WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Southern Vermont College and Crown College baseball teams kept the crowd's attention throughout a Monday doubleheader in the RussMatt Baseball 2015 Central Florida Invitational as SVC pulled out a pair of close wins, one in dramatic, walk-off fashion.
The Mountaineers won the front-end 3-0 behind a stellar pitching performance, and Southern Vermont then had to erase multiple deficits to come back for a 16-15 victory in the day-cap. SVC moves to over .500 for the first time this season (3-2) while Crown opens the 2015 campaign 0-2.
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 3, Crown 0
Scoring was scarce in the day's opener as the Mountaineers put up the game's three runs in the top of the third. SVC freshman right-hander Jean-Carlos Berasgoico (New York, New York) spun a gem in his first collegiate start, going the distance to pick up the complete-game shutout (1-0); he allowed just two hits while striking out eight in the seven innings of work.
Southern Vermont senior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, New York) had his third consecutive game in which he recorded two hits and at least one RBI, knocking in a pair while going 2-4. Junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, New York) also went 2-4 while scoring a run, and senior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, New York) was 1-2 with two walks, a run scored and another batted in.
Crown sophomore center fielder Harry Ballantyne (Lakeville, Minnesota) was 1-1 with a pair of walks and a stolen base for the Storm while sophomore right fielder David Cruz (Staten Island, New York) went 1-2 with a walk and another stolen bag. CC junior righty Brandon Hudson (Chandler, Arizona) suffered the loss (0-1), despite giving up just two earned runs in six innings on the bump; he struck out nine Mountaineers on the day.
Pitching was solid for both teams through the opening couple innings as neither side could make much happen on the base paths, both starting pitchers recording a pair of strikeouts in the first. SVC was able to get a couple of hits in the top of the frame, but Hudson worked out of the jam with two consecutive outs to retire the side. Crown then had a lone hit in the bottom of the inning, but that would be all the Storm would get as Berasgoico got freshman designated hitter Dalton Wintersole (Federal Way, Washington) to wave at strike three.
Hudson recorded another strikeout in the second while retiring the Mountaineers in order to keep SVC off the scoreboard. Berasgoico then notched his third K of the day to start the bottom of the box before walking two straight Storm hitters to give Crown some action on the bases. The rookie righty got some help when freshman first baseman Trent Krekelberg (Cokato, Minnesota) took a sizeable secondary lead, a fateful one as SVC sophomore catcher Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, New York) came up firing down to second where senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, New Jersey) applied the tag to get the lead runner. Berasgoico then added another strikeout to wrap up the frame.
Southern Vermont broke through to the scoreboard first, putting up three runs in the top of the third. Freshman left fielder Luigi Magliocca (Broadalbin-Perth, New York) started things with a hit to the right of freshman second baseman Joel Silva (San Antonio, Texas), advancing to second when Silva's put-out attempt sailed to the fence. The Mountaineer then came around to score when Sciara launched a double to left, putting SVC ahead 1-0. After another infield miscue put SVC runners at second and third with one down, LaBadia punched one through the right side to score the pair. Miscommunication on the bases gave way for Crown to double-off Southern Vermont on a fly-out to right, sending the game to the bottom of the inning with SVC ahead 3-0.
After Berasgoico put down the Storm in order to end the third, Southern Vermont had a chance to add more to the scoreboard in an unusual finish to an inning. With freshman Niko D'Agnese (Westchester, New York) on third and Sciara on second, Nicastro struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt; thinking he had caught it cleanly and that the inning was over, CC freshman David Sherwood (Allen, Texas) rolled the ball to the mound as the Storm headed for the dugout. Realizing the umpires had not deemed him out, Nicastro headed for first on a sprint. As Crown was unable to get the speedy senior, the Storm instead turned to the other SVC runners who were moving along the base paths. Unable to advance, D'Agnese returned to third, forcing Sciara, who had already reached that base, to retreat back to second; unfortunately for SVC, the base ump noticed that Sciara had taken off his helmet and called him out to end the frame.
Berasgoico walked the first Storm hitter of the bottom of the fourth, but that runner was quickly erased as Mercuri gunned him out in an attempt to swipe second. The SVC freshman then recorded consecutive strikeouts to end the inning, preserving the 3-0 shutout.
A well-turned double play by the Crown middle infield put Southern Vermont away in the fifth, and the Storm then had a good chance to score in the ensuing half inning when Cruz roped a triple to right center. After freshman shortstop Camden Wiens (Abbotsford, British Columbia) lined out to Nicastro, Cruz tried to go for home on a passed ball; but Mercuri was able to get to it in time and fire to Berasgoico who was covering home for the put-out.
