BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College is still in the hunt for the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball postseason as the hosting Mountaineers split a Thursday doubleheader against Becker College at Bill Epstein Field.
Becker (14-17, 8-7 NECC) scored all of its runs in the opener during its last trip to the plate to take game one 7-3. The Mountaineers (14-17, 5-10) then scored seven of their own in the bottom of the sixth in game two for the Mountaineers to take the series with the 11-4 victory.
SVC will need to take care of business over the weekend and receive some help from around the league to make it into the playoffs; Southern Vermont needs to win all three games in its series against Daniel Webster College while having Becker get swept by top-standing Mitchell College over the weekend and having Lesley University lose to DWC on Monday. The Hawks can control their own destiny, needing a pair of wins against Mitchell to secure a tournament berth.
The Mountaineers begin their three-game set with Daniel Webster with a home doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. while Becker hosts MC for a twin bill at the same time.
Thursday's final margins did not tell the whole story of either game as both contests were evenly matched for the majority of the way. A tough rivalry between the two has now seen the home team go 15-5 in regular season action since the league's inception for the 2009 campaign. SVC was 3-1 over the last three years at Epstein Field.
GAME 1: Becker 7, Southern Vermont 3
A 3-0 SVC lead garnered in the bottom of the fourth in game one stood until the final frame when Becker put up a crooked seven-spot to all but end it.
Southern Vermont junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) was 1-2 with a walk and an RBI in the effort while senior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) and freshman left fielderEric Fields (Lakewood, Calif.) were both 1-2 with a walk and a run scored.
Hawk freshman center fielder Francis Baldino (East Brookfield, Mass.) was 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI out of the BC lead-off spot, and freshman left fielder Sean Stone (Blackstone, Mass.) registered a 1-2 performance at the plate with two walks, a run batted in and a run scored. Senior shortstop Matthew Consigli (Whitinsville, Mass.) and sophomore Niko Bedell (Manorville, N.Y.) both tallied a hit, a run scored and an RBI in the win.
BC sophomore righty Tyler Wagar (Uxbridge, Mass.) went the distance with the start on the hill, allowing just one earned run on six hits for the victory (3-5). Mountaineer freshman Jean-Carlos Berasgoico(New York, N.Y.) went six innings on the bump, striking out five Becker batters in the loss (3-3).
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third when SVC tacked up a lone run for the slight upper hand. With two down, junior third baseman Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) singled out to right center and stole his way to scoring position. Pingitore followed with a double pulled down the line in left for the Mountaineer runner to trot home with the first score of the day.
SVC padded its lead in the next inning with two more tallies coming on a Becker miscue. With the bases loaded, senior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) flew out to shallow center, and LaBadia pretended to break from third for the plate on the catch. That induced a throw to the plate that was misplayed and sent into the SVC dugout, allowing the two lead Mountaineers to be awarded home for the 3-0 Southern Vermont advantage.
Neither side scored through the next two frames before Becker chalked up seven runs on just three hits. BC loaded the bases with no outs, and a Baldino single to center scored the first Hawk run of the game. A walk preceded three straight hit batters to put the visitors in front 5-3 before SVC got the first out of the inning on a strikeout after a pitching change. Another plunked Hawk brought in the next run, and a wild pitch gave way for the 7-3 upper hand. Wagar went back to the mound and put down the Southern Vermont side in order to wrap up the important victory.
GAME 2: Southern Vermont 11, Becker 4
Becker carried its momentum into the second contest, putting up three runs in the first for the early lead. SVC answered with one in the bottom of the box, but the Hawks pushed it back to a three-run advantage in the third with a lone score. Southern Vermont tacked up two in the fourth to trim the deficit, and the Mountaineers then tied the game in the fifth with one more. Taking a 4-4 game into the bottom of the sixth, SVC busted out with seven runs for a commanding lead that Becker would be unable to overcome in the final half inning.
LaBadia registered a 2-3 showing at the plate, extending his hit streak to nine games to tie the team's season long set by Sciara after the first nine contests of the year; he knocked in three runs and scored two more to help SVC to the win. Fields was 3-4 with two RBIs and a run scored while Sciara went 2-4 with a run batted in and three more scored. Pingitore went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored, and Rios had a 2-3 performance with the stick, adding a walk, two runs scored and a run batted in to his game's line.
SVC sophomore right-hander Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) picked up his first win of the season on the rubber (1-5), giving up just one earned run on six hits while striking out three. Becker senior righty Brian Dowling (Naugatuck, Conn.) suffered the loss (3-2) after giving up the go-ahead run in the sixth, despite not allowing a single earned run in his 0.2 innings of relief.
Consigli turned in a 2-3 showing at the plate for Becker with two runs scored while Bedell had two walks and an RBI. Sophomore designated hitter T.J. Sempkowski (Oceanport, N.J.) was 2-3 with a walk, and Baldino added an RBI and a run scored on a first-inning homer.
Baldino started the game with his second dinger of the year, and Becker added two more in the first as Consigli tallied a run-scoring single down the line in left before a Bedell infield hit allowed Consigli to score from third.
Sciara got on base by taking a ball off the body in the bottom of the first, and a pair of SVC singles moved him around to third with no outs. LaBadia drove one to center for Sciara to tag up and score Southern Vermont's first run of the game, making it a 3-1 Becker edge.
Consigli singled through the left side with one out in the third, and he stole second to get into scoring position. The Hawk runner then took off on the pitch to steal third, and he was able to cross home as the throw down to catch him sailed into left field to make it a 4-1 affair. That would be the last time BC scored for the day, however, as Angelo kept the visitors from crossing the plate for the remainder of the game.
SVC cut into the Becker lead in the fourth with a pair of runs, Fields knocking them both in with a two-out double to left. The Mountaineers then tied it up in the fifth with another lone run; after Sciara singled to center to start the inning, his lead at first and known ability to swipe a bag caused the Becker left-handed starter to want to check on him. His second pickoff attempt was deemed a balk by both umpires, allowing Sciara to get into scoring position. Pingitore then knocked a double out to right center, making way for the senior captain to cross the plate with the tying run.
Becker got runners to second and third in the top of the sixth, but Angelo induced an inning-ending pop out to Pingitore to get the hosts back in the dugout. That's when SVC put up seven runs with six hits and the help of three BC fielding mishaps to go up big. Fields started the action with a lead-off single to short, and a sacrifice attempt was then misplayed by the Hawk pitcher to put two Mountaineers aboard. A potential double play ball was sent into right by the Becker third baseman, allowing Fields to come home and put Southern Vermont on top.
Sciara followed with a rip through the left side of the BC infield, and a bunt by SVC senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) was perfectly placed for him to reach safely and load the bases. Pingitore then grounded one to short, allowing a run to score while he beat the turned throw to first. LaBadia waited back on a looping curve and sent it into the gap in left center for him to register a two-run triple, and Rios then tagged a run-scoring double down the left field line to plate another Mountaineer. A fielder's choice brought home the seventh SVC run of the inning, putting Southern Vermont on top comfortably heading to the final frame.
Angelo allowed a one-out walk, but that was all the Hawks could manage as the sophomore righty retired the side to conclude the complete-game victory.