CREWE, Va. — Southern Vermont College picked up its first win of the 2016 season Saturday afternoon as the visiting Mountaineers split a doubleheader at Southern Virginia University, falling 3-2 in the opener before bouncing back for a 3-2 victory in the day-cap.
SVC moves to 1-3 on the year with the share. The Mountaineers remain in Virginia as they head to Washington and Lee University on Sunday for an early twin bill, first pitch slated for 9 a.m.
Southern Vermont sophomore right-hander Jean-Carlos Berasgoico (New York City, N.Y.) picked up the win (1-0) with his first start on the hill this season while senior righty Chris Bradt (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) came out of the bullpen to wrap up the victory and earn his first career save.
GAME 1: Southern Virginia 3 – Southern Vermont 2
The Mountaineers grabbed an early 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first and then put up another in the third. The Knights cut it to a 2-1 deficit with one run in the bottom of the fourth, and the game went to the final inning with SVC clinging to its advantage. SVU was able to cross the plate twice in the seventh, walking off to take the opener with a pair of two-out unearned runs.
Mountaineer sophomore right fielder Cody Sullivan (Brunswick, N.Y.) went 2-2 at the plate with two walks and an RBI, and senior shortstop RJ Pingitore (Perth, N.Y.) was 1-4 with a double and a run scored. Sophomore third baseman John Arancio (Oradell, N.J.) was also 1-4 with a double, and junior designated hitter Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) went 1-3 with a third two-bagger for Southern Vermont.
SVC junior right-hander Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) went five innings with the start, giving up just one run on two hits while striking out seven. Freshman righty Joe Braim (Schuylerville, N.Y.) tossed 1.2 innings of relief, suffering the loss (0-1) as the two unearned Southern Virginia runs crossed when he was on the bump.
The Mountaineers got some two-out momentum in the top of the first, Pingitore tagging a double to right to get on base. Sullivan followed with a run-scoring single to put SVC on the board with the early edge. The Knights worked lead-off walks in both the first and second innings, but Hay was able to work out of each frame with the help of two strikeouts.
SVC sophomore second baseman Niko D'Agnese (Mahopac, N.Y.) got on base in the third with a one-out walk before moving up to second on a balk. A groundout to short allowed the Mountaineer to move up 90 feet, and he then came in to touch the dish on an SVU passed ball for the 2-0 Southern Vermont advantage. Southern Virginia had a runner on third with just one out in the bottom of the inning, but Hay got the next batter to wave at strike three and then retired the side with a grounder down to second.
The Knights would break through to the scoreboard in the fourth, however, as a lead-off plunked batter would come around to score and make it a 2-1 Mountaineer upper hand. SVC had runners at the corners in the top of the fifth, but an inning-ending double play would get Southern Virginia back into the dugout. Mercuri then led-off the sixth with his double, and a single by freshman catcher Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.J.) set runners at the corners with no outs for SVC. Mercuri held at third on an ensuing single by sophomore left fielder Luigi Magliocca (Broadalbin, N.Y.) as the Mountaineers loaded the bases, but SVU was once again able to get out of the jam with another inning-ending double play.
Holding tightly to its 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh, a lead-off hit by pitch for Southern Virginia was moved to third on a one-out single. A groundout then put a pair of Knights in scoring position with two down, and the hosts benefited from an SVC fielding miscue as both runners came in to score and walk off with the victory.
GAME 2: Southern Vermont 3 – Southern Virginia 2
Southern Vermont went in front first in the early-going of game two, tacking up a lone run in the top of the second. The Mountaineers extended their lead with another run in the fifth, only to see SVU tie it up with a pair in the bottom of the frame. SVC answered right away with a single run in the sixth, and the visitors held on to finish off the split.
Mercuri, who moved behind the dish defensively for the day-cap, was 2-3 at the plate while Sullivan was 1-1 with a walk and a run scored. Southern Vermont sophomore first baseman Rob Spatafore (Mahopac, N.Y.) went 1-3 with a run scored while junior third baseman Niko Horwith (La Crescenta, Calif.) and Arancio each tallied sacrifice fly RBIs.
Berasgoico threw five innings with the start, giving up two earned runs on five hits while striking out a pair. Bradt had a stellar outing in relief, giving up no runs and just one hit in his two innings of work.
Neither side could manufacture a run in the first inning before SVC went ahead with one in the second. Sullivan walked to lead-off the frame and then moved up to scoring position with an SVU balk. A Mercuri single put Mountaineers at the corners, and Arancio was then able to send a fly out deep enough to right for Sullivan to tag up and score the game's first run.
Berasgoico allowed one Knight batter to reach in each of the first four innings, but he was able to limit Southern Virginia's success in the batter's box to keep the hosts off the board. SVC padded its lead in the fifth as the Mountaineers got things going with two outs. Spatafore singled to get on the pond, and Magliocca followed with another base hit to send his teammate around to third. A passed ball on the next batter brought Spatafore in to cross the plate, putting SVC up 2-0. SVU responded with two in the bottom of the inning, tying the score with a lead-off walk and a pair of hits.
The 2-2 score would not stand for long, however, as Southern Vermont came back with another in the sixth to reclaim the lead. Pingitore worked a one-out walk, and he moved up when Sullivan took a pitch to the body in the next at bat. Pingitore then swiped third, setting up Horwith to knock him in with a sac fly to center for what proved to be the game-winning run. Bradt sat down the Knights in order to get out the sixth quickly, and a lone Knight single in the seventh would be stranded at second as the SVC senior righty induced a game-ending pop up to short for the save.