WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The fourth-seeded Pace University baseball team took on Southwest Division No. 2 seed and tournament host University of New Haven in Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend's first elimination game Friday morning. The Setters fell to the Chargers by a score of 6-2, eliminating them from the postseason.
SCORING PLAYS
Bottom 1st – New Haven
- Shortstop Tom Walraven reached on an error with one away, and then left fielder Robert Petrillo drew a walk.
- With two down, third baseman Jack Zagaja lined a hit into right field, which took a bad hop and rolled all the way to the wall for a two-RBI triple to give the Chargers an early 2-0 edge.
- Zagaja then scored on a passed ball to take a 3-0 lead after one.
Bottom 2nd – New Haven
- First baseman Andrew Garcia led off with a single through the right side.
- Second baseman James Myers then reached after an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
- Catcher PJ Contreras then hit a fly ball to right, long enough to bring Garcia home on a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
Top 4th – Pace
- With junior center fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) on first, senior first baseman
Garrett De Lotto (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) pulled a double into left, putting runners on second and third with two away.
- Senior designated hitter
James Wynne (North Salem, NY/North Salem) then stroked a single up the middle, scoring Gulino to bring Pace back within three.
Bottom 5th – New Haven
- With the bases loaded, designated hitter Joe Caico drew a walk to bring in New Haven's fifth run of the day.
Bottom 7th – New Haven
- With the bases loaded and two away, Garcia singled up the middle, bringing in a run to make it 6-1, but Gulino made a great throw to nab the next runner out at the plate to end the inning.
Top 8th – Pace
- Senior second baseman
John Kukura (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) lined a single to left-center to lead off the eighth.
- Gulino then roped a double to left-center, scoring Kukura to make it a 6-2 game.
PITCHING DECISIONS
Win: Vincent Aprea (3-4)
Loss:
Kyle Cashman (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville) (4-4)
SETTER STATS
- Gulino hit 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
- Kukura went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
- Sophomore shortstop
Michael Salmonese (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) finished 2-for-5.
- Wynne batted 1-for-4 with an RBI.
- De Lotto hit a double in his 1-for-3 effort.
CHARGER LEADERS
- Zagaja batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a triple.
- Garcia finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
- Petrillo scored twice after going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
TEAM RECORDS
Pace: 29-18
New Haven: 26-11
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