BENNINGTON, Vt. –Lesley University baseball split their New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) double-header against Southern Vermont College Saturday afternoon, defeating SVC 8-7 in game one before dropping game two 6-3. With the split SVC wins the season series 2-1 against the Lynx.
The Mountaineers now sit at 11-16 on the year, 5-7 in the NECC. LU moves to 6-5 against the league, 7-10 overall.
GAME 1: Lesley 8, Southern Vt. 7
The Lynx pounced to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first with help from three walks and a hit batter. SVC got on the board in the second with a solo run, just to see Lesley add three more in the third for an 8-1 advantage. The Mountaineers put up another single score in the fourth and then closed it to a three-run deficit with a three-run fifth. Southern Vt. scored twice more in the sixth to get within one, but the Lynx shut down the final push from SVC to take the day's opener.
Mountaineer sophomore second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) was 3-4 with four stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI in the effort. Junior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) went 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored, and freshman designated hitter Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) had a 1-2 showing at the plate with three runs batted in.
Junior designated hitter Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) was 3-3 for the Lynx with a walk and two RBIs while junior catcher David Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H.) went 2-3 with a walk, two runs batted in, two stolen bases and a run scored. Freshman third baseman Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) had a 1-3 appearance at the plate with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.
Lesley junior left-hander Ray Cohen (Coventry, Conn.) picked up the win (2-1) after going five innings, giving up five runs while striking out six. Sophomore left-handed reliever Koby Mitchell (Fall River, Mass.) grabbed his first save of the season, preserving the win through two innings on the bump. Mountaineer freshman Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) suffered the loss (3-3) with the start.
LU was able to take advantage of a rough Southern Vt. start, tacking up five before the Mountaineers had a turn at bat. Run-scoring singles by Slaby and Muratore helped push Lynx runners across the plate and put the visitors ahead 5-0 soon-after the first pitch.
Angelo helped score the first SVC run in the second with a sacrifice fly out to right, deep enough for LaBadia to tag and score from third. A Hersey double plated Slaby for the first Lesley run in the third before RBI singles by Muratore and junior center fielder Robert Parson (Commack, N.Y.) scored another pair for LU to go up 8-1.
Southern Vt. scored once in the bottom of the fourth before a base hit by Pingitore in the fifth made it an 8-3 ballgame. Angelo came up with a two-run single to then make it 8-5 going to the sixth. In the bottom of the frame, SVC utilized a double steal with runners on the corners for Pingitore to score. After LaBadia came in from second on a Lesley mishap, a pickoff created a run-down for the third out of the sixth with the score at 8-7. Mitchell put down the Mountaineer side in order in the seventh with two strikeouts to close it up and seal the win.
GAME 2: Southern Vt. 6, Lesley 3
For the third time in as many games against SVC, Lesley scored in the top of the first to take an early lead, a 2-0 advantage that would hold just until the second inning when Southern Vt. tied the contest with a pair of its own. The Mountaineers tallied one more in the third for a 3-2 lead. LU once again tied it up with a run in the top of the fifth, but the stalemate wouldn't last long as the hosts answered with one run in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 4-3. SVC grabbed two insurance runs in the sixth and wrapped up the series victory with the 6-3 final.
LaBadia went 3-4 with two runs scored and another batted in during the win, and Pingitore added a 2-4 showing with an RBI. Sophomore third baseman Quinten Scott (Ashaway, R.I.) was 2-3 with a run scored and another batted in while sophomore left fielder Richard Rios (Pico Rivera, Calif.) went 2-2 with a walk, two stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI.
Mountaineer senior southpaw Kurt Kowalczyk (Amsterdam, N.Y.) improved his season record from the mound to 2-2, going all seven innings while allowing just three runs and striking out three. Lesley senior lefty Ryan Genua (Prospect, Conn.) was strapped with the loss (2-2) after giving up the six runs in six innings of work.
Parson finished game two with a 2-4 line, scoring a run and stealing a base in the effort. Slaby went 2-3 with an RBI, and senior right fielder Tyler Plourd (Canton, Conn.) was 1-3 with a run scored and another batted in.
Plourd's single to left got the Lesley offense started in the first, scoring Parson for the 1-0 lead. An RBI single by Slaby added the second Lynx run for the early 2-0 advantage. A bases-loaded fielder's choice allowed the first SVC run to cross in the second before Rios knocked one to right, bringing Scott in from third for the tying run; Angelo attempted to score from second behind Scott, but the Lesley relay was executed well to end the inning with a play at the plate.
Southern Vt. went ahead in the third with a LaBadia blast to right center that scored SVC junior center fielder Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.). LU tied things once again in the fifth after loading the bases with no outs; Lesley grounded into a double play, but Muratore still crossed the plate for the 3-3 tally. An ensuing grounder to third saw Plourd initially beat out the throw to first while another runner crossed the plate, but an appeal by Mountaineer skipper Dave Gage led to a reversal of the call that nullified the would-be go-ahead run and ended the inning.
SVC answered in the bottom of the frame with a hard-hit single up the middle by Scott, scoring LaBadia with the eventual game-winning run. Nicastro and Pingitore hit two consecutive run-scoring singles through the left side with the Lynx infield pulled to the grass in the sixth, padding the cushion for Kowalczyk. He went back to the mound in the seventh and made simple work of the Lynx for the series victory.
The Mountaineers continue the conference schedule Monday with a single home game against Daniel Webster College slated to start at 3 p.m. The Lynx next visit Gordon College on Monday for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference contest.