setters ahead, 4-3.
Top 7th – Dominican
- With runners on the corners, a throwing error attempting to catch the runner stealing second allowed the runner from third to score, tying the game at 4-4.
- Left fielder Max Chidsey then singled to center, bringing in another run to put the Chargers ahead, 5-4.
Bottom 7th – Pace
- Luongo and Wynne started the inning with walks, and then Kurdewan sacrificed them both into scoring position.
- Senior
Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton) came in to pinch hit, and came through with a two-RBI single right up the middle, putting Pace back in the lead, 6-5.
Top 9th – Dominican
- Catcher Brandon Simone singled to lead off the inning.
- Third baseman Max Franzone then doubled down the left-field line, scoring Simone to tie the game at 6-6.
- With the bases loaded later in the inning, center fielder Arbely Soto stroked a two-RBI single up the middle to give Dominican an 8-6 advantage.
- First baseman Jordan Bernacet added another RBI single to make it a 9-6 ballgame.
- Designated hitter Anthony Bartolomei then doubled down the left-field line, scoring another two runs to push Dominican's lead to 11-6.
Bottom 9th – Pace
- Pinch hitters
Alex Pia (Guilford, CT/Xavier) and
Thomas Neary (Northport, NY/Northport) hit back-to-back singles with one away, and then Kukura beat out a grounder to third to bring in Pia and make it 11-7.
- Sophomore second baseman
Michael Salmonese (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) then singled to left, scoring Neary to bring Pace within three.
- Junior left fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) then singled to third, scoring Kukura to make it an 11-9 ballgame.
- With two down, Mayo smacked a two-RBI single to left, tying the game and forcing extra innings.
Bottom 10th – Pace
- Wynne singled with one away, and then Pia reached on an error to get two runners on.
- With two down, Kukura roped a single deep down the left-field line, scoring Wynne to end the game with a walkoff win for Pace.
PITCHING DECISIONS
Win:
Joe Pizzingrillo (Garden City, NY/Chaminade) (1-0)
Loss: Kyle Morgan (1-1)
SETTER STATS
- Kukura finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two runs and five walks in the win.
- Mayo batted 2-for-6 with two RBIs and a run scored.
- Wynne finished 2-for-5 and scored three times.
- Capaldi came up clutch in his only at bat, going 1-for-1 with an RBI single and eventually scoring a run.
CHARGER LEADERS
- Bartolomei hit 1-for-4 with three RBIs.
- Soto batted 1-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
- Chidsey finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
- Franzone went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.
TEAM RECORDS
Pace: 19-9
Dominican: 10-16
UP NEXT:
- The Setters quickly get back to work, as they host the University of New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division matchup at Finnerty Field on Wednesday, April 12. First pitch is set for 3:30 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).
