FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – William Paterson (8-1) turned seven hits, four bases on balls, a sacrifice bunt and sac fly, a balk and four Ram errors into seven straight runs scored, posting a 7-1 baseball victory at Farmingdale State (3-2) March 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A pair of two-out walks and a base hit handed the Rams a 1-0 third-inning edge.
- The Pioneers got that run back in the top of the fourth when junior center fielder Steven DiGirolamo drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt, and scored when junior first baseman Carson Weis singled to right field.
- WP made it a 4-1 game in the fifth. Senior shortstop Matt Ferrara opened the frame with a base hit to left, and after a Dylan Habeeb sacrifice bunt and a Carlos Perez walk, sophomore second baseman Colin Lombardo sent a two-run single into left field and DiGirolamo launched an RBI-triple to the right-center gap.
- Junior right fielder Dan Carter led off the top half of the sixth inning with a home run over the left-field fence. His second round-tripper this spring, and the seventh homer of his career, pushed the Pioneers ahead by a 5-1 count.
- Lombardo walked, advanced to third via a failed pickoff and touched home on a Weis groundout during the seventh frame.
- William Paterson tacked on a ninth-inning run with an error, a Frank Cascio hit and error, and a DiGirolamo sacrifice fly that plated Perez.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Carter was 2-for-4 while adding a double and home run. Lombardo contributed a two-run single, and he and Perez each scored twice.
- Junior Jason Palmeri pitched 6.0 innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He struck out four batters and walked four. Freshman Darmany Rivas handled the next 2.1 innings and allowed one hit and a walk while registering one strikeout. Classmate Chris Nelson recorded the final two outs with a groundout and flyout.
- The Pioneers and the Rams both received votes in this week's D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 Poll.
- DiGirolamo moved into a tie with his uncle, John, for fourth place on the WP career triples list (13). John played for the Pioneers from 1989-92, and was an all-American outfielder on the 1992 Division III national championship team.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson starts play at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Saturday, March 14, at 9:15 a.m. against Fitchburg State.
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