AURORA, N.Y. – The Southern Vermont College baseball team claimed a victory in its three-game, weekend series at Wells College Sunday as the Mountaineers won 7-4 in nine innings after falling 5-4 in the early-morning matchup at Wells Turf Field.
SVC was clipped late in a tightly-contested game one before the same nearly happened in the backend of the twin bill; WC was able to tie it up in the bottom of the seventh, but the Mountaineers then rallied for three runs in the ninth to pull back in front and finish off the win.
Southern Vermont (5-7-1) heads back to the classroom this upcoming week after a busy spring break—the Mountaineers' next action being their New England Collegiate Conference opener on Saturday; SVC is slated to take on Newbury College in a 12 p.m. doubleheader at the New England Baseball Complex.
GAME 1: Wells 5 – Southern Vermont 4
Wells put up two runs in the bottom of the first during the opener, but the Mountaineers tied it with two of their own in the third. Each team scored once in both the fifth and sixth innings before the Express walked it off with a solo score in the seventh.
SVC senior first baseman Ryan Serrato (Whittier, Calif.) went 2-4 with an RBI—extending his hitting streak to 12-straight games; it would end there, however, as he then went 0-2 in game two before being substituted out. Senior center fielder Zack Stacey (Saratoga, N.Y.) was 2-2 with two walks and a pair of runs scored while senior designated hitter Cody Sullivan (Brunswick, N.Y.) had a 2-4 showing at the dish. Senior catcher Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.J.) went 1-4 with a two-run homer in the effort.
Mountaineer junior lefty Ryan Richardson (Pasadena, Md.) threw all 6.2 innings for the visitors—striking out four in the loss (1-2).
Wells scored twice in the home half of the first inning, and that 2-0 lead carried into the third. Mason would tie it up, however, when he sent his sixth career home run down the line in right. SVC then pulled ahead in the fifth when Serrato knocked a single out to center for Stacey to trot home from third.
The Express came right back and evened the score with a two-out triple in the bottom of the fifth, but Southern Vermont responded with a sacrifice fly to right by freshman left fielder Jacob Villegas (Fontana, Calif.). Wells had an answer once again, however—using a sacrifice fly of its own to tie it up.
Southern Vermont loaded the bases with one down in the seventh, but an inning-ending double play gave WC the chance to put it away. The Express capitalized and came through with an RBI-single up the middle with two outs to celebrate the walk-off win.
GAME 2: Southern Vermont 7 – Wells 4 (9 inn.)
WC led 3-1 by the end of the second inning in game two, but Southern Vermont chipped away and went on top to hold a 4-3 edge heading into the final-scheduled frame. Wells was able to extend the contest with a lone run in the seventh, but SVC would later regain the upper hand in the ninth before getting the Express to strand a pair aboard in the bottom of the box for the split.
Southern Vermont junior Kyle Liddy (Oriskany, N.Y.) and sophomore shortstop Nick Guajardo (Mansfield, Texas) were both 3-5 with an RBI, and they also tallied two and one run scored, respectively. Sophomore infielder Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) went 3-4 with a run scored as junior left fielder Nick Santoro (Syracuse, N.Y.) was 2-5 with a pair of runs batted in.
SVC senior right-hander Ryan Richards (Beaumont, Calif.) went the first six innings—allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three. He would be tagged with the no decision, however, after Wells was able to tie it in the seventh. Liddy moved from third to the bump to start that inning and pitched the rest of the game as a reliever; he gave up just the one run on two hits and a pair of walks while striking out three more in the win (1-1).
A WC double to right-center in the first put the hosts on top, but the lead would not last for long as SVC came right back to tie it when a Sullivan groundout to short allowed Liddy to cross the plate. The Express used a two-run dinger to retake the advantage in the home half of the second—only to see the Mountaineers answer with one of their own in the third when Stacey sent a sacrifice fly out to right.
Southern Vermont then pulled ahead in the fifth as a run-scoring Liddy single to left followed a Wells fielding miscue which allowed Cronk to come home safely. WC would get runners to second and third in the seventh, however, and benefitted from a wild pitch to even the score. Liddy was able to work out of the jam and leave the winning run at third as he induced a strikeout and an ensuing groundout back his way for the game to go to extras.
After neither side could do much in the eighth, SVC got some two-out offense going in the ninth. Liddy roped a double to left-center, and he would then come in on the next at bat when Guajardo singled to right. Santoro would later double to left-center, as well, for a pair to cross and make it 7-4. WC wouldn't go quietly and worked the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the frame, but Liddy got the final batter to fly out to right for Southern Vermont to take the series.
– #LetsGoSVC –