LEXINGTON, Va. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team grabbed its second straight win Sunday morning as the visiting Mountaineers shut out Washington and Lee University 3-0 at Dick Smith Field in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader. Torrential downpours then forced the backend of the twin bill to be cancelled after the first inning of play.
SVC improves to 2-3 on the year and now has two weeks to prepare for its next contest. The Mountaineers return to the diamond Saturday, March 5 when they visit St. Joseph's College Brooklyn for a pair starting at 12 p.m.
Southern Vermont junior right-hander Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) went the distance in Sunday's opener, throwing his second complete-game shutout of his collegiate career for the win (1-1).
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 3 – Washington and Lee 0
SVC jumped on the board early in game one, tacking up two runs in the top of the first for a lead that would be big enough for Angelo to carry onto victory. The Mountaineers added an insurance tally in the fifth and preserved the shutout through the final frames for the 3-0 final.
Southern Vermont freshman center fielder Zack Stacey (Saratoga, N.Y.) registered his first collegiate multi-hit game, going 3-4 out of the leadoff spot while scoring two runs. Sophomore right fielder Niko D'Agnese (Mahopac, N.Y.) was also 3-4 at the plate and added another run scored, and senior shortstop RJ Pingitore (Perth, N.Y.) went 1-3 with an RBI in the win.
Angelo gave up just five hits in his seven innings on the rubber, striking out four General batters while not walking any on the day. His control was solid with the start as 72 percent of his 86 pitches thrown went for strikes (62).
Stacey started the game with his first hit of the day, singling through the left side of the infield to get aboard. D'Agnese followed with a legged-out bunt single, and Pingitore kept the bats rolling as he sent one back up the middle to plate the lead runner. A throwing error on WLU allowed D'Agnese to score all the way from first on the same play, giving Southern Vermont the early 2-0 upper hand.
Angelo gave up a lone two-out hit in the bottom of the first, however the runner would be retired when SVC freshman catcher Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.Y.) gunned him out at second in a stolen base attempt. Both sides recorded a hit in each the second and third innings, but neither could push their runners around as the pitchers were able to retire the side and maintain the Mountaineer's 2-0 advantage. SVC loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, only to have the inning end when the visitors were doubled off on a line out to short.
Southern Vermont scratched across a run in the top of the fifth, however, after Stacey got on base with his third leadoff single of the day. D'Agnese moved his teammate up 90 feet with another bunt single, and the Mountaineer rookie then came all the way around from second on a fielder's choice play two batters later. Southern Vermont freshman first baseman Cody Sullivan (Brunswick, N.Y.) hit a come-backer to the mound where the General pitcher initially bobbled the ball but was able to collect it and fire to second to retire D'Agnese; Washington and Lee tried to turn the double play at first, but Sullivan beat out the throw as Stacey motored home and touched the dish ahead of the relay to make it a 3-0 Mountaineer lead.
Angelo sat down WLU in order with the help of two strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth, and he then notched his second straight 1-2-3 inning in the sixth with a pair of flies sent to the outfield. An inning-ending double play turned by the Generals in the seventh sent SVC back into the field, giving the hosts one final chance to get its offense going.
A fielding miscue allowed the leadoff batter to reach, and an ensuing single put a pair of ducks on the pond with no outs. Angelo induced a grounder to short on the next at bat, however, and Pingitore was able to start the 6-4-3 double play to get SVC one out away from the win. A final grounder sent to second was corralled and tossed to first, closing out Southern Vermont's first victory in three all-time meetings with WLU.
GAME 2: CANCELLED
The two teams returned to the field shortly after the conclusion of game one in an attempt to beat out the impending storm that was forecasted for the area. Southern Vermont went up 4-0 in the top of the first with three hits and three walks, but Washington and Lee responded with five in the bottom of the frame to take the lead. It would be all for naught, however, as the skies opened up and unleashed a game-cancelling rain storm that ended SVC's visit to Virginia.