SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Taking on one of their toughest foes of the season, the Pace University baseball team was defeated by a 5-0 margin at 10th-ranked Le Moyne on Saturday afternoon. The loss shifts the Setters' record to 7-8 against the NE10 Southwest Division this season.
The Blue and Gold had a tough go of it against one of the NE10's best pitchers in Le Moyne's Josiah Gray. Gray, who improved to 9-0 this season, allowed just three Pace hits in eight innings of work.
The Setters' best chance at scoring came when Gray exited following the eighth. Pace put runners on first and third with one out in the ninth courtesy of a Paul Piccolino (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) walk and a Matt Almonte (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) single.
Following a line out off the bat of Matthew Kurdewan (Neptune, NJ/Red Bank Catholic), another walk to Ryan Crowley (Cornwall on Hudson, NY/Iona Prep/Monmouth) loaded the bases with two outs. Freshman Harrison Treble (Oyster Bay, NY/Oyster Bay/St. Bonaventure) was unable to extend the contest, going down on strikes to end the game.
In addition to Almonte's single, Riley Iafrate (Harrington Park, NJ/Don Bosco Prep), Michael Barbato (Sparkill, NY/Tappan Zee) and Paul Piccolino (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) were the only other Setters to record hits on Saturday.
Le Moyne did most of their damage in the third, tallying four runs in the inning. Andrew Taft provided the big blow, launching a three-run home run over the right-field wall.
Up Next
After Game Two of today's scheduled doubleheader was rained out, the Setters and Dolphins are hoping to complete their three-game set with two games tomorrow at noon.
