GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Pace University Baseball battled throughout Wednesday afternoon but came up short in a 9-8 loss to Adelphi University on the road. The Setters erased a four-run deficit with a grand slam in the fifth inning and later reclaimed the lead in the eighth before Adelphi answered in the bottom half. With the loss, the Blue and Gold moved to 14-19 overall and 9-13 in Northeast 10 Conference (NE10) play.

Adelphi opened the scoring with a run in the second inning before the Setters answered in the third. Brian White drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on an RBI groundout from Anthony Depetro before Brayden Sweppenhiser added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to give Pace a 2-1 lead.

Adelphi responded with two runs in the bottom of the third and added three more in the fourth to take a 6-2 advantage heading into the fifth inning.

The Setters delivered their biggest moment of the afternoon in the top of the fifth. Rocco Cimino singled, Depetro followed with a hit, and Manny Carreras drew a walk to load the bases before Sweppenhiser launched a grand slam to left field to tie the game at 6-6. The home run marked Sweppenhiser's second grand slam of the 2026 season and the fourth grand slam hit by the team this year.

After both teams traded scoreless frames through the seventh, Pace moved back in front in the eighth inning. Nick Carlucci and Benjamin Tullo opened the frame with singles before Justin Crispino lined a two-run single to right field, giving the Setters an 8-6 advantage.

Adelphi answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs to regain the lead at 9-8. Pace brought the tying run aboard in the ninth, but could not complete another comeback attempt.

Sweppenhiser finished with five RBIs, while Carlucci recorded three hits and Crispino drove in two runs. Depetro added a hit and an RBI, and Cimino scored twice in the loss.

The Setters return home on Saturday to begin a NE10 series against Southern Connecticut State University, set for 12:00 p.m.