Haverhill, Mass. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team bounced back from a Saturday loss to Lesley University to take the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) series with a Sunday sweep at Trinity Stadium. SVC took a late lead for a 5-1 win in the day's opener before topping the Lynx 10-4 in game two.
Southern Vermont (7-8, 2-4 NECC) is right back in action on Monday as the Mountaineers host the University of Maine at Presque Isle for a non-conference home doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 5, Lesley 1
The first contest of the afternoon was scoreless until the top of the fifth when SVC put up a single run to grab a marginal lead. LU answered in the home half of the sixth with a lone run to tie things up, but the Mountaineers then tacked up four in their last trip to the plate for an advantage they would not relinquish.
Southern Vermont freshman designated hitter Niko D'Agnese (Westchester, N.Y.) was 2-3 with a pair of runs scored while senior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) went 1-3 with a walk, a run scored and another knocked in. Junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) went 1-3 with an RBI, and junior catcher Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) was 1-4 with a run scored and a run batted in.
Mountaineer rookie righty Jean-Carlos Berasgoico (New York, N.Y.) pitched a gem, holding a no-hitter through the first five innings of play; he allowed just the one run on two hits during the day, striking out two in the seven-inning complete-game effort (2-1).
D'Agnese's double sparked the Mountaineers' offense in the top of the fifth as Sciara followed with a single to center to knock in the freshman for the game's first run.
The Lynx then knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior Kevin Hopwood (Winter Haven, Fla.) drew a one-out walk before moving to second on a single. Hopwood would move over to third on a ball in the dirt before crossing the dish on a wild pitch.
The tie would not last long, however, as SVC rallied to score four times in the next inning. Once again, D'Agnese provided the spark as he led-off with a single before moving into scoring position as he stole second. The Mountaineers took advantage of a Lynx miscue in the infield as a throwing error on a Sciara bunt allowed D'Agnese to score and Sciara to move up to second. A sacrifice bunt then moved Sciara to third, and he subsequently scored on a sacrifice fly by Pingitore. The Mountaineers would cap their rally with back-to-back RBI singles by Rios and senior Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) to go up 5-1.
Berasgoico set the Lynx down in order to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh for his second win of the year.
GAME 2: Southern Vermont 10, Lesley 4
Lesley took to a fast lead with a run in the bottom of the first in game two, but SVC tied it up with one in the second before going on top for good with a crooked six in the third. The Mountaineers padded their lead with two more in the fourth and then their 10th run of the contest in the fifth. Lesley was able to tally three in the sixth to cut the deficit, but it would not be enough as SVC closed out the win to take the season series.
Rios continued his strong day at the plate with a 3-3 showing, knocking in one run and scoring another in the win. Senior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) went 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored while senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) was 1-4 with a pair of runs scored. Sciara notched a run scored and an RBI, and Pingitore added a 1-3 performance with an RBI and a run scored.
Mountaineer senior starter Dustyn Marfyak (Torrington, Conn.) picked up his team-leading third win from the hill (3-1), giving up just one run in four innings of work.
After D'Agnese started the top of the third with a single to left and Sciara was hit with a pitch to reach first, SVC took advantage of an errant throw in the Lesley infield that allowed both runners to cross the plate. Pingitore followed with a run-scoring single up the middle before Hernandez chipped in with an RBI base hit of his own for the fourth run of the inning. Sophomore Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) was hit with the bases loaded to account for the fifth run before D'Agnese put the Mountaineers up 7-1 with a fielder's choice.
SVC would add two runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 10-1 lead.
The Lynx offense gathered some life in the sixth inning as sophomore Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) reached on an error that allowed freshman Justin Clark (Chino Hills, Calif.) to come around and score. Senior Rob Parson (Commack, N.Y.) then laced a two-run single to center that allowed Slaby and junior Casey Blanchard (Bernardston, Mass.) to cross the plate as the Lynx cut the deficit to 10-4.
It was too little, too late for the hosts, however, as SVC sophomore Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) got out of the jam with a ground ball before retiring the Lynx in order to end the game in the bottom of the seventh.