Mercuri continued to have a solid game in the sixth when he doubled down the right field line, but he we be stranded at second as the side was retired with SVC still up 3-0. A hit by pitch, error and walk allowed Crown to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth with just one out, threatening to have a big inning. Berasgoico kept his calm, however, and worked his way out of trouble with a strikeout and a grounder to third.
Southern Vermont was able to work a couple of runners on in the top of the seventh, but neither would get past first as Sciara was retired trying to steal and Pingitore was stranded to end the frame. Berasgoico went back to the mound in the bottom of the inning in an attempt to finish off the complete game shutout, doing so quickly with a one-two-three performance that closed out the Mountaineers' first win of their trip.
GAME 2: Southern Vermont 16, Crown 15
The Mountaineers took to the board first once again in the backend of the twin bill, but Crown bounced back to take a lead in the second. The Storm led for most of the game before SVC put up five in the bottom of the sixth for an 11-10 edge. CC responded with five of its own in the seventh to regain the lead, but Southern Vermont tacked on another handful in the bottom of the frame to walk off with the victory.
Pingitore went 4-6, scoring a run while knocking in four including the game winner. LaBadia followed with a 3-4 performance at the plate, adding a walk, two runs scored and an RBI to his line. Nicastro was 2-3 with two walks and a pair of runs scored, and senior right fielder Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, California) was 1-2 with a pair of runs batted in as a replacement.
Crown sophomore left fielder Hunter Foss (Milaca, Minnesota) led the Storm with a 5-5 showing at the dish, knocking in five runs while scoring one more. Freshman catcher Luke Meyer (Wilmington, Ohio) was 2-2, both hits being doubles, while adding two walks, two RBIs and three runs scored. Wiens finished the game 2-3 with a pair of runs batted in and another scored.
Mountaineer freshman Avery Ford (Fairfield, Connecticut) picked up his first collegiate win after being the pitcher of record following his .2 innings of work to finish the top of the seventh. SVC freshman starter Nick Hartman (Hartland, Connecticut) went 3.1 innings, giving up just one earned run (six unearned) while striking out four. CC right-hander Ryan Dennison (Bonney Lake, Washington) was strapped with the loss after allowing the winning run to reach base before getting pulled.
Crown got a lone hit to start the game, but that wouldn't amount to anything as Hartman retired the side to get back in the dugout. SVC then took to the board first once again in the bottom of the opening frame with help from a two-base error on a pickoff attempt of Nicastro. The shortstop subsequently trotted home when Pingitore hit a frozen rope into center for the 1-0 advantage. With Southern Vermont runners at first and second, the Storm got a big out when Meyer snapped it down over the pitcher's head to get Pingitore caught in a rundown, and a fly-out ended the inning for SVC.
The Storm got themselves up on the board in the top of the second with four runs for their first lead of the day. Sherwood reached on an infield mishap, making his way to second on the overthrow, but he was then retired when he took off on a grounder to short that got him caught in the pickle. A walk put two ducks on the pond for Crown, and Wiens then cranked a double down the left field line for CC's first run of the season. Foss then followed with a blooper down the right field line, a hit that made its way just between Pingitore and freshman right fielder Eric Fields (Lakewood, California) for another Storm run. A wild pitch allowed Meyer to cross the dish, and Foss then came in on a Denison single to the right center gap for CC to take a 4-1 lead.
SVC wouldn't be down for long, however, as the Mountaineers battled back with three runs in the bottom of the second to tie things up. Fields walked and made his way down to second on a wild pitch to start the inning before CC sophomore starter Jonathan Matity (Wilcox, Saskatchewan) was able to record two consecutive outs. Another Crown error allowed the inning to continue, and Sciara then took one off the body to load the bases. Another wild pitch brought Fields in to score, and Pingitore connected for another solid hit that plated two more for the Mountaineers to tie it at 4-4.
That stalemate would quickly be broken as Crown added another pair of runs in the top of the third. Taylor would make his way on by way of an error to lead-off the inning, and he then moved up to second when Cruz hit a sharp grounder up the middle off a ranging Pingitore. A plunked batter left every base occupied, and Wiens then sent the ball deep enough to center for junior first baseman Daryl Taylor (La Cresent, Minnesota) to tag up and score the go-ahead run. The Storm added a piece of insurance with a Foss single to center that brought Cruz into home, but the inning then ended when the relay throw from Sciara to Nicastro beat Meyer at the plate in his attempt to score from first.
