PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Junior third baseman
Matthew Kurdewan (Neptune, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 15th, capping off a three-run inning to lift the Pace University baseball team to an 8-7 victory in extra innings over Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division foe American International College (AIC) Friday afternoon at Peter X. Finnerty Field. This was Pace's third straight extra-inning game after going 10 frames on Tuesday against Dominican College and 11 innings on Wednesday against the University of New Haven.
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st – AIC
- Center fielder Josh Aviles led off the game with a walk.
- With one out, Aviles stole second, and in the process, he deflected the ball into left field, allowing him to take third.
- Left fielder Matt Krause then hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Aviles to put the Yellow Jackets on top, 1-0.
Bottom 1st – Pace
- Senior center fielder
John Kukura (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) led off with a double down the left-field line.
- Sophomore shortstop
Michael Salmonese (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) then singled through the right side, putting runners on the corners for the Setters.
- Senior first baseman
Garrett De Lotto (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) then singled into right-center, scoring Kukura to tie the game.
- Senior designated hitter
Domenick Luongo (Darien, CT/Cardinal Spellman) then hit a long fly ball just over the left fielder for long RBI single, plating Salmonese to put the Setters up, 2-1.
Top 6th – AIC
- With runners on second and third, designated hitter Mike Wroth dropped a single into right, bringing in the tying run for the Yellow Jackets.
- Catcher Eugene Quirk then brought in another run on a fielder's choice to put AIC ahead, 3-2.
Top 7th – AIC
- With runners on first and second, first baseman Chris Starcun hit a single up the middle, scoring Aviles to put AIC up, 4-2.
Bottom 7th – Pace
- Junior left fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) led off the seventh with a blast over the left-field wall, narrowing the gap and making it 4-3.
- With two outs, senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) beat out a grounder to short to keep the inning alive.
- Freshman
Brian Bohlander (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) then came up to pinch hit, and came through with a line-drive double to left, scoring Mayo to tie the game at 4-4.
Top 10th – AIC
- Krause hit a solo home run down the left-field line to put the Yellow Jackets ahead, 5-4.
Bottom 10th – Pace
- Kukura struck out to lead off the inning, but a passed ball allowed him to reach first.
- He was sacrificed over to second by Salmonese, and then moved to third on a wild pitch.
- De Lotto then roped a double down the right-field line, scoring Kukura to tie the game at 5-5.
Top 15th – AIC
- With runners on second and third, second baseman Matt Costanza dropped down a suicide squeeze, and an error allowed both runners to score and give the Yellow Jackets a 7-5 lead.
Bottom 15th – Pace
- Gulino led off the inning with a single to left, and then sophomore pinch hitter
Alex Pia (Guilford, CT/Xavier) drew a walk.
- A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, and then senior right fielder
Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton) slammed a double over the left fielder's head, bringing in both runner to knot things up at 7-7.
- A sacrifice bunt by sophomore catcher
Michael Barbato (Sparkill, NY/Tappan Zee) got Capaldo to third, and then senior left fielder
James Wynne (North Salem, NY/North Salem) reached on a dropped line drive by the center fielder, but Capaldi had to hold at third.
- Kurdewan then ripped a walk-off single to left, scoring Capaldi to end the game with a win.
PITCHING DECISIONS
Win:
Michael Amato (Farmingville, NY/Sachem East/Suffolk CC) (2-1)
Loss: Dean Streich (0-2)
Pitching Notes
- Junior reliever
Michael Amato (Farmingville, NY/Sachem East/Suffolk CC) got the win after tossing 5.1 innings in relief. He allowed two earned runs on two hits and struck out three.
SETTER STATS
- Kurdewan went just 1-for-6 but made that one hit count for the walkoff in the bottom of the 15th.
- Gulino batted 3-for-5 with an RBI, two runs, a home run and a double.
- Kukura finished 3-for-7 with two runs and a double.
- Mayo hit 3-for-5 with a run scored.
- De Lotto went 2-for-7 with two RBIs and a double.
- Capaldi finished 1-for-6 with his game-tying two-RBI double, and also scored the game-winning run.
YELLOW JACKET LEADERS
- Starcun hit 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a double.
- Krause batted 1-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a run.
TEAM RECORDS
Pace: 20-10 (9-3 NE10, 2-2 SW)
AIC: 9-19 (4-9 NE10, 0-5 SW)
UP NEXT:
- The Setters and Yellow Jackets play two more on Saturday, April 15, at Finnerty Field. First pitch of Game 1 is set for 12 p.m.
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