BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team finally got to hold its 2015 home opener Tuesday afternoon, splitting a non-conference doubleheader with SUNY Canton at Bill Epstein Field.
SVC took the first game 3-0 before the Kangaroos earned the share with a 5-2 win in game two.
The Mountaineers move to 6-7 on the year with the split while Canton is now 5-13 overall.
Southern Vermont is back in action Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. New England Collegiate Conference matchup with Becker College, a game being played at Franklin Pierce University. The Roos also play next on Wednesday, visiting St. Lawrence University for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 3, SUNY Canton 0
Scoring was scarce in the day's opener as there were a total of 10 hits and three runs between the two squads. The contest remained scoreless until the Mountaineers tacked up three runs in the bottom of the fifth, and they would hold that edge for the win.
SVC senior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) was 1-3 at the plate, his hit being a two-run double before he scored the third Southern Vermont run. Freshman designated hitter Luigi Magliocca (Broadalbin-Perth, N.Y.) went 1-1 with a run scored while junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) had a 1-3 showing with a run batted in.
Mountaineer junior righty Avery Ford (Fairfield, Conn.) picked up his second win from the bump (2-0), giving up just four hits in the complete-game shutout; he struck out two in his seven innings of work. Kangaroo sophomore left-hander Travis Bigelow (Ottawa, Ontario) suffered the loss (2-2), surrendering three unearned runs on six hits in six innings on the mound; he didn't walk a single batter while striking out six on the day.
Canton freshman shortstop Wilson Matos (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went 2-3 with a walk and a stolen base while junior third baseman Greg Dobies (Schenectady, N.Y.) was 1-3 with the stick. Sophomore Nicolas Demarais (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) registered a pinch-hit single in the effort.
Both teams tallied a single in their respective halves of the first before going down in order in the second. The Roos got a lead-off single to start the third before a walk put runners at the corners with two outs. The next Canton batter chopped one down to third where it went off the glove of SVC junior third baseman Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.); it dribbled to short where senior Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) picked up and fired to second where Pingitore stepped on the base just in time to retire the side and keep the Roos off the scoreboard. Mountaineer freshman Eric Fields (Lakewood, Calif.) started the bottom of the third with a slapped double to the fence in right, but he would be stranded at third after moving up on a sacrifice bunt. Rios had worked his way to second for a pair of ducks to be in scoring position, only to see Bigelow paint the edge of the zone for an inning-ending strikeout.
The fourth went quickly as neither side could manufacture any offense before the Roos left a runner at second to end their half of the fifth. The bottom of the frame saw Southern Vermont break the stalemate, putting up three runs to grab the lead. With two runners in scoring position and just one out, a chopper to third was snagged by Dobies who fired home in time for the tag. A wild pitch put Mountaineers at second and third once again, and LaBadia made it hurt as he knocked a double to the gap in left center to plate the pair. He then came around to score from second on the ensuing at bat when Pingitore delivered a shot up the middle and into center.
Now with the lead, Ford went back to the mound for the top of the sixth. He wouldn't stay out of the dugout for long, however, as he sat down the Canton side in order. Bigelow mirrored that in the bottom of the inning, sending the game to the seventh with SVC holdings its 3-0 advantage. A pair of Roos got themselves aboard with two outs, but Nicastro corralled a grounder his way and made the easy toss to Pingitore at second to seal the win.
GAME 2: SUNY Canton 5, Southern Vermont 2
The Kangaroos took to the scoreboard right away in game two, putting up a single run in the top of the first. SVC went in front with a pair in the third before a four-run top of the sixth put Canton back ahead for good.
Pingitore went 2-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base while Fields was 2-3 with a run batted in. LaBadia added another 2-4 performance at the dish, and Rios was 1-4 with a run scored, his hit being a double.
Three Roos tallied a pair of hits in the second contest, one being Matos who went 2-3 with an RBI. Demarais was 2-4 while sophomore second baseman Jesse Barton (Belle Glade, Fla.) went 2-4 with a run scored and another batted in. Dobies had one plate appearance as a pinch hitter, making the most of it with a two-run single in the sixth.
Canton sophomore reliever Zach Lawrence (West Palm Beach, Fla.) picked up the win on the hill (1-2), giving up no runs on just two hits in four innings out of the pen; he struck out five Mountaineers in his four innings of work. SVC freshman righty Jean-Carlos Berasgoico (New York, N.Y.) was strapped with the loss (1-1) after giving up the go-ahead run in relief.
A lead-off walk to start the game turned into a Canton run after a stolen base and ensuing error on the attempt to throw him out put Roo sophomore Christian Nazario-Cruz (Naguabo, Puerto Rico) at third. Matos then knocked the ball deep enough to right for the runner to tag up and cross the plate with the go-ahead tally. SVC put ducks at the corners in the bottom of the inning, but a double-steal attempt saw Barton cut off the throw and shoot it back to home for the third out on the lead runner.
Canton loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second, threatening to have a big inning. Rios charged a slow grounder his way and threw home for the force out before Southern Vermont got out of the inning with some hustle; Cruz got just enough of a pitch to chop it right in front of the plate, forcing SVC freshman catcher Joseph Buonemani (Phoenix, Ariz.) to hop out and field the ball. Knowing the play at first would have been close, he sprinted back towards home and was able to apply the tag a few feet up the line for the third out.
Southern Vermont then loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second, but the next three batters would be retired in order as the Roos got out of the inning unscathed. A 1-2-3 top of the third got the Mountaineers back in the dugout quickly before SVC tacked on a pair in the home half to take the upper hand. Rios led-off the inning with a double down the line in left, and he advanced 90 feet with a wild pitch. Pingitore connected for a run-scoring single to shallow right center, and he was then able to move up to second on a passed ball. A walk preceded Nicastro singling through the left side to load the pond for Fields, and the rookie then ripped a seeing-eye single through the right side to make it a 2-1 Southern Vermont advantage.
A Demarais single to left center resulted in the only base runner for both teams during the fourth before Canton appeared to get something going in the fifth. With Roos at the corners, Matos took off from first on the pitch. SVC sophomore catcher Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.), who had entered the game previously as a pinch hitter, came up with the body language that would suggest he was going to throw down to second; that was enough to get the Kangaroo runner on third to start down the line, being tagged out by Rios after the ball was gunned down that way by the Mountaineer catcher. Southern Vermont couldn't get much going as a lone single highlighted the bottom of the fifth, sending the game to the sixth with SVC still on top 2-1.
That's when Canton chalked up four in the top half of the frame, getting those runs on three hits to regain the lead. A pair of walks put two runners on, and they moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Barton singled through the left side for the first run to score, and a hit batter then loaded the bases for the Roos. Dobies then hit a single down the line in left to plate a pair, putting his team on top 4-2. A Matos base hit refilled the pond with Canton ducks, and another hit by pitch allowed the fourth Roo run of the inning to walk across the plate.
Southern Vermont went down in order in the sixth before Canton did the same in the top of the seventh. LaBadia registered a two-out hit up the middle in a last-ditch effort to extend the game, but a final blooper in foul territory was grabbed to conclude the split.