PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – On Saturday, Pace University Baseball split a Northeast 10 (NE10) doubleheader with Saint Michael's College at Peter X. Finnerty Field. The Blue and Gold powered past the Purple Knights 10–1 in the seven-inning opener before Saint Michael's responded with a 7–5 victory in the second game. With the split, Pace finished the four-game series against the Purple Knights 2–2, moving to 6–7 overall and 2–2 in the NE10.
Game One
The Setters opened the scoring in the second inning of the seven-inning opener when
Anthony Depetro doubled down the right-field line and later scored on an RBI groundout by
Taison Jemison to give the Blue and Gold a 1–0 lead.
The Blue and Gold added another run in the third inning as
Cristian Rodriguez scored on an RBI double from
Justin Crispino, extending the lead to 2–0. Saint Michael's cut into the deficit in the fourth inning with an RBI double to make it 2–1.
Pace responded with a decisive seven-run fourth inning.
Rocco Cimino delivered an RBI single before
Brayden Sweppenhiser launched a grand slam to left field to push the lead to 7–1.
Anthony Depetro followed with a solo home run later in the inning, and
Manny Carreras added a sacrifice fly to stretch the margin to 9–1.
The Blue and Gold added one more run in the sixth inning when Jemison drove in his second run of the game to seal the 10–1 victory.
On the mound,
Eric Santaella delivered a dominant performance, tossing a complete-game effort across seven innings while allowing just four hits and one run with seven strikeouts.
Game Two
Saint Michael's struck first in the opening inning of the second game, but Pace answered quickly as
Rocco Cimino reached on an error and later scored on an RBI single from
Justin Crispino to tie the contest at 1–1.
The Purple Knights regained the lead with two runs in the second inning, though the Blue and Gold chipped away when
Brian White scored later in the frame to make it 3–2.
Pace moved in front during the fourth inning as Cimino lined a two-run single to right field, giving the Setters a 4–3 advantage. The Blue and Gold extended the lead to 5–4 in the sixth inning when
Brayden Sweppenhiser delivered an RBI single.
Saint Michael's responded in the seventh inning with three runs to take a 7–5 lead and held Pace scoreless the rest of the way to secure the win.
Cimino led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Crispino also recorded two hits and a run batted in.
Baseball will now turn its attention to an out-of-conference match-up as the Blue and Gold take on Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.
