AUBURNDALE, FLA. – The William Paterson baseball team (10-5) scored a pair of victories March 18 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, defeating St. Scholastica (5-6), 7-6, and Springfield (3-9), 22-20.
GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior second baseman Colin Lombardo started the game with a walk, moved to third on a failed pickoff, and scored via a Jake Lutz single to center. Senior designated hitter Dan Carter later plated Lutz with a fielder's choice, handing WP a 2-0 edge.
- Back-to-back doubles scored one CSS run during the home half of the first.
- The Pioneers made it a 3-1 game in the second when junior left fielder Elliott Hayward homered to left center.
- WP added three more in the fifth. Senior catcher Steve Yelin led off with a base hit up the middle and graduate student Carson Weis singled to left before a flyout advanced both runners. Senior right fielder Vinnie Martin plated two runs with a base hit to through the right side, and singles from Hayward and senior third baseman Chris Liriano made it a 6-1 game.
- Five straight hits created three St. Scholastica runs during the home half of the fifth.
- Weis singled in Yelin, who had doubled to right, for a 7-4 edge in the sixth.
- The Saints scored single runs during the sixth and ninth frames with sacrifice flies.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Yelin was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, and Hayward finished 3-for-5 and tallied a double and home run.
- Junior Ian Metzger tossed 7.0 innings and allowed five runs on 14 hits and a walk, striking out five (4-1).
- Carter spun the final 2.0 innings for his third save of the year, surrendering one unearned run and two hits while posting one punchout.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pride hung 11 runs on the scoreboard during their first at-bat thanks to eight walks, three wild pitches, one passed ball, two singles and a grand slam.
- WP scratched out three runs during the home half of the first with Lombardo and Lutz walks, a Yelin two-run double, a Weis flyout and a wild pitch.
- Springfield added four more runs in the second, staking itself to a 15-3 lead, then used four walks for a single score in the third.
- Yelin singled, sophomore Chris Alberti walked and classmate Brett Coyle had a hit to load the bases for sophomore catcher Jake Fallers, who cleared the bases with a double down the left-field line, making it a 16-6 contest after three frames.
- A triple, base hit, walk and single pushed across two more Pride runs during the top half of the fourth inning.
- Junior third baseman David Backo opened the bottom of the fourth with a single, Lutz doubled and Yelin walked, leading to a Liriano run-scoring base on balls.
- Springfield extended its lead to 20-7 with a two-run fifth.
- William Paterson made it a one-run game with a 12-run fifth frame, highlighted by Yelin's three-run triple and three-run double.
- Backo singled in freshman second baseman Tom Radigan, knotting the score at 20-20 after seven.
- Lutz reached first base on an error to start the eighth, got to third after a failed pickoff and scored the go-ahead run when Yelin lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Three batters later, Coyle doubled in Alberti for a 22-20 edge.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Yelin went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, nine RBI and three runs scored.
- Fallers drove in four runs, and Backo, Liriano, Coyle and Radigan each had two hits.
- Senior Jordan Manne gave up three runs (two earned) and three walks in 0.2 inning as the starter. Freshman Pat Pantoliano surrendered two hits, six runs and four walks, while junior Tyler Searles allowed five runs, four hits and a walk in 0.2 inning of action.
- Senior Justin Grippo tossed 1.2 innings and gave up two hits and two runs, walking five and striking out one. Graduate student Jason Rivera was charged with five hits, four runs, two walks and three strikeouts during his 1.2 innings.
- Freshman Nick Durso dealt 1.1 shutout innings of two-hit ball, walking three and striking out one.
- Freshman Neel Telidevara earned the win (1-0), going 2.0 innings without allowing a hit or run with a pair of bases on balls. Junior Darmany Rivas struck out the side in the top of the ninth for his first save of the season.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson will finish play at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Saturday, March 19, with a game against Benedictine at 9:45 a.m.
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