Southern Vermont once again made things happen with two outs when freshman third baseman Jake Sisk (Tallahassee, Florida) hit a deep fly to left, one sought after by two Crown outfielders. It fell between them as the Storm players avoided the collision, and Sisk made his way up to scoring position. SVC made it hurt as Watt ripped a single up the middle to bring Sisk around, making it a 6-5 CC lead.
Scoring continued into the fourth as a lead-off walk came back to bite SVC. Silva motored from first all the way to third when a passed ball rolled to the backstop, and he crossed the dish soon-after on a double to center off the bat of Ballantyne. That's all Crown could muster, sending the game to the bottom of the fourth with the Storm on top 7-5.
Southern Vermont trimmed the CC lead down to 7-6 in the following half inning after Sciara led-off with a single to right. Nicastro sacrificed himself to get Sciara into scoring position, and Pingitore moved the SVC senior captain over to third with a grounder to second. LaBadia came through once more as he ripped a single back up the middle to make it a one-run game.
Crown used four solid hits in the fifth to tack up another pair for some breathing room. Cruz started the inning with a single through the left side of the infield, and he then scored when Meyer cranked a double over the head of D'Agnese in center. An attempted sacrifice bunt skipped past the mound and resulted in a hit that put Storm runners at the corners before Foss ripped a single through the left side for the ninth Crown run to come across the plate.
SVC got its first two batters aboard in the bottom of the box before junior reliever Josh Flanders (Bloomington, Minnesota) put down the side on consecutive outs to hold the 9-6 edge. The Storm offense continued to roll into the sixth, registering one more run to give Crown a little extra separation. A lead-off Taylor single turned into the run as the junior stole second to get into scoring position. A Cruz single immediately fielded in left by Southern Vermont moved Taylor up to third, and Foss then batted him in with another single through the left side.
The bottom of the sixth saw SVC keep grinding as the Mountaineers scored five to regain the lead. Nicastro laid a frozen rope into right before Pingitore ripped a come-backer up the middle to put a pair on the pond. LaBadia walked to load the bases and was the last batter Flanders faced as he subsequently got the hook. Junior catcher Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, California) then came to the plate and smashed a double to the track in left, scoring the first two Mountaineers and pushing LaBadia to third with no outs. Fields hit a shot to third, a ball that was knocked down by Taylor to prevent the run from scoring. But LaBadia was able to then come home as a walk to Sisk pushed him across the plate to make it a 10-9 game.
Mercuri stepped in as a pinch hitter and nearly made it hurt as he nailed a liner down to third, a ball snagged in the air by Taylor to keep the base paths full. They would stay loaded on the following at bat when Hernandez took the painful RBI, getting hit by the pitch for the tying run to come across. With still only one out, Sciara hit a ball to shallow left that fell between three Storm fielders for Fields to head home with the go-ahead tally. A balk and a walk reloaded the bases for the Mountaineers, but a final ground out to the middle infield put an end to the inning with the damage done.
Not to go quietly, Crown answered with five runs of its own in the top of the seventh to go back on top. Two walks started the inning, and those runners were then moved up with a sacrifice bunt back to the mound. Walker singled through the left side to score the first Storm run, and Cruz had a nearly identical hit on the next at bat to put his team ahead 12-11. A Meyer double to left center brought in the first of Crown's next three runs that gave CC a 15-11 lead. The Storm loaded the bases with a walk and just one out, but Rios started an inning-ending double play with an unassisted put-out at third to end the frame.
The scoring was not done yet, however, as SVC continued to battle it out. LaBadia led-off with a single off the pitcher's leg and up the middle, and the next four Mountaineers reached by either a walk or hit by pitch as Southern Vermont cut it to 15-13. A passed ball allowed Hance to squeak home safely, and Hernandez followed with a base hit to center that brought Magliocca in to tie it up again. After Crown intentionally walked Sciara to make a force-out opportunity at every base, freshman Seth Herdle (Tacoma, Washington) got Nicastro to pop up an infield fly. He wouldn't be so luck with Pingitore, however, as the junior blasted a shot to left field for Mercuri to score the game-winning run as Southern Vermont celebrated the sweep.
SVC next matches up with Franklin & Marshall College on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. while Crown takes on Utica College for a Tuesday doubleheader in Winterhaven.