GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The Pace University baseball team had a huge day offensively as the Setters took both games of their doubleheader at Adelphi University. Pace won game one 9-3, then took game two by a 15-4 final.
Game One: Pace 9, Adelphi 3
The Setters (20-6, 4-4 NE10) bats were hot early, as Pace scored six times in the first two innings. Grad student outfielder Luke Jacobi (Edison, N.J./JP Stevens) got things started with an RBI single in the top of the first to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Then senior outfielder Matthew Rinaldi (Scarsdale, N.Y./Eastchester) and sophomore shortstop Mason Baronian (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley) kept it going, picking up RBI singles of their own to give Pace a 3-0 lead after one.
Jacobi continued his huge start in the second, driving a two-run double to right to put Pace ahead by five. Rinaldi then drove in another run on an RBI groundout, making it a 6-0 game. The Setters tacked on another run in the third thanks to an RBI groundout by sophomore outfielder Josh Miller (Clifton, N.J./Clifton), extending the lead to seven runs.
Freshman pitcher Brendan McCann (Plainview, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) got the start on the mound for Pace and had a solid day, going five innings and allowing one earned run on six hits while striking out one. After he worked out of trouble in the first and second, the Panthers (12-20, 4-8 NE10) finally broke though on him in the fourth. The inning started with a single and a walk, followed Jack Wishner singling up the middle to get Adelphi's first run of the day on the board.
Pace came back with two more in the fifth to extend the lead to 9-1. After a pair of walks and a passed ball, freshman second baseman Benjamin Tullo (Wappinger Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham Senior) picked up a sacrifice fly to drive one run in. A walk loaded the bases, and junior third baseman Anthony Labita (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) picked up a sac fly of his own to bring in the second run of the inning.
Adelphi picked up another run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Anthony Cipri, but McCann was able to limit the damage to one run.
Freshman pitcher Robert Gilchrist (New Milford, Conn./North Salem) came on for the final two innings, working out of a jam in the sixth to retire three straight batters after the first two reached base. He surrendered a run on a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh but was able to close it out to preserve the 9-3 win for Pace.
In game one, Jacobi had three hits and three RBI, while Baronian and grad student Nate Carminucci (Somers, N.Y./North Salem High School) had two hits apiece.
Game Two: Pace 15, Adelphi 4
The Panthers took the early lead in game two, getting an RBI single by Kyle Olson to go ahead in the bottom of the first. Adelphi added another run in the inning on a sac fly from Joe Pellegrino, giving the home team a 2-0 lead after one.
Pace got one back in the second on an RBI single by Carminucci to score sophomore catcher Hunter Goldstein (Jericho, N.Y./Jericho), then tied it in the third as an RBI groundout by Jacobi brought Labita home.
Adelphi took the lead back in the bottom of the third, but the Setters exploded for five runs in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead. Grad student outfielder Mitchell McCabe (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford/ Bridgton Academy) got it started with an RBI single to tie the game, then he and Jacobi came in to score on a two-run double by Labita.
Rinaldi followed that up with a run-scoring single of his own, then following a walk, Baronian singled to centerfield to score the fifth run of the inning. A sac fly in the bottom of the fourth got one back for the Panthers, but Pace was able to hold them to one run to stay ahead 7-4 heading to the fifth.
In the seventh, the Setters were able to add to their lead once again. Pace drew four walks in the inning, forcing in a run. Tullo then stepped to the plate and singled to left-center, driving in a pair and growing Pace's lead to 10-4.
The Setters ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh, as Adelphi loaded the bases with one out. But senior pitcher Marco Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J./Bergen Catholic) came on in relief and was able to get a ground ball double play to end the inning.
The Pace bats stayed hot in the seventh as Pace picked up five more runs. After a pair of singles started the inning, Rinaldi brought one in with an RBI hit to make it an 11-4 game. An RBI groundout by Goldstein and run-scoring single by Carminucci brought it to a 13-4 lead for the visitors, and Miller doubled down the left field line to score a pair, providing the final runs of the day.
Neither team got on the board in the eighth or ninth, as the Setters picked up a 15-4 victory in game two of the doubleheader.
In the second game, Miller had four hits and two RBI, while Jacobi had three hits and three runs driven in. Pace had eight hitters record multiple hits in the game, and had five players drive in multiple runs.
Up Next
The Setters and Panthers are back at it tomorrow, Saturday April 8. The two teams play another doubleheader at Adelphi, getting underway at noon.
