PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University baseball team persevered in a back-and-forth affair Tuesday afternoon, coming away with a 10-9 victory over Dominican University.

The pitchers were in control early, with neither team able to get going offensively early in the game. Senior Christian Aich (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) and Dominican's Maverick Medina allowed one combined hit through the first two innings, but the Setters (14-2) got going in the third.

Pace got its first hit in the bottom of the inning, with junior third baseman Anthony Labita (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) leading it off with a double. A pair of one-out walks loaded the bases, and sophomore catcher Hunter Goldstein (Jericho, N.Y./Jericho) was hit by a pitch. Grad student outfielder then Luke Jacobi (Edison, N.J./JP Stevens) walked, forcing in another run.

After a sacrifice fly from grad student outfielder Mitchell McCabe (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford/ Bridgton Academy), grad students Nate Carminucci (Somers, N.Y./North Salem High School) and Nate Carminucci (Somers, N.Y./North Salem High School) hit back-to-back RBI singles to extend Pace's lead to five.

Two runners reached for Dominican (1-17) in the top of the fourth, but Aich was able to work his way out of trouble, getting a strikeout to end the inning. However, the Chargers were able to get back into the game in the fifth. After the first two runners reach base, Tyler Richman launched one over the left field fence, hitting his first home run of the year to make it a 5-3 game.

The Setters got runners to the corners with two out in the bottom of the fifth, but strikeout ended the scoring threat as Pace held its two-run lead going to the sixth.

After Dominican went down in order, the home team got two runners on with one out in their turn at bat. But two straight outs left the runners stranded with the score still 5-3 after six innings of play.

In his second inning of relief, senior Marco Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J./Bergen Catholic) put the Chargers down in order for the second straight time, but the Setters couldn't tack on in the home half of the inning despite getting two runners on.

Dominican got runners on the corners in the top of the eighth, looking to bring the tying runs in. They got one in on an error to make it 5-4 with nobody out, and a walk put runners on first and second. Phil Whitney then came to the plate and connected on a two-run double to left field to put the visitors in front 6-5.

An RBI single and RBI double followed, extending the lead to 8-5 in favor of Dominican going to the last of the eighth.

The Setters then came firing back in the bottom of the eighth. The home team got runners to second and third with two out with a chance to close the deficit, and Jacobi did just that, driving a two-run single to right center to make it an 8-7 game.

Then with runners on first and second, sophomore outfielder Josh Miller (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) pinch hit and singled in two runs, giving Pace the lead and advancing to second on an error. Sophomore shortstop Mason Baronian (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley) then brought in Miller with an RBI single to right, putting the Setters ahead 10-8.

The Chargers got a runner to first with one out in the ninth, and a walk put the tying run on base. A wild pitch put the runners on second and third, and an RBI groundout put the tying run 90 feet away. But freshman Robert Gilchrist (New Milford, Conn./North Salem) got a groundout to end it, preserving a 10-9 victory.

Jacobi had three RBI on the day, while Miller had two. Baronian and McCabe each led Pace with two hits.

Up Next
The Setters are back at it tomorrow, March 22, when they take on East Stroudsburg on the road at 3:30 p.m.