YAPHANK, NY (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) -The SUNY College at Old Westbury baseball team lost a non-conference doubleheader to the Bates Bobcats, 3-2 and 14-9, Saturday afternoon from Baseball Heaven. Old Westbury moves to 2-10 on the season while Bats improved to 3-6.
In the opener, Panther starter Arismendy Nunez dealt out a first inning homer to Griff Tewksburg for an early Bates lead. Old Westbury answered back the second with solo home runs by John Angelino and Michael Cardino to grab a 2-1 advantage. Nunez then allowed the game-tying unearned run in the seventh inning with a ground out that scored Kevin Davis to send the game into extra innings. Old Westbury threatened in the eighth with bases loaded and one out, but a force play at home and a strikeout helped escape Bates out of the frame. With reliever Alex DiSanto taking the mound for his second inning, Nate Pajka sent a home run over the center field wall to score the eventual game-winning run in the ninth.
Nunez did not factor into the decision as DiSanto (0-1) was tagged with the loss. Nunez worked seven strong innings, striking out eight while allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk.
Bates' reliever Rob DiFranco snagged the win by striking out five in three innings before Samuel Warren took over to earn the three out save.
Jacob Coners swept two bases for Old Westbury and added a single to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Berto Diaz and Kevin Davis each collected two hits to pace Bates' offense.
Old Westbury jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead at the end of one inning in game two, with Jonathan Pagan and Angelino both hitting two-run homers. In the second inning, Nick Yip extended Old Westbury's lead to six runs off a two-run homer of his own. Bates answered with seven runs over the next two innings to take a brief 7-6 lead. Old Westbury responded with two more runs in the fourth to go back up 8-7. Bates constructed a monster six-run fifth inning and tacked on one more in the sixth to go up 14-8. Kevin Licul singled in Yip in the seventh for the final run of the game for the Panthers.
Yip's 2-for-3 game with a two-run homer and three runs scored led the Panthers' offense. Coners added a 2-for-4 game with an RBI and run scored to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Angelino's homer was his second of the season while Pagan's was his first.
Panther starter Braylin Perez (0-1) took the loss after surrendering seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and four walks in three innings of work. In total, five Old Westbury pitchers combined to strike out six and walk 15 batters. Brad Reynolds (1-0) fanned seven batters to hold on for Bates' victory despite allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits in four innings.
BATES BOBCATS AND BARUCH BEARCASTS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury returns to the diamond on Sunday (March 16) for non-conference showdown with the Bates Bobcats at 11 a.m. followed by the Baruch Bearcats at 2 p.m. from Gregg Alfano Field in Patchogue, New York.
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