NEW HAVEN, Conn. – By picking up a split in Sunday's doubleheader against Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), the Pace University baseball team earned a spot in the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Championships as the Southwest Division's No. 4 seed. In Pace's 8-5 victory in Game 1, senior John Kukura (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) hit his 11th career triple, setting a new program record. The Setters dropped Game 2, 8-2.
 
SETTERS SET FOR FIRST-ROUND REMATCH AT SCSU
- By earning the No. 4 seed, Pace is set to visit Southwest Division No. 1 Southern Connecticut State on Tuesday, May 9, at 3:30 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.
 
KUKURA TRIPLES HIS WAY TO THE TOP
- Kukura broke the Pace baseball team's career triples record on Sunday, hitting his 11th career three-bagger in Game 1.
- Kukura set Pace's single-season triples record last year with eight over the course of the 2016 campaign.
 
GAME 1: PACE 8, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE 5
SCORING PLAYS
Top 2nd – Pace
- Senior right fielder Cory Capaldi (Telford, PA/Souderton) hit a one-out single to left.
- Senior first baseman Garrett De Lotto (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) and junior third baseman Matthew Kurdewan (Neptune, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) walked in back-to-back plate appearances with two down.
- Sophomore shortstop Michael Salmonese (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) then singled through the left side, scoring Capaldi to give Pace an early 1-0 lead.
- Senior catcher Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) then cleared the bases on a double to left field, scoring De Lotto, Kurdewan and Salmonese to make it a 4-0 game.
- Kukura then hit his record-setting triple, plating Mayo to give Pace a 5-0 advantage.
 
Top 3rd – Pace
- Pace drew the bases loaded after a one-out single by De Lotto.
- Kurdewan then hit an RBI single to make a 6-0 Setter lead.
 
Bottom 3rd – SCSU
- Left fielder Nick Lamberti and first baseman Tyler Criscuolo each walked with the bases loaded to get the Owls on the board and make it a 6-2 game.
 
Top 4th – Pace
- Mayo led off the fourth with an inside-the-park home run to left field, pushing Pace's lead back to five runs.
- Junior center fielder Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) later walked and then stole second to get into scoring position.
- Senior left fielder Domenick Luongo (Darien, CT/Cardinal Spellman) followed with another walk, and then Capaldi knocked in Gulino on a single to give Pace an 8-2 lead.
 
Bottom 5th – SCSU
- Right fielder Griffin Garabedian walked to lead off the inning, moved to second on a balk, and then reached third after a ground out.
- Left fielder Nolan Cloutier then doubled down the right-field line to knock in Garabedian and make it an 8-3 game.
- Center fielder Kyle Hart later hit a two-out RBI single to left to make it 8-4.
 
Bottom 9th – SCSU
- Second baseman Ryan Kaplan executed a steal of home to cut the deficit to three runs.
 
GAME 1 PITCHING DECISIONS
Win: Michael Amato (Farmingville, NY/Sachem East/Suffolk CC) (2-2)
Loss: Nate Carney (4-3)
Save: Anthony Criscione (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Spellman) (3)
 
Pitching Notes
- Junior reliever Michael Amato (Farmingville, NY/Sachem East/Suffolk CC) tossed 4.2 innings in long relief, allowing just two runs on four hits with four strikeouts to get the win.
- Junior reliever Anthony Criscione (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Spellman) notched his third save after taking over with two on in the ninth. He did not allow a hit and struck out the side.
 
GAME 1 SETTER STATS
- Mayo finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs, a home run and a double.
- Kurdewan hit 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
- Salmonese went 3-for-6 with an RBI, a run and a double.
- Kukura hit 1-for-5 with his record-breaking triple.
- Capaldi scored a run and knocked in another after hitting 2-for-5.
 
GAME 1 OWL LEADERS
- Garabedian hit 1-for-1 with a double, two runs and three walks.
- Criscuolo batted 1-for-3 with an RBI.
 
 
GAME 2: SCSU 8, PACE 2
SCORING PLAYS
Bottom 1st – SCSU
- Hart hit an RBI double to right to give SCSU an early 1-0 lead.
 
Bottom 2nd – SCSU
- Garabedian provided an RBI triple to left and put the Owls ahead, 2-0.
 
Bottom 3rd – SCSU
- Connor Redahan brought in a run on a fielder's choice, and then catcher Mike DeMartino hit an RBI double to put the home team up by four.
 
Bottom 4th – SCSU
- Criscuolo hit an RBI single, and Hart later brought in another run on a sacrifice fly to give SCSU a 6-0 advantage.
 
Bottom 5th – SCSU
- Garabedian struck out looking in the fifth, but after strike three was dropped, Cloutier came home on the throw over to first to make it a 7-0 ballgame.
 
Top 7th – Pace
- Sophomore catcher Michael Barbato (Sparkill, NY/Tappan Zee) led off with a single through the right side, and then moved to third on consecutive ground outs.
- Freshmen Andrew Fitzgerald (Madison, CT/Daniel Hand High School) and Thomas Neary (Northport, NY/Northport) then walked in a pair of pinch-hit opportunities to load the bases, and De Lotto drew another walk to bring in Pace's first run of the game.
- Capaldi then singled in Fitzgerald to make it 7-2.
 
Bottom 8th – SCSU
- With two outs, Criscuolo hit an RBI single through the right side to give the Owls an 8-2 lead.
 
GAME 2 PITCHING DECISIONS
Win: Brendan Ebert (5-3)
Loss: Anthony Rocco (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) (4-2)
 
GAME 2 SETTER STATS
- Capaldi batted 3-for-4 with an RBI.
- Barbato went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
- Gulino hit 1-for-2, while Kukura finished 1-for-3.
- Luongo walked twice and went 1-for-1.
 
GAME 2 OWL LEADERS
- Criscuolo finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs, a run and a double.
- Garabedian hit 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a triple.
- DeMartino batted 2-for-4, scoring a run and knocking in another.
 
TEAM RECORDS
Pace: 28-17 (16-10 NE10, 9-9 SW)
SCSU: 27-13-1 (15-7 NE10, 14-4 SW)
 
UP NEXT:
- The Setters and Owls are set for an NE10 Championship First-Round matchup on Tuesday, May 9, at The Ballpark at SCSU in New Haven, Conn. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
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