SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Pace University baseball team moved one step closer to a berth in the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 1 seed Le Moyne College 8-2 Friday, May 12 on the road. The win puts the Setters in the championship round of the NE10 Conference Championships.
Sophomore pitcher Vincent Civitella (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) had a strong outing on the day, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out five batters over six innings of work. He ran into a little trouble in the bottom of the first, as the Dolphins (31-18, 14-6) put two runners on with two out, but was able to get a flyout to end the inning.
Le Moyne was able to get on the board first, pushing a run across in the bottom of the third. After a walk and single put two runners on with one out, a stolen base followed by a sacrifice fly from Brody Keneston gave the home team a 1-0 lead.
Pace (32-18, 9-11 NE10) was able to draw even in the top of the fifth, starting with a one-out single by sophomore catcher Hunter Goldstein (Jericho, N.Y./Jericho). With two out, freshman infielder Benjamin Tullo (Wappinger Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham Senior) singled to keep the inning going, and sophomore outfielder Josh Miller (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) brought in the tying run with an RBI single to knot the score at 1-1.
The Setters kept up the offense in the sixth, scoring three more runs to take the lead. A single by grad student outfielder Luke Jacobi (Edison, N.J./JP Stevens) and walk by sophomore shortstop Mason Baronian (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley) put two runners on with one out, then senior outfielder Matthew Rinaldi (Scarsdale, N.Y./Eastchester) gave Pace the lead with an RBI single. Goldstein then stepped to the plate and drove a two-run triple down the right field line, putting Pace ahead 4-1.
Civitella finished his day in the sixth, again keeping the Dolphins off the scoreboard in his final inning of work. A single and walk had Pace threatening again in the seventh, but a double play ended the scoring opportunity and kept it a three-run game.
Le Moyne got a pair of singles to kick off the bottom of the seventh and looked to be in position to cut into the lead, but grad student pitcher Michael Roll (Ramsey, N.J./Bergen Catholic High School) set down the next three batters to keep Pace ahead 4-1.
After a scoreless eighth, the Setters blew it open in the ninth. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with one out, and McCabe singled to right to score two. An error on the play allowed another run to come in, pushing Pace's lead to six runs. McCabe then came in to score on an RBI hit by Jacobi, giving the visitors an 8-1 lead.
The Dolphins got one run across in the ninth on an RBI hit from Keneston, but Roll was able to close things out as Pace took an 8-2 victory to advance to the championship round.
Up Next
The Setters will face the winner of the Le Moyne/Franklin Pierce University matchup on Saturday, May 13, needing to win one of a potential two games to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Game time is TBD.
